Thursday, December 9, 2010

Israeli rabbis' racist decree strikes at the soul of Judaism


Telling Jews not to rent houses to Arabs is religious fascism. So far, the state has failed to intervene

Mya Guarnieri
(Mya Guarnieri is a Tel Aviv-based journalist and writer.)

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 December 2010

"More than 50 of Israel's leading rabbis have issued a religious decree forbidding Jews from renting or selling homes or land to non-Jews – namely, Arabs, migrant workers and African refugees. The letter was signed by rabbis across the country (many of whom are employed by the state as municipal religious leaders) and urged Jews to first warn and then "ostracise" fellow Jews who disobey the edict.

It's just the latest wave in a rising tide of religious fascism.....

Israel is handing the reins over to religious fascists – men who say Jews shouldn't rent to Arabs, migrant workers, or African refugees; settlers who build illegally and imperil any hope for peace and Palestinian sovereignty.

It's an ominous sign for the future. What's next? Will they find a way to claim that those of us who speak out, people like me, are no longer Jews? Will we then be subject to religious decrees that ban employers from hiring us and demand that landlords evict us? "

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