Can there be Unity, after Yigal Amir?

Since the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin, we have been hearing the same cry from all sides: the Jewish people needs greater unity. The path to this tragic event was paved with inciteful rhetoric and an ever-intensifying war of words. The appeal for unity was far too long in coming, and it is time to atone.

Obvious? Apparently, not everyone agrees. Much to our sorrow, the past weeks have shown that some are so cynical as to use the murder of a Prime Minister to further their own agendas. They have taken advantage of the actions of Yigal Amir, a lone individual who could not fairly be said to represent the extreme of the extreme, in order to paint distorted pictures of not only those who observe traditional Halacha, but the very system of Halacha itself.

If we are to build the greater unity that we all desire, then we cannot approach each other encumbered by fantastic myths about the evils of those on "the other side." With this in mind, I would encourage you to examine the following quotes. All of these are real, though I've removed the names. The names are unimportant - it is the corresponding positions of leadership within the media - or even more so, the Jewish world - that are troubling. While none should be understood to reflect the nature of any movement as a whole, it does show that these myths are common. And that is all they are.

Do you believe...?

Myth #1: "Orthodoxy" - all Orthodox Jews - have produced a murderer. While it is always unfair to blame a group for the actions of an individual, it is nothing short of bizarre to see non- or anti-Zionist Satmar Chassidim denounced because of the ultra-nationalist violence of Yigal Amir. Examples:

The AP calls Borough Park "a hotbed of religious and political extremism."

A respected NY Times Jewish writer says that "Mr. Amir is not deranged. He is just your average religious right-wing hard-liner," alongside a reference to "fundamentalist Yeshivas in Brooklyn."

A past executive director of one of the nation's leading Jewish organizations writes in a NY Times Op-Ed piece that "There is no religious right within the Orthodox community. For all practical purposes, the Orthodox community is the religious right... The intense religiously defined nationalism that fueled the fury of Yigal Amir... is normative in today's Orthodox community." He goes on to suggest that the Jewish foundations and Federations should reconsider funding any Orthodox institutions.

A Conservative Rabbi writes to Shimon Peres about "religious extremism" that "took a terrible toll."

None of these writers distinguish between those whose fervor is merely religious, vs. those who are politically right-wing. Jewish Messianic nationalism, which became a part of Amir's distorted outlook, is not shared by any charedi ("ultra-Orthodox") institution - such as those that dot the streets of Brooklyn. When contrasted with the zeal with which any Chassidic wrongdoer is identified as such, this is a glaring omission. The truth: the degraded ultra-rightists who applaud Amir are a tiny fragment, not indicative of any secular or religious community.

Myth #2: Beyond Orthodox Jews, Orthodox Rabbis created a "murderous environment" and even called explicitely for Rabin's murder.

An Israeli Rabbi asserted that several colleagues had called Rabin a "rodef" (murderous pursuer).

Most reports fail to mention that the Chief Rabbinate and the police have examined these claims and found them - to date - baseless. The one Rabbi whom we know said this - A Lubavitcher - was forced to retract and apologize long before the assassination (and has lost his job). The accuser became a media darling, but unfortunately may have spoken falsely.

Most importantly, even calling someone a "rodef" does not grant a license to kill, or create "an environment conducive to murder." It is inciteful rhetoric, and if said by a Rabbi is especially wrong. But let's not forget those who called settlers "enemies of peace," or Yossi Beilin - a high- ranking government minister - who called Rabbis opposed to funding the PLO "enemies of the Jewish people."

The director of a major branch of the Reform movement writes that "day after day edicts handed down by some rabbinic authorities permitted, even demanded, the assassination of the prime minister... acts of political violence will not be committed by Orthodox Jews without prior approval from Orthodox rabbis."

A leading figure in the Conservative movement in Israel called upon Rabbis to make the following decree:

WE THE UNDERSIGNED DISAVOW AND DECLARE NULL AND VOID THOSE HALACHIC OPINIONS WHICH JUSTIFY AND COMMAND MURDER BY ANY INDIVIDUAL OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING ON THE BASIS OF THAT HUMAN BEING'S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT JEWISH OR BECAUSE OF THEIR POLITICAL BELIEFS.

The implication of this decree (given its timing) is that which the Reform Rabbi stated explicitely - that an existing Rabbinic opinion gave Yigal Amir "the go ahead."

Now for the facts: Amir has said consistently that he acted without Rabbinic guidance (and acted alone), and the Shin Bet says that this is most probably true. Police Chief Assaf Hafetz agrees - no proof exists against any Rabbi. Claims that Orthodox Rabbis (unnamed fundamentalists, of course) endorsed the murder of Prime Minister Rabin are entirely unjustified.

Myth #3: Amir represents a sinister failing of Orthodox Halacha.

Much of this has been said by implication. When Amir claimed Halacha justified his actions, this was reported in scores of media outlets - without any effort to verify this fiction with Halachic authorities.

Because Orthodox Rabbis are scholars of Halacha, an attack on the former often implies a problem with the latter as well. The suggested decree in ALL CAPS above implies that Halacha itself is lacking in concern for human life, permitting halachic opinions that command what we would regard as unjustifiable homicide.

