Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky (left) and Rabbi David Drukman (right) handing U.S. Congressman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) a copy of the Halachic Ruling forbidding Jews to give up an inch of territories to the Arabs Gerlitzky denounces deal
Chairman of the Rabbinical Council for Peace sharply condenms the recent deal struck by Israel and Palestinians Avi Shreiber In an exclusive interview with Shturem.net, Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, chairman of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace has called on Israel to reconsider its appeasement and concession policy towards the Arabs and weigh ways how to take back all the territories that was unlawfully given away to the Arabs. Rabbi Gerlitzky feels that since Israel had no right in endangering Israeli residents by giving up Gush Katif in the first place and especially now that the Arabs are not using what they got for peace and rapprochement with Israel but have turned it into a training camp for terrorists to strike at Israel, the IDF should pre-empt that strike and do everything in their means to stop future bloodshed even if it means going in there again and taking it all back. Asked if he is proposing that Israel start a war with Hamas, Gerlitzky replied: “Look, firstly, Israel is in constant war with Hamas. They never stopped firing rockets at Israeli towns and caused deaths. Hamas says openly it has no intentions of peace with Israel until it gives back what they call all “occupied” territories which they interpret as Haifa, Tel Aviv, Yafo etc. Just look at today’s WND report about Hamas turning Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish settlement in Gush Katif into a "military training camp for martyrs," and they boast several kassam rockets have been fired from the former Jewish capital into nearby Israeli Negev towns. So you’re asking me if Israel wants war with Hamas? Secondly, I am not a military man nor a politician, my function as a rabbi is to declare the word of the Torah delineated the Jewish Code of Law and there is an explicit ruling in the Jewish Code of Law Orach Chaim Chapter 329 that states in no uncertain terms that it if you are living in a border town it is absolutely forbidden to give up even one inch of territory to those on the other side on the grounds that it will lead to massive bloodshed. “This is not merely a statement on paper but unfortunately has been proven true time and time again: whenever Israel gave up territory to the terrorists they used it as a launching pad to strike at Israel again. Witness how many victimes of terror (over 1200) was caused by the disastrous Oslo process," Gerlitzky said. “Still there are among us who are saying Israel should continue with this dangerous process. Now they struck a deal with the Arabs to give them a seaport, open corridors and remove roadblocks. Israel is just shooting itself in the foot again and we as rabbis are forbidden to remain silent in the face of such a danger. Rabbi Gerlitzky’s interview with Shturem.net came a day after the Center for Jewish Pluralism asked the High Court of Justice to indict Rabbi David Drukman, a colleague of Rabbi Gerlitzky who serves as Deputy-Chair of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace because he spoke out against the disengagement from Gaza. The plaintiff submitted to the high court a document issued by then Labor Justice Minister Shimon Shitrit which states that the rabbinical group could be indicted for incitement after it issued the Halachic ruling that one is permitted to stop enemies from attacking your town and the IDF is permitted to take up arms even on the Sabbath to pre-empt their attacks.
The document was signed by three lawyers and one orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Israel Gellis, who was an adviser to Shitrit at the time, and the Center for Pluralism is showing the court that orthodox rabbis are also against Rabbis Drukman and Gerlitzky. However in a short interview with Shturem.net, Rabbi Gelis totally denied that he ever signed such a document and that his signature was forged. As a result of this denial, calls are now being heard to investigate the Center for Jewish Pluralism in Israel whether it forged a document to smear the rabbis.
