Chief rabbi calls on education system to devote month of Elul to conversations on human dignity, sanctity of life. 'We thought the Israeli society was immune to such acts of murder, but reality has proved us wrong,' he says
Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger issued an appeal to the education system on Monday, following a series of shocking murder cases in Israel. "Unfortunately," he said, "we have recently been experiencing a growing wave of violence and acts of murder."
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Rabbi Metzger believes that further resources must be invested in the education of Israel's youths, and he asks Israel's teachers, "who are convening these days to prepare for the next school year, to make a decision to dedicate the month of Elul (the month of penitential prayers) in schools to the subjects human dignity, the sanctity of life, and discussions praising tolerance and condemning violence."
The rabbi noted that "we thought the Israeli society was immune to acts of murder and violence like the ones which took place in the past few years and that 'all Israel are friends,' but reality has proved us wrong."
He added that he plans to visit schools during the months of Elul and discuss this matter with the students himself.
The rabbi spoke following the recent discovery
of a human skeleton in the Alexander Stream and of a woman's body in a dust bin in Ramat Gan. Another shocking incident was the lynch
performed Friday night on 59-year-old Leonard (Arik) Karp of Tel Aviv as he was sitting on a bench in the Tel Baruch Beach with his wife and daughter.
The recent murder cases join a series of unsolved incidents, including a shooting attack
on a gay and lesbian youth club in Tel Aviv, which left two people killed, and the murder
of teenager Yiftah Mor-Yosef during an attempt to assassinate a criminal in Ramla.
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