Tel-Chai Nation

A Haredi Knesset member from the UTJ party made a pointless and downright ludicrous analogy between Women of the Wall and whomever the arsonists were at the Galilee church:

Ultra-Orthodox MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) on Thursday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn the Women of the Wall prayer service, asserting the Jewish worshipers are “no less dangerous” than the arsonists who torched a church in northern Israel earlier that day.

The Haredi lawmaker referred to the nondenominational prayer group’s use of Torah scrolls in its monthly service at the Western Wall as a “hate crime” against the ultra-Orthodox community.

“The rioters who harmed the Western Wall, holy to the Jews, are no less dangerous than the rioters who damaged the Christian site on the Sea of Galilee — not to draw a comparison,” Eichler said, according to the Kikar Hashabat news website.

Ah, now isn't that telling: he's not worried about what non-Haredis think. He only considers it a crime against Haredis! But IMO, they've been more than delighted to draw attention to both the WotW and themselves, giving the former what it wants while the latter makes themselves look worse than need be.

The Women of the Wall held their monthly service on Thursday, smuggling a Torah scroll into the women’s section for the third month in a row.

And if the Haredis were smart, they wouldn't make such a huge fuss. It only makes them look dictatorial.

“The rioters in both places are contemptible and are liable to cause hate crimes in Israel and in the world. All those who condemn, and rightfully so, hate crimes against Christians and understand that it may lead to bloodshed, must condemn the hate crime against the Jewish Haredim. Against the holy Torah scrolls at the Western Wall,” he stated.

So again, only Haredis count, not other Jewish people? And since when did the WotW actually commit arson against Torah scrolls? There are some possible fakeries they pulled, I admit, but to date, there's been no evidence they actually committed violent crimes. Eichler is wallowing in professional victimology just as much as Anat Hoffman, if not more so.

The criticism came hours after Netanyahu spoke out against another Haredi lawmaker, Religious Affairs Minister David Azoulay, over comments in which he reportedly called Reform Jews “a disaster for the people of Israel,” while speaking out against Women of the Wall.

Netanyahu said he strongly disagreed with the statement.

“As he has done in the past, the prime minister will ensure that Israel remains a place where all Jews can feel at home,” a statement from his office wrote.

What's interesting about Azoulay's comments is that he doesn't seem to oppose Reform Judaism because of its own hostility to Israel that may still be around. It's only because he dislikes the customs that he's against them. He owes an apology for furthering rifts and doing nothing to persuade Reformers to fix any mistakes they make on their part.

Labels: Christianity, haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset