Chief rabbi speaks out against Right-led incitement

Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger on Monday condemned right-wing activists who threatened the life of Central Command Chief Gadi Shamni. In a conversation with Ynet Metzger said that "death threats cross the red line" and added that, "Unfortunately, past experience has taught us that incitement comes with a heavy price and that words can lead to murder."

Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan recently ordered a criminal investigation against rightists who sent threatening letters to Shamni in which they wrote: "We will get to you and show your children that their father is the devil… You are a true anti-Semite and a Jew hater."

The chief rabbi stressed that "there is no halachic, moral or religious permission to use violence, including verbal violence." Metzger said that he did not wish to express an opinion about the illegal outposts, but that "even if the objective is protecting the Land – this is a mitzvah that involves an offence."

He called on all rabbis and public leaders "to prevent things from getting out of hand at any cost," warning that the consequences could be "catastrophic."

The chief rabbi's statements follow a recent initiative by West Bank rabbis protesting what they called "the price tag policy" adopted by a handful of extreme right-wing activist to hurt Palestinian civilians in response to the government's attempt to evacuate outposts.

Rabbi Menachem Furman of the settlement of Tekoa referred to the activists last week as "hooligans" and "punks," and former MK Hanan Porat claimed that "these severe acts legitimize those who wish to undermine the outpost project."