The sad thing is , there are people out there who seem to have lost the basic human ability to distiguish between wrong and right and the ability to think for themselves that actually belive what this Lunatic has to say.

2.5million ethnic poles were slaughtered in the camps along with jews. the holocaust didnt just happen to jewish people. you should remember that every time you talk as if the sole right to discuss it belongs with you.

How can such sound halachic trith be denied? The Rabbi has a valid point.

there is a lot to do here to promote life & Hachem a billion times better, we must prevent another potential tragedy by being together the jewish people and not revisit our past or if doing so with the proper knowledge and not with a hankerchief, nb, two of my grand parents died at Auschwicz

Where did you find any such ability ever? To distinguish wrong from right you need a moral code, since without a moral code humanbeings will act immoral. Without a moral code we would not even know what right and wrong is. Try to learn a few things from this Rabbi, you will be amazed how very well he distinguishes right from wrong. Not ginving my money to Poland is a good thing, or did you forget that in the 60's the jews were again kicked out of Poland?

What a nut. With one sentence he can destroy 20 years of hard work of improving Jewish-Polish relations. Rabbi - go read history books.

We had enought of your comments, you are only stiring up things and not helping anyone, you seem to forget all the millions of non-jews massacred by the nazis. give us a break !!!..keep quiet for a while !!!!!!

and that would be a major transgression.

I do not know how is that possible, that people in Israel, being in such vulnerable situation on the world's politics scene let those medieval freaks speak out. How is it possible that rabbi is so judgmental of silly polish minority, while it was Germans, Italians, Spanish ... during all this centuries that killed Jews. How is it possible that thousand of Poles got rightous among nations medals? 3,5 million of Jews lived in Poland before the WW2. Do you think they did so, because Poles were running after them with torches?? With those kind of numbers is much easier to find exaples of collabarators. But this is not the case with all of us, and we are fed up with low generalising.

With such a mentality we schould liquidate study, universities, Hi-tech industry and everything progressive. We should build only Yeshivas and Kolels and introduce Halakha instead of the law. At the end cut all ties with the outside world including commerce and tourism. But who will finance such people how R. Aviner? Mayby we should liquidate the Jewish State also? Thus don't worry, G-d will help US!

Does anybody take this guy seriously any more?

Why stop at the Poles? Why not ban all German, Polish and Austrian made products? But then does that mean Israeli companies should stop selling to Germany, Poland, Austria and other countries who murdered Jews who could have done more to protect them, but didn’t? Our children need to go to Poland - they need to go for the memory of the 6 million that died and never got to see their homeland. As traumatic as it is for our children, they need to go and see what happened, they need to go and form an opinion, their OWN opinion and not yours!!! My son traveled there recently with the IDF and with them was a Holocaust survivor. My son said he cried tears of joy to see Israeli soldiers walking where there was so much death. If that isn't a mitzvah then I don't know what is. I’m sick and tired of you and all that are like you preaching your daily dose of caustic garbage. It’s GOD that allowed it to happen in the first place, you stupid old man!!

Can I have some of whatever you are high on? Is it kosher?

You too nim can crawl back in your cave.

It is incredible how Rav Aviner can twist things for the sake of his own personal interpretation of Halacha. The most DISGUSTING and FALSE thing he could say is that after six months emotional impact will vanish. I visited Dachauin 2005, and even not being jewish, the impression left in my soul has been undeletable. ZKOR!

Thank you so much for proving my point ! And as for learning from this so called Rabbi - LOL , thanks but i`l pass on that one as i really think there is enough hatred, racism and intollerence towrade our fellow human beings in this world with joining on that band wagon.

As everyone knows, the halacha forbids Jews to leave the shtetel until moshiach! Just as Jews are forbidden to interact with Christians, Moslems, and Atheists due to persecutions throughout history, Jews also cannot interact with Israelis by this halacha because they stood by idly complicit when the Jews were expelled from Gaza, parts of Shomron and most of Hebron. Jews: Put back on your blinders at once, isolate yourselves to the yiddish ghetto, and stop being part of the world because by doing so you are stopping moshiach from coming! idiot...

