Ideally, religion should and can be a force for peace. But this Yom Kippur – the
holiest day of the Jewish calendar, a day devoted entirely to self-improvement
and the striving for tikkun olam – was marred by sectarian violence.
More
than 100 graves were vandalized in the Muslim cemetery of al-Kazakhana and at a
nearby Christian cemetery in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa. Some of the graves
were spray-painted with graffiti such as “Death to all Arabs,” while others were
smashed. Jaffa residents said the vandalism took place Friday evening as the Yom
Kippur holiday was beginning, though police suggested it might have taken place
a day or two prior. In the ensuing protests staged by the Muslim and Christian
residents of Jaffa, who were joined by dozens of sympathetic Jews, a Molotov
cocktail was hurled at the roof of the Rabbi Meir Ba’al Ha’nes synagogue in
Jaffa, causing damage but, thankfully, no injuries. On Wednesday, Jewish
worshipers were shocked to discover that a holy site in Nablus believed to be
the burial site of the biblical Joseph had been desecrated by swastikas and
graffiti.
THIS LATEST flurry of violence focusing specifically on holy
sites was sparked by last week’s despicable arson attack on a mosque in Tuba
Zanghariya.
The desecration in Tuba Zanghariya was compounded by the fact
that the Beduin village has a long history of cooperation and peaceful
coexistence with Israel. In 1946, men from the al-Heib tribe in Tuba fought side
by side with the Palmah to help secure Israeli independence. The village named
its sports hall after Yitzhak Rabin. In October 2000, when Arab riots broke out
in the Galilee, village leaders decided that Tuba Zanghariya’s residents would
not take part. Today, there is a branch of the Acharay [After Me] Movement in
the town, where one of the locals, a veteran of the Givati Infantry Brigade,
works to increase the Beduin youths’ motivation to serve in combat
units.
Religious extremism, often characterized by an unnerving,
unshakable and irrational belief in the justness of the cause, coupled with a
willingness to take action to do God’s will, distorts the perception of the
devout. The recent spate of attacks on religious sites – Muslim, Jewish and
Christian – is a case in point. All threaten to upset the delicate web of
coexistence in such a potentially volatile region.
Admirably, numerous
religious leaders have spoken out strongly against the violence, arguing rightly
that it is a gross misrepresentation of the principles of religious
faith.
Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona
Metzger personally visited Tuba Zanghariya to denounce the attack as did
neighboring Rosh Pina’s Rabbi Avraham Davidowitz, who is also head of the local
pre-military yeshiva. Even Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed, who aroused
controversy for calling on Jews not to rent or sell apartments to non-Jews,
nevertheless denounced the act, though he questioned whether Jews had carried it
out. In an editorial, the haredi daily Yated Ne’eman condemned the arsonists,
though unfortunately the editorial board was carried away with religious fervor,
arguing that Halacha dictated the arsonists could be killed to prevent them from
endangering others.
The local Reform and Masorti (Conservative) movements
issued statements. And in an initiative organized by the New Israel Fund, more
than a thousand rabbis from around the world representing all streams of Judaism
signed a declaration denouncing the burning of the mosque in Tuba
Zanghariya.
The across-the-board denunciation by Jewish religious leaders
from all streams of the violent attack on a Muslim site is ample evidence that
Judaism, while sometimes distorted and misrepresented, does indeed carry a
strong message of peace.