Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem: Reform Jews Are Worse Than Holocaust Deniers
“They don’t have Yom Kippur or Shabbat but they want to pray [at the Western Wall]. But no one should think that they want to pray, they want to desecrate the holy.”
Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Shlomo Amar said that Reform Jews “deny more than Holocaust deniers.”
The rabbi, a former chief rabbi of Israel, made his comments the same day last week on which the High Court of Justice ordered the government to reconsider its decision to suspend its resolution to create a state-recognized egalitarian prayer section at the southern end of the Western Wall.
“Today there was a hearing on the Kotel on the petition of the cursed evil people who do every iniquity in the world against the Torah – they even marry Jews and non-Jews,” said Amar, in comments first reported by the Kikar Hashabbat haredi (ultra-Orthodox) news website.
“They don’t have Yom Kippur or Shabbat, but they want to pray [at the Western Wall]. But no one should think that they want to pray. They want to desecrate the holy. They are trying to deceive and say that extremist haredim invented [prayer arrangements at the Western Wall].
“It’s like Holocaust deniers, it’s the same thing. They shout, ‘Why are there Holocaust deniers in Iran?’ They deny more than Holocaust deniers. In all of the Mishna and Gemara [of the Talmud], there was a women’s section and a section for men in the Temple. Did we invent this?”
[Of course] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Amar’s remarks.
How can anyone find this comment appropriate? It is a disgusting to bring up holocaust denier and it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Nothing what so ever.
I mean really this movement seems to like provoke just to provoke.
And honestly the Orthodox have twisted many of the rules as well. Orthodox Rabbis don’t allow single women go to the mikvah. Even thought that leaves them in a state of Niddah. The old excuse was well there is no temple but what is the excuse now. I’m sorry you people are fooled by this disgusting rhetoric. They are no better then Donald Trump. They like the status quo. You think they want Rabbinic centric Judaism to be replaced by Temple centric Judaism. I don’t think they do.
And while Reform has their problems how do you know they celebrate the Shabbos in their own way? The Orthodox want to ban using technology which Ivanka Trump likes but to many that isn’t what the Shabbas is about and in Israel it isn’t about that either. The majority of them may actually celebrate Shabbos and Yom Kippur.
These comments on all levels are out of line and shows a lack of love for your fellow Jews. Reform Judaism at least has a presence on line about the torah portion of the week. Something that the only other groups to have this are Chabad and Aish Hatorah. That means something Doesn’t it.
I honestly think this Rabbi should be removed if he has to bring up holocaust denial into this. There is no reason for this. Holocaust denial is one of the most disgusting evil things out there and some countries have laws against it and the Rabbi is actually making holocaust denial not so bad by bringing it up here. I find it unacceptable. Completely no need to do this other then to be provocative to score some points for some idiots out there. In this age of Trump we shouldn’t be fooled by over the top rhetoric as it usually is to overcompensate for usually not being so strong on the issues that are being brought up.