Thanks to reader Gene Schulman for this unintentionally hilarious story from settler news, Arutz Sheva:
A delegation of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) met with U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mr. James Cunningham, today and called for a reassessment of the entire U.S. policy vis-à-vis the Israelis and Palestinians. The rabbis told Ambassador Cunningham that it was time to try the Biblical approach to the dispute over the Land of Israel.”The past 17 years have proven without a shadow of a doubt that every square inch ceded by Israel to the Palestinians was transformed into a platform of hatred and terrorism,” RCP Director Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin told the ambassador. “In other words, the ‘land for peace’ formula in the Israel-Palestinian context, besides being a formula that goes against the Divine will, is ineffective, obsolete, and an exercise in futility. Most of all it is a dangerous policy that only leads to bloodshed and instability in the region and harms vital American interests in the region as well,” Lewin said.
What in God’s name (literally) was the U.S. ambassador doing meeting with these Neanderthals? My heart half went out to him for the suffering he must’ve undergone merely spending 20 minutes in a room with them.
Apparently these Jewish gentlemen must’ve thought that Ambassador Cunningham paid especially close attention to Israeli halachic discourse, which is what explains this oddity:
Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, Chairman of the RCP…presented the ambassador with the Halachic (Jewish legal) ruling signed by over 350 prominent rabbis in Israel that it is forbidden to give up even one inch of territory controlled by Israel today because it will bring bloodshed and instability to the region.
I’ll bet Cunningham turned right around and messengered that precious document to the White House where it will be scrutinized for any messages from the Divine which may be augured therefrom. Really, who do these bozos think they are? Because 350 racist Orthodox rabbis can be found who are willing to spill the last drop of Jewish blood to defend the indefensible–that means that America’s president has to hop to it and do God’s will or…what? Fry?
After you read this passage, I’m sure you’ll be convinced too that the U.S. diplomat was as moved as the report indicates:
The ambassador was visibly moved by Rabbi Sholom Gold…who described the suffering that the Jewish People have endured ever since the implementation of the Oslo Accords…”It’s all a play of words, there is no peace process,” he said. “From the day that we started conceding and withdrawing we did not have one day of rest and peace. Why should our enemies want to make peace with us when they see that with terrorism they get what they want? Even the U.S., Israel’s supposedly best friend, sides with them in demanding a freeze and evacuation of settlements. Is the triumph of Arab terror one of American interests?” Gold asked.
“Why, yes certainly,” the ambassador must’ve replied. “We’re in cahoots with those A-rabs against ya. Didn’t you know that?”
Poor Jim Cunningham. Read this and imagine what it must’ve been like for him to have to sit through this utter misery. And while I’m not a policy analyst, if I were Barack Obama I’d be signing Rabbi Gerlitzky up for a senior staff position in Washington:
Ambassador Cunningham told the rabbis that he does not see how the problem can be solved “without taking into consideration the Palestinians,” to which Rabbi Gold remarked: “Ever since we started taking the Palestinians into consideration the situation only worsened.”
The ambassador asked the rabbis, “So what is your solution to the problem?”
Rabbi Gerlitzky replied: “You must switch the entire approach to the situation. We all believe in the Holy Bible and up until now we tried every formula except for that which is delineated in the Bible. Let’s try it and who knows, Mr. Ambassador, maybe this is your defining moment, that G-d Almighty has placed you in this capacity in order to precipitate a new course which will bring a true peace to the entire region.”
What Biblical formula can he be referring to? Possibly God and the Jewish people wiping out Amalek? That would constitute a Biblical formula for dealing with the problem, wouldn’t it? And I’ll bet I’m not far off.
Oy vey, Richard. I’m laughing, but also deeply disturbed that 350 rabbis can converge on the US Ambassador to Israel and be seen so easily (and that there are 350 such Neanderthal rabbis). They want to implement the “Biblical approach,” but whose version of the Bible are they referring to? Are we waiting for the Second Coming, Armageddon, or what?
The Bible also talks at length about treating one’s neighbour with justice, especially the stranger in our midst. What about that “Biblical approach”?
The photo rather appropriately looks like the 2nd rabbi from the right is wearing a witches’ hat 😉
These idiot rabbis have forgotten to mention that although Jews are commanded to settle the land if possible there is no theological justification whatsoever for this idea that Jews must have full sovereignty over every inch of Palestine.
And how can they forget that following the one command of settling the land they are violating dozens and dozens of others that require Jews to treat non-Jews fairly, not to steal, not to covet a neighbor’s possessions, etc.
