The Administrative Committee of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) met in an emergency session today to discuss the inherent dangers in the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians which reportedly includes additional withdrawals and release of terrorists. The rabbis had some very harsh words to say about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some of his ministers who support these negotiations.
Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, Executive Director of the RCP said the Prime Minister’s vow that he will hold a referendum on any peace deal “is a joke.” Didn’t Yitzchak Rabin and Ariel Sharon say that before the Oslo deal and the Gaza disengagement. A referendum can be very deceptive too depending how you phrase the question.
The question posed to the nation will not read “Taking into account that every deal with the Arabs till now resulted in massive bloodshed, thousands of missiles, buses blown up all over Israel killing and maiming thousands of civilians and each area from which Israel withdrew became a launching pad for terrorist activity as former defense minister Ehud Barak said “we gave back every inch of Gaza and got 10,000 missiles in return. Taking all this in account are you in favor of withdrawing from territories from Judea and Samaria? But instead the question will read “Are you in favor of surrendering more territory for peace?” (implying that if you vote against it you’re voting against peace which is deceptive).
Besides, said Rabbi Lewin, “the mere resumption of talks is a tactical victory for the Palestinians and will infuse more life in the terrorist organizations to carry out more attacks. It should be clear that the Palestinian Authority has no intention of making peace. It only wants to get concessions and blame Israel for an absence of peace. It knows that the Obama Administration will never punish it if it balks but probably will only offer it more.”
The rabbis made it clear that according to the explicit Ruling the Jewish Code of Law (Laws of Sabbath 329:6) the mere negotiations are considered a danger to life. All one has to do is open up the newspapers in the last 20 years and will see how this warning materialized over and over again. “There can be no other classification for Israel’s agreeing to resume negotiations other than capitulation and endangering all the citizens of Israel.
Rabbi Sholom Gold, a prominent rabbi in Har Nof, Jerusalem screamed: Is there no limit to blindness? Precisely now when the entire Arab world around us is involved in wars and uprisings and no one can predict what will happen tomorrow and who will be in power, is this a time to negotiate for more concessions? And with who? With one murderer who tomorrow can be replaced by another murderer? This is the greatest tragedy of our nation to announce in advance that it is ready for more concessions and kneeling to pressure when there is no one in the world, not the USA, not Europe and not even Netanyahu himself who is deluding himself to believe that this will lead to peace. Israel has declared unconditional surrender,” said Rabbi Gold.
“On the contrary Israel has a golden opportunity to declare that as a result of the dramatic instability in the region we cannot surrender even one inch of territory and the world would accept this.
Rabbi Moshe Havlin, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Gat, said that the mere fact that the negotiations will include the release of terrorists is risking the lives of Jews and total capitulation to Israel’s enemies.
Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, Chairman of the RCP, summed up the meeting saying that the RCP must launch a very strong struggle against this calamity. In the coming days and weeks members of the RCP will meet with every MK and minister and tell them plain and simple ‘you are bound by Jewish law to oppose Netanyahu’s decision vigorously and to warn him that they will leave the government. If you will not do so you will not be able to wipe your hands clean from the bloodshed that this deplorable process will cause,’” Rabbi Gerlitzky said.