Rabbi Rosen
Darfur refugees in Israel
Photo: Herzl Yosef
Aid arrives in Gaza
Photo: IDF's Spokesperson Unit
Rabbi Rosen: Don’t aid Darfur refugees, Gazans
Head of Zomet institute says Israel has no moral obligation to aid Sudanese in Israel or abroad; slams assistance to ‘Israel’s bitter enemies’ in Gaza
Israel must not absorb refugees from Sudan into the country, or assist them in any way abroad, Rabbi Israel Rosen, head of the Zomet Institute and one of the most prominent rabbis of religious Zionism,
In an article set to be published in a synagogue pamphlet this weekend, Rabbi Rosen also criticizes extending basic humanitarian aid to the hungry residents of the Gaza Strip, claiming that “this will serve as a biological weapon that will encourage internal resistance.” Rosen told Ynet that there was no moral obligation “in the name of the prophets” to send aid, or halachic rulings on which to base such assistance.
insists.
Against Refugees
Kiryat Arba rabbi Dov Lior rules Israel must not accept Sudanese refugees, because 'tomorrow they might join our enemies'
The rabbi states that Israel should only allow the Darfur refugees passage through the country, and give them minimal assistance during their stay here.
“The problem is very difficult due to the risk of a ‘slippery slope.’ Where will this business end and how big will it get? Can we bear the burden of lending help while our own poor are in desperate need of medicine? Furthermore, there is a security risk in the infiltration of hostile elements,” the rabbi writes.
Rosen unequivocally opposes absorbing the refugees in Israel, even temporarily, or assisting them on the other side of the border. “The UN should take care of them, this is what it was created for,” he writes.
Civilians also guilty
Referring to the question of sending aid to Gaza, the rabbi says, “I see no moral obligation, ‘in the name of the prophets’ to send to any neighboring country, and certainly not our bitter enemies, flour, sugar, oil and milk, and not even fuel and electricity.”Rosen slams the possibility of supplying fuel to the Qassam launchers, and says that the uninvolved civilians should also be withheld assistance, because of their failure to protest against the rocket attacks. “This is no less moral than psychological warfare aimed at the same objective,” he concludes.