A leader of the Jewish Renewal movement said it more directly: "any set of practices which... have the effect of teaching and encouraging murder needs to be changed, and the argument that the practices are G-d-given and cannot be changed cannot be defended."

The common thread? The assertion that the existing Halacha, without these "positive" changes, permitted or even encouraged Amir to kill Yitzchak Rabin. The assumption made here is as offensive as it is inaccurate. Every living Halachic authority condemned this murder from a Halachic perspective. Again: every living authority. From every pulpit in America and Israel. Every dean of every Yeshiva. Every decisor of record. The claim that Amir had Halachic justification is reserved for isolated right-wingers, ignorant of the very fundamentals of Jewish Law. Amir made up his own rules like any common criminal. This is nothing new: a Talmudic Rabbi once said that he could come up with 150 reasons to purify the impure, if he so desired.

I am glad that a Reform Rabbi said this first: "a blanket comment that orthodox practices encouraged murder is an unwarranted conclusion... Any rational review of murder statistics would show that orthodox Jews do not contribute their share of transgressors." I only wish that it were he who was at the helm of a branch of his movement, and whose positions were made public to adherents of Reform across the country. Two of my fellow Princeton alumni, the Menendez brothers, have claimed justification (based on Western values) for killing their parents. Should we insist that Princeton redesign its courses to prevent patricide, based on the actions of these two graduates?

Myth #4: Orthodox Rabbis - especially those who take note of these gross distortions and accusations - have been "sticking their heads in the sand" and "ignoring the problem."

The leading Reform Rabbi quoted earlier goes on: "In retrospect the silence of the mainstream secular and Orthodox opposition was deafening." [Did the Rabbi not hear Benjamin Netanyahu, Rabbi Eliezer Shach, and others?]

The Forward (NY) praises Orthodox Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik's self- recrimination, after an Efrat resident asked the Rabbi for authorization to kill Rabin, and the Rabbi did not "bother even to reply." But a comparison is made to Rabbi Moshe Tendler, who denies responsibility and blames a "society where life has become cheap." The clear implication is that Rabbi Tendler ought to be more like Rabbi Soloveitchik.

An LA Times article claims that the same "denial" is found in Israel. Because Rabbi Meir Lau, chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, refuses to discuss "rodef" [murderous pursuer] in a political context, this means that Israel's religious establishment will not face the issues.

It is the job of Rabbis to respond to serious questions of Halacha, and to offer guidance when people will listen. It is not their job to dignify moronicism with a response. We need "moral discussions about Yigal Amir" to the same extent that geologists must discuss whether the earth is flat. How can we discuss the "morality" of an obviously immoral, disgusting act? Rabbi Nachman Bulman, one of the great Rabbinic leaders of our era, called the assassination "the greatest Desecration of G-d's name in our 2000 year exile." Discussion was not avoided, it was merely brief. The assertion that Rabbi Lau cannot face the issue is baseless slander.

While we can admire Rabbi Soloveitchik, it is simply foolish to believe that his failure to take an extremist seriously adds up to real guilt. The latest reports are that Shin Bet agent Avishai Raviv heard Amir himself claim he was going to shoot Rabin - and he didn't take him seriously, either. But no one is out to condemn the GSS, only the Orthodox Rabbinate.

There is another interesting anomaly that also points out a disproportionate emphasis: amidst all of the sound and fury, while the media and the Jewish editorialists fall over themselves deciding what or whom to blame for Amir - his charedi upbringing, his hesder Yeshiva, or (religious-nationalist) Bar Ilan University - no one has condemned the Israeli Army, a not insignificant part of Amir's background.

Yigal Amir served in the Golani brigade. He was one of the gentlemen sent to the hottest spots at the height of the Intifada, and ordered to use brute force to calm the populace. Golani is quite possibly the most violent team of young men the Jewish people has ever produced. But I think it is inappropriate to blame the Golani - after all, no other soldier has gone on to murder a Prime Minister.

I merely wonder why it is that the only place where Amir's violent streak was nurtured and encouraged - is also the only place not subject to constant attack and derision since the assassination.

I think that my conclusion is unavoidable: these writers are seeking their own agendas, not unity. "Dialogue" would not create mythical visions of what is "normative in today's Orthodox community," or unfounded accusations about Orthodox Rabbis, or assertions that traditional Halacha needs a quick fix to prevent it from encouraging murder. This is textbook demonization of the other - that which we must avoid at all costs.

Let no one think that these statements have not led to crimes of their own. "Rabbis are murderers" was spray-painted on the walls of Heichal Shlomo (the offices of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem). Young women have been called "murderess" and harrassed by Israeli security guards just for wearing Orthodox garb. And Yeshiva boys have been physically attacked on the streets of Netanya.

It is the job of responsible individuals to rise above such trash rhetoric, and the actions that have resulted. We must seek dialogue and friendship. If the "Jewish leaders" will not lead us, then we must do it ourselves.

Copyright © 1995 Project Genesis, Inc.