These basic commandments have been forgotten by most Zionists and these nutty rabbis.
I believe the Earth is flat — should I make an appointment with the US ambassador to my country?
Sad thing is, the Ambassador just might believe it too.
What’s especially sad about the interchange is that you can tell by what Cunningham said that he thought the rabbis were the equivalent of flat-earthers. But what could he do? Once he let ’em in the door he had to play along. But why did he even agree to see them??
I’m only being semi-facetious here, but maybe he was afraid he’d be called an anti-semite if he didn’t.
War on the synagogues and rabbis has become a moral imperative for conscientious Jews of the world. These houses of the un-holy are essentially terrorist madrassas, providing economic and ideological support for Israeli abominations like the Gaza massacre.
Pro-israel rabbis should be subject to the same laws against terrorist incitement that have sent numerous Arab imams to prison. The hypocrisy is astounding.
You don’t know jacks(&t about synagogues or rabbis. The thought that you are smugly declaring war on all synaoguges & rabbis for the sin & shame of a relative few is once again odious.
A madrassa is an Islamic school teaching the knowledge of the Holy Quran, and I hope you do not use such a word in a derogatory manner in the future.
A moral imperative? What is your code of morals based upon? The pro Israel rabbis base their morals on the Torah, and they are experts on what it teaches. They make a good point. Consider it instead of mocking it. The so called ”peace process” has resulted in much bloodshed. Stop meddling and let the people of Israel deal with their problems. They know them best and have to live with the consequences of their political decisions. You do not.
The people of Israel, their leaders at any rate, have proven they cannot “deal with their problems.” If they would deal with them and solve them and end the bloodshed I’d be more than happy to turn this blog to writing about other subjects. Until Israel proves that it can do that, I’m afraid you’ll have to endure my blogging for some time more.
Fair enough. Can you name a single US synagogue that has denounced the Gaza massacre?
On those rare occasions I humor family members by showing up at a synagogue, the rabbis are INVARIABLY and WITHOUT EXCEPTION praising Israel and taking up collections to help Israel continue its murder jamboree and painting the israelis as the innocent victims of aggression.
As I say, if you can point me to a single exception to this rule, I’d like to see it.
I wouldn’t waste my breath on you. There are many synagogues in which rabbis are critical of Israeli policies. But what would you care. You’re a anti-Jewish true believer. Disgusting.
Any synagogues on record supporting BDS against israel for crimes against humanity that have nauseated the entire world?
There are certainly MANY conscientious Jews who support BDS and come out unequivocally against Israel and its crimes, but the synagogues are entirely behind Israel. They do NOT represent what is admirable in Jewish society. Quite the opposite.
Richard Harth has been banned. Here’s the email he sent to me which I thought fit to quote without his permission (see my comment/email rules):
Harth’s comment betrays a complete ignorance about what religious institutions do. They are not political debating societies and do not take political positions. Any Jew who comes out “unequivocally against Israel” is a Jew who will find himself in agreement with about 100 (well, OK 1,000) other Jews in the world.
I fully concede there are lots of idiots among the pro-Israel right. But why do there have to be mirror image idiots on the left as well?
Richard,
I have mixed feelings about your reply to Richard H.
I recognise that you have a right to ban someone from your site if you wish to, after all its your own site.
Also I think its perfectly appropriate to print his words to you without his permission; he corresponds with you in the spirit of public debate, and also as a guest on your site is subject to your rules.
And I would say that by subjecting to you to abuse by calling you “idiotic” and a “fraud” he has voluntarily left the realm of respectful debate.
That said, some of his points were valid I think.
Can you actually name US synagogues – not individual Jews – who routinely criticise Israel’s policies in Gaza etc, even if they are even-handed and also do the same to Hamas etc? This is not a rhetorical technique, as a (non-Jew) Australian I’m interested to know.
But I think the statement that religious institutions “are not political debating societies and do not take political positions” is quite incredible. The Catholic Church isn’t full of political debate? Certain Mosques haven’t taken political decisions on the place of Islam in politics? The history of religious institutions has shown them to be *very* interested in political positions and where power lies in society… as was Moses, Jesus and (particularly) Mohammad. Why do you think religion is part of the problem with Israel/Palestine in the first place? When you wrote these lines you lost a lot of credibility in my eyes.
Yes, I can. Not many, but there are a few. But I’m not sure what this proves.
The conflict is not primarily religious, it is political. The introduction of religion into the mix is a red herring & distraction.