Al Bhatti
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2009
- Messages
- 5,686
- Reaction score
- 6
- Country
- Location
August 7, 2015
Benzi Gopstein, head of Lehava party has drawn notoriety for its violent assaults on Jewish-Arab assimilation.
Churches should be torched: Israeli leader
Gopstein says he is willing to serve 50 years in prison for what he believes
Benzi Gopstein, the leader of extremist anti-assimilation group Lehava, said in a meeting with rabbinical students that Christian houses of worship should be destroyed.
“Churches should be burned”, Gopstein said on Wednesday before an audience of hundreds at a Jewish religious school, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Rabbi Moshe Klein, who attended the lecture, questioned Gopstein’s stance and argued that the current world requires a rejection of such an approach, while journalist Beny Ravinovich was also surprised with what Benzi Gopstein had to say.
After a tug of war, Gopstein said he was willing to spend 50 years in prison for what he believed, and claimed not to be inciting violence, but simply explaining the thoughts that belonged to a Spanish Jew, Rabbi Rambam Maimonides, referring to the 12th Century Arab Jewish philosopher Musa Bin Maimoon, who lived in Muslim Spain.
The Lehava organisation subscribes to ideas that denounce assimilation between Jewish and non-Jewish people, and also condemn homosexuality.
The Israel Religious Action Centre, or IRAC, the legal wing of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, expressed concern about Gopstein’s remarks — the centre had previously demanded that he be questioned by the authorities for his controversial views.
IRAC leader Rabbi Gilad Kariv said that if Gopstein was not promptly charged for his statements, Israeli society would be justified to say publicly that the legal system allows for incitement, racism and violence, according to the Haaretz daily newspaper on Thursday.
Churches should be torched: Israeli leader | GulfNews.com
Benzi Gopstein, head of Lehava party has drawn notoriety for its violent assaults on Jewish-Arab assimilation.
Churches should be torched: Israeli leader
Gopstein says he is willing to serve 50 years in prison for what he believes
Benzi Gopstein, the leader of extremist anti-assimilation group Lehava, said in a meeting with rabbinical students that Christian houses of worship should be destroyed.
“Churches should be burned”, Gopstein said on Wednesday before an audience of hundreds at a Jewish religious school, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Rabbi Moshe Klein, who attended the lecture, questioned Gopstein’s stance and argued that the current world requires a rejection of such an approach, while journalist Beny Ravinovich was also surprised with what Benzi Gopstein had to say.
After a tug of war, Gopstein said he was willing to spend 50 years in prison for what he believed, and claimed not to be inciting violence, but simply explaining the thoughts that belonged to a Spanish Jew, Rabbi Rambam Maimonides, referring to the 12th Century Arab Jewish philosopher Musa Bin Maimoon, who lived in Muslim Spain.
The Lehava organisation subscribes to ideas that denounce assimilation between Jewish and non-Jewish people, and also condemn homosexuality.
The Israel Religious Action Centre, or IRAC, the legal wing of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, expressed concern about Gopstein’s remarks — the centre had previously demanded that he be questioned by the authorities for his controversial views.
IRAC leader Rabbi Gilad Kariv said that if Gopstein was not promptly charged for his statements, Israeli society would be justified to say publicly that the legal system allows for incitement, racism and violence, according to the Haaretz daily newspaper on Thursday.
Churches should be torched: Israeli leader | GulfNews.com