RCA Condemns Calls for Revenge

The Rabbinical Council of America expresses its outrage over recent reports of the dancing, singing and celebration of the murder of Ali Dawabshe in the Duma arson and condemns the actions of these radical youth in the harshest terms. Rabbi Shalom Baum, president of the RCA, stated, “The vigilante and lawless calls for revenge and dancing with machine guns and knives are anathema to Jewish morality and religious standards.”

The RCA applauds the quick and decisive statements of Israeli religious and political leaders of the event. It echoes Chief Rabbi David Lau’s statement that “acts like these are not the way of Judaism. This is a rejection and repudiation of the values of the Jewish people, the Torah and the uniqueness of the Jewish people. ” It applauds the unequivocal statement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said that the “shocking pictures [of the celebration]” show “the real face of a group that poses danger to Israeli society and security.”

Rabbi Elazar Muskin, first vice president of the RCA, said, “While extremely concerned about the issues of safety and security of innocent Israeli citizens, the RCA reaffirms that glorifying violence in any way is against the Torah’s ways of pleasantness.”

The RCA calls upon the Israeli government to take whatever measures necessary to protect the safety of all of its innocent citizens, and calls upon Israeli religious and educational leaders to nurture values in Israeli society that hold these despicable acts to be unacceptable and intolerable.