Arab group: Investigate rabbi who called for revenge against Arabs
Mossawa Center urges attorney general to launch probe against Safed's rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who called on state to take revenge for terror attack at Mercaz Harav yeshiva
An Arab group urged Attorney General Menachem Mazuz Wednesday to launch an investigation against Safed's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who called to take revenge against Arabs following the terror attack at Mercaz Harav yeshiva.
In an article recently published in the Our Land of Israel pamphlet, Eliyahu wrote that the State of Israel has forgotten the meaning of deterrence. "Revenge, revenge, revenge, we must not forget, we must execute terrible vengeance for the terror attack at Mercaz Harav yeshiva.
"I'm not talking about private individuals, I'm talking about the state, it must cause them pain until they cry out for it to stop…" he added.
The rabbi also wrote, "I can already hear all those bleeding hearts… calling me a barbarian, immoral, an inciting rabbi… pay no attention to them, if it were up to them, Israel would cease to exist in 30 years."
'Attorney general applies law selectively'
The Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel called for an investigation against the rabbi, saying that it was not the first time he incites against Arabs.
"The attorney general must be held accountable for the fact that a rabbi in Israel repeatedly violates the law against racist slurs, despite promises he made in the past not to do so," said Mossawa's Director Jafar Farah.
"The attorney general applies the laws against racism and incitement in a selective manner," he added, claiming that Mazuz was more inclined to prosecute Arabs than Jews for controversial comments.
"Calls to torture and take revenge against Arabs constitute incitement for racism and violence. I would expect the judicial system to act in order to uproot these phenomena, which only prompt more violence," Farah concluded.
