Saying goodbye at Sa-Nur synagogue
Photo: AFP
Leaflet: Pray for Gaza synagogues
Leaflets handed out in synagogues across country call on worshippers to pray in a bid to avert razing of synagogues in Gaza Strip, northern West Bank. High Court of Justice set to rule on matter Sunday
As High Court judges prepare to discuss Sunday the question of synagogue demolition in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, worshippers at synagogues across the country received leaflets urging them to pray in a bid to avert the razing.
Recently, rabbis in Israel and aboard have joined the battle against the intention to raze synagogues in evacuated settlements. The leaflets handed out at synagogues across the nation noted that "dozens of synagogues taken care of for many years…where thousands of Jews prayed" still remain in the evacuated communities.
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According to the leaflets, "the government plans to raze all the synagogues to the ground…so that no hint is left of the Torah, prayer, and Jewish life in those areas."
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The leaflets added that leading rabbis have unanimously declared that the ban on razing synagogues is a serious one, and noted that if the demolitions go ahead they could have severe implications and lead to the razing of many synagogues across the world.
The leaflets also slam the government for failing to heed the warnings and going ahead with the plan to demolish the synagogues "using bulldozers and explosives, something that has never been seen in the history of (people of) Israel."
"Therefore, we call on all Jewish communities, in Israel and abroad…to engage in prayer" in an effort to cancel the decision to raze the synagogues, the leaflets say.
