Over 40 municipal rabbis signed a petition on Tuesday saying that Jews should not rent homes in Israel to gentiles.
Amongst the reasons given for the prohibition are the danger of intermarriage and the lowering of real estate prices in areas where non-Jews live. Gentiles' "different lifestyle from Jews" can endanger lives, they wrote.
RELATED:Yosef: Gentiles exist only to serve JewsIf a Jew sells or rents property to a gentile, his neighbors must warn
him, and if he does not change his ways, the neighbors must avoid the
person, and may not conduct business with him, according to the
petition. A person who rents or sells to non-Jews also may not get
aliyahs in synagogue.
Amongst the municipal rabbis who signed the
petition are Rabbi Yaakov Edelstein of Ramat HaSharon, Rabbi Haim Pinto
of Ashdod, Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, Rabbi David Abuhazeira of
Yavne, Rabbi David Bar-Chen of Sderot, and others.
In addition,
one of the best-known National-Religious rabbis, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner,
signed the letter, as did Yosef's son, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. Haredi leader
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Rabbi Avigdor Neventzal of Jerusalem's
Old City also signed the letter.
Another ten rabbis reportedly plan to sign the letter.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) called on Tuesday for these to be fired.
"This is the worst kind of racism, which comes from rabbis who are paid by the state" Horowitz said on Tuesday. "All they do is encourage hatred and destroy Israeli democracy."
"These rabbis are taking advantage of their stature, which leads to incitement," he added. Horowitz also said there should be a criminal investigation of the rabbis.