Mission upon you,
Arad
No more silence / Ethan Michaeli
When I decided not to run again for a seat on City Council, I took it upon myself to refrain from making public announcements on the City’s matters. No more! Last Sunday evening, a strong stench rose from the parking lot to my apartment.
I came down to check the source of the
smell, and found the assembly against the missionary activity in Arad, that was
held in the synagogue in my neighborhood.
It was the stench of Xenophobia, the stink
of intolerance, another chapter in a frequently violent activity against the
small community of Messianic Jews in Arad. If indeed their actions are beyond the boundaries of the law, as alleged,
the Police are welcome to investigate them.
In contrast, I find Rabbi Lipsker’s words in the assembly
to be disrespectful to the Holocaust and inciting, by tying the Holocaust to
the community of Messianic Jews. The religious council of Arad is up to its old
tricks yet again; it went beyond its authority by giving patronage to the
event. It isn’t a Halachic institute, and has no judicial or policing
authority.
Its role is administrative, to provide religious services,
according to the Jewish Religious Services Law, and that’s why the government
and the local authority fund it.
I doubt if it’s legal for the Rabbis of Arad, who receive
their salary from the State, to participate in an event such as this. But more
than the Law, I question their educational and moral decisions in this case.
And as for the attendance of our former Mayor, Bezalel
Tabib, you see, he’s no longer a civil servant and
it’s his right. A man’s will is his honor, even if there wasn’t much honor in
the assembly.