RCA Denounces Death Threats Against Reform Leaders

The Rabbinical Council of America, the leading organization of Orthodox rabbis in North America, is outraged at the hateful graffiti and threats of death and violence against Reform leaders discovered today at the Reform synagogue in Raanana, Israel. These threats and actions are appalling and a violation of Jewish law and values.

Rabbi Shalom Baum, President of the RCA, stated, “I am sickened by even the thought of one Jew threatening the life of another. We express our differences with respect and dignity.”

Rabbi Elazar Muskin, Vice President of the RCA, said, “These threats do not in any way represent the vast majority of Orthodox Jews who believe and live the dictum that the ways of the Torah ‘are the ways of pleasantness and all her paths peaceful.’ We commend the authorities in Israel who have committed to investigate these actions and to pursue the perpetrators to the full extent of the law.”