Prof Weiss
Photo: Eli Mandelbaum
Self-appointed Torah court takes on China
Reestablished Sanhedrin, which includes Prof Hillel Weiss as one of its members, to deliberate persecution of Falun Gong Movement by Chinese regime
Professor Hillel Weiss, who stirred heated controversy two weeks ago when he cursed an IDF officer
during the evacuation of settlers in Hebron, has now found himself a new target – the Chinese government.
Initiative
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Weiss is one of the 11 judges of the reestablished Sanhedrin, a body that aims to emulate the ancient Jewish supreme court. The new Sanhedrin recently appointed itself as an international Torah court and has started debating a complaint filed by the Falun Gong Movement against the Chinese government.
The complaint, brought forth by the group's activists in Israel, claims that Falun Gong members in China are being persecuted, sent to detention camps, murdered and their body organs harvested and sold.
"We heard the detailed account of a Falun Gong member and looked at the vast material submitted to us on the subject," said Rabbi Dov Stein, the Sanhedrin's secretary. "We now need to verify this information," he added.
According to Stein, representatives of the Chinese embassy in Israel said that the hearing might harm the relations between Israel and China.
Prof Weiss, on his part, said, "If Armenian representatives would have approached me and complained about the Turks I would support opening a Sanhedrin trial against the Turks."
"Every regime needs to know that if it hurts another ethnic group it is committing a crime," he added.
