Rabbi Kadouri says Israel needs some tranquility
צילום: איי אף פי
Distinguished rabbi backs pulllout
Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri surprisingly expresses support for PM’s pullout plan; his son says rabbi’s position is that ‘Gaza is not part of Israel’
Distinguished kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri surprisingly expressed his support Wednesday for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan.
“If they (the Palestinians) would be given something small and there will be peace with them, it is permissible to leave Gush Katif,” he told Jewish orthodox newspaper "For the Family."
“Sharon can be trusted. It is allowed to give up areas in the Gaza region. There is no faith in the Arabs, but we must have some tranquility.”
The rabbi also proposed Torah studies as the only way to “defeat the Arabs.”
Rabbi Kadouri has been frequently labeled as a disengagement opposer, and only a few days before a crucial Likud Party decision on the matter he expressed his staunch opposition to the planned pullout.
“I pray and bless all those who would vote against the dangerous plan, which contradicts the holy Torah and endangers the safety of all the holy land’s inhabitants,” he said in a letter at the time.
Kadouri’s son, David Kadouri, said that in the past his father had expressed opposition to the "uprooting of Jews from their homes.”
However, he added that the “Rabbi Kadouri’s position is that Gaza is not a part of Israel, and it belongs to the Palestinians, according to the Torah as well."
- Attila Somfalvi also contributed to this article
