Jerusalem: Aggravating racial tensions,
wives of 27 prominent Rabbis have asked Jewish women from
their community to totally boycott Arab men, as part of their
controversial campaign to "save the daughters of Israel".
In a letter they asked Jewish women not to date Arabs,
work in places where they are employed or volunteer for
National Service with them.
Prominent among the signatories include Esther Lior, the wife of Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, Nitzhia Yosef, the
wife of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Jerusalem and daughter-in-law of
Shas party`s spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yose.
"Don`t date non-Jews, don`t work in places where there
are non-Jews, and don`t perform national service together with
non-Jews," the letter urges.
In some of the places where Jewish girls might work,
like supermarkets or hospitals, "there are no few Arab workers
who use a Hebrew name," it states adding, "Yusuf turns into
Yossi, Samir turns into Sami and Abed turns into Ami. They
seek your company, try to get you to like them, and give you
all the attention in the world."
But the attention won`t last, it warns saying, "as
soon as you`re in their hands, in their village, under their
control, everything changes. Your life will never be the same,
and the attention you sought will be replaced with curses,
physical abuse and humiliation."
"Your grandmothers never dreamt that one of their
descendent`s would, by one act, remove future generations from
the Jewish people. For you, for future generations, and so
that you will never have to endure the terrible suffering, we
appeal to you, begging, pleading, praying: Don`t date them,
don`t work where they work and don`t perform National Service
with them," the Rabbis wives say.
The head of Israel`s Reform Judaism movement harshly
criticised the letter describing it as xenophobia.
"Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of
racism and xenophobia," Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who two weeks ago
also vocally condemned a move by leading rabbis ruling to
forbid the rental of homes to Arabs, said.
PTI
