Senior Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Called For Protests At Private Muslim-Jewish Marriage Celebration
"Intermarriage in Israel is simply a catastrophe. There is no other word for it but terrible assimilation. It is very painful. We feel the pain of intermarriage outside of Israel, in the Diaspora. This phenomenon inflicts a holocaust upon our nation. So when it happens in the Land of Israel, among us, will we not be pained? Will we not protest this?…TOne must understand, even Jews who call themselves secular would not agree that their son or daughter marry a Muslim."
Above: Rabbi Haim Druckman
Updated at 5:09 pm CDT
Most Senior Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Called For Protests Outside Private Arab-Jewish Wedding
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Rabbi Haim Druckman, the most senior of all the Zionist Orthodox rabbis in Israel, called for mass protest against the wedding of an Israeli Arab Muslim man and a Jew who converted to Islam to marry him, echoing the call made last week by the right-wing racist neo-Kahanist Lehava organization.
Druckman is an Israel Prize laureate who operates at the most senior levels of Israeli political and religious society. But he is also a questionable figure who has openly protected and enabled rabbinic child sex abusers.
"Intermarriage in Israel is simply a catastrophe. There is no other word for it but terrible assimilation. It is very painful. We feel the pain of intermarriage outside of Israel, in the Diaspora. This phenomenon inflicts a holocaust upon our nation. So when it happens in the Land of Israel, among us, will we not be pained? Will we not protest this?” Druckman told the right-wing Zionist Orthodox news website Aruts Sheva today.
Druckman went on to attack a statement by the secular health minister, Yael Geman of the Yesh Atid Party, who said the intermarriage was “another step in the transformation of Israeli society into a more tolerant and pluralistic one.”
"It is no less painful to hear a minister in the Israeli government talking like that. The pain is multiplied several times. It turns out that in the Israeli government, too, there are those who are not aware of the uniqueness of the Jewish people, and are not aware of the Nation of Israel's special identity. This is a most illegitimate phenomenon. One must understand, even Jews who call themselves secular would not agree that their son or daughter marry a Muslim,” Druckman said.
Druckman reportedly stressed that there must be no violence at tonight’s protest outside the wedding hall in Rishon L’Tzion.
“It is important to stress that despite the great pain, no violence of any kind may be used. Not physical violence and not the issuing of threats,” he said.
However, the couple – which already married in a Muslim ceremony (tonight’s gathering is a celebration of that marriage, not a wedding ceremony) – their families and wedding hall owners and managers have already received death threats after the right-wing racist neo-Kahanist Lehava publicized their celebration and their contact information on social media.
In response, police mandated that the couple hire 33 private security guards or they would have banned the celebration but at first did not promise to protect the couple or the celebration and refused to ban the protest – even though police regularly ban protests that risk public safety and order.
For example, for years, police banned Women of the Wall from praying in women’s section at the Kotel (Western Wall), not because WoW is violent, but because haredim riot against WoW. A Jerusalem Court recently ruled that police behavior against WoW to be illegal, but after a short break when police followed the court ruling, it went back to banning Wow from direct Kotel access anyway. Similarly, left-wing anti-war demonstrations are sometimes banned on the grounds that they cause right-wing violence and, to prevent that threat to public safety, police limit the legal free speech of the weaker party.
And that appears to be what police tried to do here when it forced the couple to hire 33 private security guards or cancel the celebration. The couple contested this in court and asked the court to ban Lehava’s demonstration.
The court refused, even though the celebration is small private event. Instead, it chose instead to mandate that police keep Lehava and other demonstrators at least 200 meters (656 feet) from the wedding hall at all times but did not void the police demand for private security.
Lehava also called for members and supporters to flood the wedding hall and bring with them megaphones and placards. Lehava’s head, Bentzion “Bentzi” Gupstein, called the groom an “enemy” (in actuality, he’s an Israeli citizen who lives in Jaffa) and attacked the bride for marrying the “enemy” during a time of war.
Those facts are well publicized in Israel, and Druckman surely knows what has already been done to terrorize the couple and their supporters. Nonetheless, he encouraged Jews to come out and support Lehava’s demonstration.
Hundreds of right-wing protesters showed up at the wedding hall tonight in an attempt to disrupt the festivities. Four of them were arrested for violating the court order when they apparently tried to rush toward the building.
A smaller but vocal counter protest made up of supporters of freedom of religion and of the couple brought flowers and baloons.
Hundreds of police officers stood between the two groups to prevent violence.
Meanwhile, hundreds of invited guests came and celebrated inside without incident.
Related Posts:
Jewish-Arab Intermarriage Prompts Right-Wing Protest, Threats.
This man is a thoroughgoing pig. Israel Prize or no, a complete piece of shit.
Posted by: MarkfromShortHills | August 17, 2014 at 05:55 PM
Good for everybody.
They had their party and the protesters protested. Democracy In action.
Intermarriages a scourge in the United States and there's absolutely no reason why rabbis and others should be against it in Israel. In fact in Israel it takes on even a greater significance. But, people would have to understand the real situation on the ground.
Unfortunately most of the readers of this blog don't have the necessary sophistication.
Posted by: jake | August 17, 2014 at 07:58 PM
Aside from the other despicable aspects of these protests, anyone who compares intermarriage to the holocaust is sick in the head.
Posted by: SimoneF | August 17, 2014 at 09:46 PM
Haredim with their hive mentality cannot comprehend that humans have free will which they can exercise wheher the bearded ones like it or not. This sort of thing is to be expected in Israelistan.
Posted by: S M L | August 17, 2014 at 10:46 PM
SML: Druckman is not Haredi.
Posted by: SimoneF | August 18, 2014 at 06:02 PM