No Prosecution for Burning Bibles?

Nazi Germany, 1933. Thousands of books are publically burned by fanatic Nazis in an attempt to wipe out threatening ideas. We all know what happened next. Perhaps, though, the world should not have been as stunned as it was when the gates of Auschwitz were finally opened in 1945 and the horrifying truth of the Holocaust was revealed. Eerily, German author Heinrich Heine had predicted more than 100 years before the Third Reich took over Germany that “where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.”

For many of us, it is difficult to forget the images of May, 2008, when fundamentalist yeshiva students publically burned hundreds of New Testaments in Or Yehuda, a small town near Tel Aviv. The town’s Deputy Mayor, Uzi Aharon, went on record at the time of the burning and called the yeshiva students’ actions “a commandment.” Other inflammatory comments made by Aharon included "purge the evil from among us" and "burn the evil from your midst." After the incident, Aharon swayed between publically defending his actions, and apologizing for them in a live interview broadcast on a Reshet Gimel with Yaron Dekel. Click here to read CNN’s coverage of the Bible-burning incident.

Ellen Horowitz, an avid blogger and spokesperson for the radical Orthodox agenda in Israel, actually applauded the burning of the New Testaments and said that “a Bible which is written on a heretical basis is not considered sacred.” According to Horowitz, "if the stuff was given to you, then it's your trash. So, sure it's permissible to burn missionary materials." Radical activists like Horowitz, who sometimes refer to themselves as “anti-missionaries,” insinuate that the Bibles were handed out in Or Yehuda by Christian missionaries. This presumption, however, is very unlikely and is not supported by a shred of evidence. It is just as likely, indeed, that the books were purchased by “anti-missionaries” with the intent of creating an obscene public provocation.

Although a complaint was lodged against Aharon based on a number of criminal offenses such as incitement to commit a hate crime, we suspect that the police have purposefully procrastinated in the investigation due to pressure from high-ranking governmental authorities. Over a year after the New Testament burning episode, and regardless of clear evidence including photographs and Aharon's public confession on live radio, the State Attorney's office has notified us that it has decided to close the case due to “lack of sufficient evidence.”

The Attorney-General has the authority to re-open the investigation. The Jerusalem Institute of Justice plans to appeal the police's decision, and we encourage you to write to Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz and encourage him to consider this incident as an affront to Christians worldwide. His address is: 29 Salach-a-Din Street, Israel, 91010.
 

Unruly Appetite for Power

Leviticus 19:34 teaches us that "the stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God." Some of us sometimes forget that we were aliens once in the land of Egypt. Others forget that we were aliens more recently in other lands – Morocco, for instance.

Our current Minister of Interior, an Orthodox Jew from an immigrant Moroccan family, is lobbying for a legislative amendment which would give him carte blanche authority to revoke the citizenship of any person deemed to have submitted false information in the immigration process or suspected of committing a “breach of trust” against the state. A revocation of citizenship would completely strip the person in question (and his or her children) of all civil rights. Click here to read Ynet’s coverage of the proposed amendment.

While these may appear to be fair grounds for penalizing a citizen, we have seen firsthand how such laws are frequently used against innocent citizens from Messianic Jewish backgrounds who are sometimes accused of being "traitors" or "dangerous missionaries." Such accusations are part of a larger attempt by Interior Ministry clerks to revoke the basic rights of Messianics Jews.

Much public criticism has been voiced recently against this initiative, which would allow the Minister of Interior to revoke any citizen’s most basic rights with no due process or judicial censure. Most of the debate in the Israeli media has centered on the implications of this legislation to Arab citizens; however, we are concerned that this may merely be a smokescreen to cover an underlying ultra-Orthodox agenda.

In fact, we have solid proof that the Ministry of Interior, habitually cooperates “behind the scenes” with radical Orthodox activist groups in order to prevent religious minorities from exercising their legally guaranteed rights. Under the premise of “protecting Judaism,” “fighting missionary work,” and “rescuing Jews entrapped into cults,” these organizations have infiltrated key civil positions with the objective of doing harm to those who do not conform to their fundamentalist standards. Besides being grossly unethical, official cooperation with such groups damages the character of a State which officially guarantees freedom of religion to all. This situation has resulted in numerous instances of illegal discrimination, profiling, and harassment; and has brought about an ironic situation whereby Israel is one of the few nations in the free world in which a Jew does not enjoy freedom of religious choice.

We intend to keep an eye on this initiative. Let us hope and pray that it will be stifled by the majority of our legislators who desire to uphold justice and civil liberties here.

We at the Jerusalem Institute of Justice invite you to partner with us in our effort to strengthen our nation’s democratic values and institutions. We are your hands and feet on the ground in Israel working tirelessly to forge a new reality of inter-faith respect, freedom of conscience, and equality for all streams of faith within our society.

With your help and support we can make a difference. Ongoing monthly donations, even of relatively small amounts, are especially appreciated.

Thank you.

Heine: "where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings". 

Ellen Horowitz: "A Bible which is written on a heretical basis is not considered sacred."

Deputy Mayor, Uzi Aharon: "purge the evil from among us".

Minister of Interior Yishai requests carte blanche authority to revoke any person's citizenship in Israel.

Radical Orthodox activist groups have infiltrated key civil positions.