Over 330 senior American rabbis are vowing to ban members of the Israeli far-right Religious Zionist bloc in Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming government from appearing at their synagogues, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported Friday.
Following a convincing victory to the right-wing bloc in November’s general Israeli election, Netanyahu brought in members of a far-right faction and promised an expanded national security ministry to Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has a long history of using incendiary rhetoric against Palestinians.
The incoming Israeli government, which Netanyahu announced he formed late Wednesday, is expected to be the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
Ben-Gvir’s post as “national security” minister will include responsibility for Israeli occupation police, which includes the border guard who, along with the Israeli army, operate inside the West Bank.
An open letter from rabbis and other Jewish community leaders in the US charged that the policies of Ben-Gvir and his associates “will cause irreparable harm to the Israel-Jewish Diaspora relationship,” i24news reported.
The signatories said they will not invite members of the bloc “to speak at our congregations and organizations. We will speak out against their participation in other forums across our communities. We will encourage the boards of our congregations and organizations to join us in this protest as a demonstration of our commitment to our Jewish and democratic values.”
Source: Israeli media
