Death threats at Reform shul
Hate graffiti was painted on the walls of a Reform synagogue in Ra’anana, and death threats left in envelopes, addressed to prominent Reform leaders.
HATE graffiti was painted on the walls of a Reform synagogue in Ra’anana, and death threats left in envelopes, held down by a knife, addressed to prominent Reform leaders were left at the synagogue’s doorstep.
The graffiti was discovered last Thursday morning at Beit Samueli, Kehilat Ra’anan in the central Israel city. The phrase “The divine presence will never leave the Western Wall,” was spray-painted on the building, as were biblical references “Ovadia 1:18 and 1:21”, and “Psalms 139:21-22”. The Ovadia citation deals with the destruction of Israel’s enemies at the hand of a vengeful God. The Psalms citation states of enemies of God: “I hate them with utmost hatred; they have become my enemies.”
The letters were addressed to Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism; Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism; and Anat Hoffman, chair of Women of the Wall and the head of the Israel Religious Action Centre, the advocacy arm of the Reform movement in Israel.
The three participated earlier this month in a protest for egalitarian worship at the Western Wall, which concluded with bringing about a dozen Torah scrolls to the women’s section for a Rosh Chodesh service.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the graffiti, saying in a statement issued by his office: “Such acts have no place in our free society.”
“These threats will not deter us from continuing to promote our values at the Western Wall, in Ra’anana and everywhere else across the country,” Rabbi Kariv said. “But we also are not ready to close your eyes to it. In the last year there has been in Israel [an] unprecedented campaign of incitement against Reform Judaism led by political and rabbinic leadership.”
Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party and a resident of Ra’anana, called for such incidents to stop.
“Around the world, and in Israel, live Jews with different world views. There are differences of opinion over substantial issues – including Jewish life. At times there is a chasm between one’s opinion and the other. But we cannot allow disputes to deteriorate to abusive discourse and incitement, which could lead to the physical harming of a person because of his opinions and beliefs,” Bennett said in a statement.
JTA
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