Meretz party leader Zahava Gal-On wants to do to Agriculture Minster Uri Ariel what he wants to do to stray cats. In one word, “deportation.”
Ariel, strongly identified with the national religious community, has said he wants to launch a program to rid Israel of its stray cat population explosion by deporting them to other countries rather than castrating them, which violates Jewish law.
Sterilizing cats or dogs by spraying generally is an accepted procedure under Jewish law but is not a one-time solution.
Gal-On is appalled at the thought of expelling the poor cats and suggest that it is Ariel who should leave the country. She said:
I don’t know if there a Jewish law on this subject, but when the minister who is responsible for animal rights suggests something that violates basic morals, the time has come to find a country that will be willing to accept him.
It is not clear exactly what basic moral principle would be violated by deporting cats, which is a lot more humane and causes less suffering than removing their reproductive organs.
Perhaps the leader of the left-wing party is concerned that the felines will be worse off in other countries instead of fighting each other in Israel’s trash containers for an evening meal.
Stray cats are a national plague. They are not stupid animals, and many families have reported that they have to leave their windows closed because cats use their paws to open the screen window in the summer.
Unloading groceries from the car also can result in missing fish and meat if the trunk or side door of the car is open and unattended for more than a few seconds.
Ariel, who usually is in the headlines for his insistence that Jews be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, raised a storm of protest with his suggestion to deport cats.
More than 10,000 people have signed an anti-deportation petition that states:
Following your decision, tens of millions of cats in the streets will suffer from hunger, and the financial burden on citizens will only get worse.
There are kittens everywhere, their mothers are run over and the kittens are left at the mercy of the government.