It is very disturbing that the national media has been claiming that Israel is restricting the freedom of expression of the left by limiting the amount of money NGOs {Non-Governmental Organizations} can receive from overseas {from outside of Israel}. But in reality Israel is not limiting the freedom of expression of the left, it is actually arresting Rabbis who have said things which the brutal Israeli dictators consider 'racist' or 'hateful'. This is the very kind of thing which the Fascists and Communists did to Rabbis in Soviet Russia, they would be sent off to Siberia if they did not tow the official party line.... Here we have very righteous Rabbis being rounded up, harassed, arrested and threatened by the Israeli government.
This kind of abuse of Jews and Judaism must stop. The Israeli government has proven that it is on the side of evil through its constant persecution of religious Jews.... The time to act is NOW...
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150006#.TswO9x-6SL8Rabbi Lior: 'There is No Freedom of Speech in Israel'Rabbi Dov Lior said the criminal probe into Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' proves free expression is stifled in Israel.Gavriel Queenann
Chief Rabbi of Kiryat-Arba and Hevron Dov Lior told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the decision to launch a criminal proble into Tzfat [Safed] Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' showed there is no freedom of speech in Israel.
"There is no freedom of speech, but a stifling of expression," Rabbi Lior said after hearing of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's decision to launch the probe into statements made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press.
"It is difficult for me to agree this is incitement," Rabbi Lior said, dismissing the assertion the ruling had nothing to do with Rabbi Eliyahu's Torah views. "Rabbis focus on cultivating a love of humanity, and Judaism touches all righteous people, but Jewish law prohibits one from renting to non-Jews."
Rabbi Lior said, "What Rabbi Eliyahu said is a valid Torah opinion. To prevent rabbis from speaking their minds, which is their duty, is reminiscent of the methods of the Bolsheviks - who only allowed the Jews to express opinions they approved of.
"There's no freedom of expression, but a silencing of the truth. If a Torah scholar studies the Torah and justifies his opinion from sources - explaining his reasoning - even if there are others who disagree with him... it is still knowledge of Torah.
"The right of rabbis to express Torah opinions is on trial!" Rabbi Lior said. "This is against our holy Torah, let alone the rules of democracy."
"You cannot drown out the voices raising unpopular opinions. Rabbi Eliyahu is not a political person calling for insurrection against the laws of the state. He is merely expressing his Torah opinion on a relevant issue. Prosecuting him for this is no different than arresting a rabbi for teaching Sabbath [Shabbat] laws because the state allows people to drive on the Sabbath."
"Every investigation of this sort is an assault on the Torah of Israel, and against democracy and equality," Rabbi Lior concluded.
Weinstein has said he will not probe statements by Rabbi Eliyahu made that stem from his opinions on Jewish law, including his opinion - co-signed by 50 other rabbis - that one may not sell or rent a home to non-Jews when Israel's current socio-political circumstances are taken into account.
Instead, Weinstein claims, he will focus on comments made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press, such as “The Arab culture is very cruel,” and “When talking about Arabs, people speak in codes that normalize violence and turn into ideology.”
Critics, however, say Weinstein's probe into “public statements” is simply an oblique way of striking at Rabbi Eliyahu for expressing Torah opinions at odds with the ideology of Israel's secular left.
Civil Liberties advocates note Rabbi Eliyahu's statements – irrespective of their Torah content – would be considered protected speech in the enlightened Western democracies Israel's left claims it wants to emulate.
Topic: No Freedom of Speech in Israel : Except for the Leftists (Read 527 times)