Rabbis Stand In Solidarity With Burned Mosque In Israel

By Josef Kuhn
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) More than a thousand rabbis from around the world have signed a statement denouncing the burning of an Israeli mosque as police arrested a suspect who is alleged to be a Jewish extremist.

"We condemn those in Israel who exacerbate conflict and strife, and who insist that only one people or religion belongs to this land," said the statement, which organizers say was overwhelmingly signed by U.S. rabbis.

The statement was presented on Thursday (Oct. 6) by a delegation of dozens of rabbis and peace activists to the imam of Tuba-Zangria, the Galilean village where the mosque was torched.

The statement was initiated by the New Israel Fund (NIF), an organization that promotes human rights and religious pluralism in Israel.

David Rosenn, the chief operating officer of NIF and a Conservative rabbi, called the mosque arson "a flagrant challenge to Jewish history and values."

The envoys to Tuba-Zangria were led by a coalition established in 2009 in response to a book that argued that, in times of war, Jewish law permits the pre-emptive killing of noninvolved gentiles, including children.

The arson has been condemned by Israel's chief rabbis and a host of Jewish groups in the United States, including the Anti-Defamation League, which said the attack represented "the violence and hatred among fringe groups of Israeli Jewish extremists."

Israeli officials have arrested a suspect in the arson, described by The Associated Press as an "18-year-old seminary student with ties to one of the most hardline Jewish settlements in the West Bank."

Comments

[Puncastle]

08:16 AM on 10/29/2011

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-5-2011/big-mohammed-s-house

[JessCostello]

11:02 PM on 10/15/2011

I'm actually surprised that the suspect was Jewish. I don't see how this helps Israel at all, even from the perspective of an Ultra-Nationalist.

There's a recent graffiti incident that is also under investigation. I wonder if this is the work of a copy-cat or are these cemeteries being defaced by people who want to defame Israeli Jews.

[homer winslow]

04:20 PM on 10/14/2011

Israeli officials have arrested a suspect in the arson, described by The Associated Press as an "18-year-old seminary student with ties to one of the most hardline Jewish settlements in the West Bank."

This person was not born full of hate for other religions, but taught it by his elders.

[Anya Khan]

12:15 AM on 10/19/2011

Horribly sad but true.

[homer winslow]

04:21 PM on 10/14/2011

Therein lies the problem. The idea that because they do it, we can too is wrong. The right way to address those who hate you is with love and tolerance, not mirroring the hate back at them.

[JessCostello]

11:02 PM on 10/15/2011

Not exactly.

[Anya Khan]

12:16 AM on 10/19/2011

I do not at all think he was trying to say that it was OK Just the opposite.

[JerryLevy]

10:01 PM on 10/10/2011

I wish there was one example of Muslims standing in solidarity with Jews facing Islamic violence and hate. In Europe or the Middle East.

[AxisV]

12:40 AM on 10/11/2011

This took about 7 seconds using Google.

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/59089/s.-bay-imam-among-muslims-visiting-holocaust-camps/

[Trollstein]

12:20 PM on 10/11/2011

There are clerics in the USA and parts of the EU who are 'progressive', just not that many. Given that Muslims outnumber Jews (worldwide) by about 80/1, an equivilant show of support would involve about 80,000 Muslim clerics, instead of the about 8 who spoke out.

[JerryLevy]

12:37 PM on 10/11/2011

And what took another 7 seconds was to look at this "gentleman's" history of blasphamy against the Jewish People

[Ossit]

08:04 PM on 10/11/2011

How do you know they don't, JerryLevy? Lots of things go unreported to the public. Doesn't mean those things don't happen then on the other hand it could be reported and you wouldn't believe it sticking with the first reports that no Muslims say anything against anything. To hear otherwise breaks the more comfortable stereotype, as I've heard lots of Muslim complain about bad acts and no one believes them. Why? They're too centered on villainizing them. Any variation on the stereotype isn't acceptable.

[Haroldpom]

10:40 AM on 10/10/2011

From Commentary Magazine:

A Jaffa synagogue was struck by a Molotov cocktail on Saturday after Arab protests against the Netanyahu government. Can we anticipate a similar outpouring from Palestinian Authority figures after swastikas were painted on the Jewish shrine of the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus last week?
But why are Palestinians not held to the same high standard? If a case of arson by a Jew is deemed worthy of international outrage, why not a fire bomb thrown at a synagogue? If “price tag” vandalism in Arab villages is troubling, why aren’t the same people troubled by swastikas daubed on a Jewish holy place, especially when hatred at the spot has already bubbled over into deadly violence against Jews earlier this year?
Unfortunately, hatred in the Middle East isn’t a one-way street with only Jews showing signs of intolerance, though you might be forgiven for thinking that if your only source of information about the region was the New York Times. Given the non-stop flow of anti-Semitic incitement that pours out of the Palestinian Authority’s official media, it is little surprise anti-Jewish attacks are so prevalent they are hardly considered newsworthy any more. Those who cry out for mutual co-existence and tolerance between Jews and Arabs must send their message to both communities.

[Myoho Mod]

02:59 PM on 10/10/2011

It is called a start. If we wait for someone else to take the intiative then nothing gets done.

[tubajew]

05:26 PM on 10/10/2011

A start for burning down mosques or a start in accepting Muslims?

[Ami Toben]

10:35 AM on 10/10/2011

This is like curing a hangover with more booze.
Religion is the problem to begin with. Get off of religion and nobody would have a reason to burn anything in the first place.

[courtb]

10:41 AM on 10/10/2011

What about all those violent political and nationalist movements that had nothing to do with religion?

[Ami Toben]

10:48 AM on 10/10/2011

In the vast majority of cases, it is a religious divide that is the only way people set themselves apart from other identical people. Religion is by far the biggest divider.