I have Jewish roots and live in Poland for all my life. Nobody assaulted me for that, many friends - Polish friends - know of my ancestry, and fully respect me! The main circulation newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza was for years openly pro-israeli. There are lots of efforts to improve relations between countries. And such a guy is calling 40 millions of inhabitants of some country 'nazi collaborators'?!That Poles allegedly had anything to say where Nazis built their death camps? This racist demagogue should know,that Poles were second in the queue for the Endloesung. Bring him to the court,please ...

that you are against racism, hatred and intollerance? Is that why you demand the lunatic rabbi should crawl back into his cave? I think you have proven my point. you are a moral giant!!!

One does not have to go to these places to be moved by the atrocities which took place there, although for some it is important and necessary. Here he is half right. However, he is wrong in identifying contemporary Poles with their parents and grandparents. Actually, it would be a far better educational experience to visit Germany to see the environment where the Holocaust was born and bred, albeit the masses in Germany today have done a remarkable attempt at repentence. If Poland supplied the raw emotional anti-Semitism which facilitated enthusiastic cooperation with the Nazis, it was in Germany where the horror all began and developed. To properly understand the Holocaust, you have to understand the Germans.

...and when you are at it, why not also visit your friends in Saudi and Pakistan too? Even Dutch hoteliers prove they do not have a backbone and quickly fold after receiving a few emails. What don’t you understand about these people being only fair-weather friends without strong principles? But what is more shocking is how Jews can so flippantly disrespect a Rabbi, especially in public. You tell me that both Temples were destroyed because of the disunity of the Jewish people, yet instead of banding together, you tear each other down. My friends, if you don’t respect each other, how can I and other Goyim do so? Until you realize that there is a place for every Jew in Israel, no matter how religious or secular he/she is, and you agree to band together as one family, respecting each other as brothers, you cannot expect to bring about the hoped-for redemption. You cannot trust anybody, but yourselves.

you should be whipped for cursing the Rabbi shame on you. He is much older and much wiser his words should be heeded not mocked.oh and have you all forgotten the poles who started the lie about the matza made with the polish childs blood?Well maybe you should reconsider the Rabbis words and listen once in a while.The poles are anti semitic always have been and always will be so dont be such liberal cry babys and think you know so much when in fact you know nothing at all it seems.oh in facts dont the poles still have some sort of annual gathering for this child who was supposedly killed to make this matza?you see the poles are liars and very bad its a shame the Moghols didnt drive them into the baltic sea long ago. anyway think about it all and tell me the Rabbi and myself are wrong in our thinkings.LONG LIFE to you Great Rabbi keep teaching this people and maybe one day they will learn.-Khoda Hafiz

...Polish people have some other sources of income than Auschwitz itself. Shame on you Mr. Aviner

Because if he hasn't he is a hypocrite. Further did this Rabbi forget that Halacha is open to discussion and interpretation? Really go back and study more

How about the poles,who risked their lives,and paid with their lives,saving Jews ? This so called Rabbai is a mad man and should not be given a platform,for his idiotic ideas.I am surprised at ynet,giving him a stage.

I would like to see the proof of "profits" that Poles receive from visitors to concentration camps. Because this article for example, shows that Poland is paying 94% of what is needed to preserve the sites and money from visitors do not cover the costs. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7800397.stm As for the rest, I'll pass. I wonder whether the Rabbi knows how many ethnic Poles died in those very camps and what his theory is regarding why other Poles "allowed" this to happen.

after the holocaust Jews of Poland suffered mass pogroms and nightly murders. This is a historical point that his critics do not seem to be aware of. Now while I do not agree with him on the issue of not visiting the death camps, I do agree with him about limiting how much money we spend there. As for the criticism against R'Aviner I suggest you people take a deep breath. He is right to point out that there are books and testimonies, documentaries, and so on which are much more valuable. And besides there is something sick about turning a visit to the death camps into a Haj and Rabbis graves into a Mecca (Nachman of Uman is the best example.) And R"Aviner should also condemn going to Uman.

None of it could have occurred without the express complicity of the indigenous populations, in this case, the Polish gentiles. See Jan Gross' work entitled "Neighbours" for an alarming perspective of events which actually happened. You readers don't have to agree with the rabbi but better arguments about why we should visit death camps could have been offered.