Marzel. Assimilation bad
Photo: Dudi Vaknin
Marzel to beauty queen: Don't marry a goy
United Jewish Front leader begs local beauty queen Linor Aberjil not to marry her boyfriend, non-Jewish NBA player Sarunas Jasikevicius, and 'divorce the Jewish people'
Chairman of the United Jewish Front party, Baruch Marzel, called on Israeli model and former Miss Universe Linor Aberjil Thursday to turn down a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, non-Jewish Lithuanian NBA player Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Aberjil, and Jasikevicius, who plays for the Indiana Pacers, have announced on Sunday they are getting married.
Aberjil and Sharas. Reason for concern? (Photo: Rafi Daluya)
Jasikevicius, who basketball fans in Israel refer to in the nickname Sharas, became a local celebrity during his two years as a player for the country's leading basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He and Aberjil began dating in the last year, just before Sharas moved to the United States to play for the Pacers.
While the recent marriage proposal stirred excitement in Israel, some are apparently opposed to the notion of the not purely-Jewish covenant.
"I was pained to hear you intend to marry basketball player Jasikevicius," Marzel wrote in a letter to Aberjil. "I have nothing against Sharas, and he may well be a wonderful, charming man, but as long as he has not converted, you must not make such a move."
Marzel wrote Aberjil that if she weds Jasikevicius she would be divorcing the people of Israel as well as her family.
In the letter, Marzel begged Aberjil to think of her grandparents, Jewish tradition and the Israeli Torah. "The greatest danger to our people is assimilation! I urge you in the last minute not to make this move," he wrote.
According to Marzel, his experience as a person who for years has dealt with Jewish women who married "goyim" taught him children of mix-marriage couples encounter identity problems.
"I advise you to think, ask around and consult other people," Marzel wrote.
Marzel concluded his letter with a sincere offer to lend the beauty queen any help she may need:
"If you wish to be informed of the dangers associated with marrying gentiles, I am leaving you my cell phone number. Please call me any time and I shall help you."
