Rabbis call for action
Rabbis and rabbinical groups spoke out against the slaughter in Syria and called for action to help alleviate the plight of those in the conflict.
After the Syrian chemical attack in Idlib, religious-Zionist rabbinical association Beit Hillel published the possible obligations in Jewish law toward Syrian citizens and what action should be taken to helping non-Jews in such a crisis.
“Love of other people, which motivates humans to share in the sorrow of others and to take upon themselves to help them is one of the values of the Torah,” author of the position paper Rabbi Amit Kola wrote. “Saving life is compared to saving an entire world... Helping non-Jews by providing them with basic needs is an act of kindness and one of the pathways of the peace and Jewish law. In addition, participating in such efforts is also a sanctification of G-d’s name.”
The rabbi wrote that restrictions within Jewish law, such as giving free gifts to non-Jews, was not relevant to the discussion since the gifts could be considered as “the pathways of peace” and noted that such restrictions only apply to idol worshipers.
He also noted that although Jewish law gives preference for charity to relatives, Jewish law also requires one to prioritize charitable giving by whoever is most in need.
Beit Hillel chairman Rabbi Meir Nehorai said the pathways of the Torah are paths of peace, and therefore it is not only permitted by a religious commandment to make this so.
“Unfortunately, we are witness to mass killings in Syria and we must not ignore this terrible reality, but instead use the tools in our hands to prevent killing and genocide.”
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Donniel Hartman, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, called for concrete actions by the State of Israel to help prevent mass killings in Syria, as well as creating a dialogue of “social criticism” on the issue in Israeli society.
“Silence enabled the Holocaust to happen and words are prelude to action so we need to create a space for our moral outrage at what is happening in Syria,” he said. “We must be a voice of social criticism, which needs to be heard not only when Jews are in danger but when there is a profound injustice anywhere in the world. To be silent is to violate our mandate as Jews and the obligations of our tradition.”
Hartman noted that for such social criticism to be authentic, Israel needs to “celebrate” its own social critics, but argued that the country has been taking the opposite attitude to such views and rejecting social criticism directed at its policies and actions.
In the more practical realm, Hartman said Israel as a country needs to embrace its regional superpower status economically and militarily, and consider actions to prevent mass murder in Syria.
“Our role in the world hasn’t been worked out, we don’t think in those terms. We’re in 2017 living through a 1948 lens inserted of looking through the 1967 lens. We’re not David anymore, we’re Goliath,” he said.
“We need to grow up into Zionism, taking our place in the world stage for these kinds of things... As a superpower we can protect Jews and fight injustice at the same time. Israel should be part of a coalition that does something, very possible militarily,” Hartman said. “Why should Israel not be part of enforcing a no-fly zone? Why do we only stop Hezbollah getting missiles? Maybe we should also ensure that civilians aren’t gassed.”