[Haroldpom]

11:02 AM on 10/10/2011

Islam is not a religion. It is a political movement hiding behind a religion. Islam seeks world domination, the same as communism and fascism. The religion is for the moderates while the political movement is for the Islamists who have reason to burn everything standing in their way.

[Yasser Yousufi]

11:44 AM on 10/10/2011

I can replace the words Islam with Christianity and end up with making more sense~!

[Dan Same]

02:32 PM on 10/10/2011

You are disgusting, absolutely disgusting, and you probably support this arson!!!

[grape of wrath]

10:25 AM on 10/10/2011

There will be no peace until the Lord returns.

[el sistema]

10:38 AM on 10/10/2011

No. There will be no peace until religious fundamentalism ceases to exist.

[grape of wrath]

10:40 AM on 10/10/2011

Then you shall have to exterminate us all. Good luck with that....

[grape of wrath]

12:42 PM on 10/10/2011

I bear you no ill will. Your rejection of Christ does not threaten me. If my faith is illusionary no harm was done , my life was well lived--many people benefited from my existence.

[gibranII]

02:51 PM on 10/10/2011

why are trying to hurry it with belligerent behavior.. that is no what he wants from all of his children.

[grape of wrath]

02:56 PM on 10/10/2011

If you are not a Christian, you are not one of His children, you are a child of the devil.

[Varys]

10:08 AM on 10/10/2011

It's only a headline because it's not usually the case.

[xhawk2]

09:32 AM on 10/10/2011

Now if only Muslims would stand with the Christians and Jews every time one of their houses of worship was burned...

[gemini68]

04:09 PM on 10/11/2011

They have:

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/59089/s.-bay-imam-among-muslims-visiting-holocaust-camps/

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15420

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-02/jaipur/28266493_1_shiva-temple-temple-premises-main-shrine

http://www.urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2011/05/muslims-pitch-in-to-help-rebuild-torched-egyptian-church.html

http://pluralism.org/news/view/9446

Google is your friend.

Perhaps you should ask yourself why these stories aren't publicized. Because they do in fact exist.

[jacksparrow34]

02:42 AM on 12/06/2011

Oh foxholes can't google, they just follow what they are told by foxholes. :-)

[BurtonDesque]

03:27 AM on 10/10/2011

As usual, "Religion poisons everything".

[season555]

08:54 PM on 10/09/2011

Israelis destroy Christian Churches too, why aren't the political leaders who drop Jesus's name every 2 seconds quite about it.

Not only the politicians, but also the so called religious leaders and many of the people who follow the Christian faith, after all Palestine is where Jesus lived. Is their faith not strong enough??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlT3ARuUSGc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLnLtmQa4ug

Can you imagine it something even close to it happened in Mecca or Madinah? You would have every Muslim man, woman and child run to Arabia to protect the mosques.

[Seawolf56]

05:59 PM on 10/09/2011

does that help?

[austinreid]

07:00 PM on 10/09/2011

Yes

[The Knocker]

05:59 PM on 10/09/2011

The burning of the Tuba mosque in the Galilee should not come as a surprise to anyone. The criminal and terror acts of burning mosques and desecratin­g Muslim sites have become an accepted norm under Israel’s rule. There is no fear from committing such attacks, since law enforcemen­t officials have done nothing to prosecute the perpetrato­rs.

Some quick research I did found that attacks on Muslim sites have peaked since 2009. Since then, there have been numerous attempts and successful attacks on mosques and Muslim cemeteries­. On September 5, a mosque in Qasra, a village south of Nablus was burnt. Earlier in April, a mosque in Huwara, also outside Nablus was burnt . In June, A mosque in el-Mughaye­r, a village outside Ramallah, was torched. Other mosques were burnt in the south as well. Beit Fajjar mosque, outside Bethlehem was also torched and holy books were desecrated and burnt. No one was indicted for any of these attacks."

Aziz Abu Sarah.
http://972mag.com/mosque-attacks-on-the-rise-since-2009-but-no-indictments/24620/

[austinreid]

07:04 PM on 10/09/2011

The attacks on Muslim and Christian Arab religious sights are horrible but it is not a one-sided problem.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-killed-three-wounded-in-shooting-at-west-bank-holy-site-1.357852
http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t836872/

[Semprini]

10:22 AM on 10/10/2011

I don't think you want to link to Stormfront. That is a "white pride" site.

[scottishandproud]

04:56 AM on 10/10/2011

and how do u described the murder of children by Palestinians that these are often in retaliation for?

rather a temple burned than a child murdered.

[gemini68]

04:13 PM on 10/11/2011

How would you describe the murder of children by Israelis ? A UN report that was release earlier this year stated that over 1,300 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli soldiers and bombings.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178789.html

It goes both ways.

[smastro1]

05:46 PM on 10/09/2011

Hey people its not like this is the first place of worship that has ever been destroyed. It is said that at the end of times will happen after solomons temple is rebuilt.If you remember the story Israel was taken over by Muslims and the temple was destroyed and the Dome of the Rock now sits there,So for this to happen there will be another war where the Dome of the Rock will be destroyed and the Jewish people will rebuild their temple and so on.

[Yasser Yousufi]

05:51 PM on 10/09/2011

Hmmm.......maybe thats why Israelis are digging under Al-Quds making its foundations weaker. No wonder they want to destroy it.

[austinreid]

07:10 PM on 10/09/2011

Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Israel just rebuild the walls and foundations around the Dome of the Rock?

[san459man]

06:36 PM on 10/09/2011

Sorry, the 2nd Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans during the great Jewish revolt. The Muslim religion did not arise for hundreds of years after this. And btw, the 2nd temple was built by Herod the Great; Solomon's temple had been destroyed much earlier by an earlier conquest of Israel.