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Tragically, with increasing frequency, we have been witnessing crimes committed by individuals who profess the most extreme expressions of orthodox Judaism. Anti-Zionist Haredim and Ultra-Zionist residents of settlements have:
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burned mosques
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segregated women on public buses
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defaced public property
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refused to send Ashkenazi children to schools where they will mix with Sephardi children
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spit on and otherwise assaulted children, Christian clergy and women
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attacked IDF soldiers to prevent them from carrying out legitimate orders
Shamefully, they justify these crimes in the name of Judaism.
We reject that claim entirely and denounce the profanation of God and our tradition that they represent. They denigrate the very Jewish teachings that they claim to uphold.
We stand in solidarity with the victims of these crimes, believing that those who perpetrate them cross the line that separates righteousness from immorality. We condemn these acts as desecrations of human beings and of our sacred tradition. We call upon Israeli government and legal authorities to bring these criminals to justice.
We call upon the leaders of all branches and forms of Judaism to denounce these crimes for what they are: a denigration of the essential Jewish teaching that honors the divine image in which every human being is created.
"Love your neighbor as yourself…Love the stranger as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God."
(Leviticus 19:18, 34)
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Rabbi Menachem Creditor