The MK Who Sees Israel As An Enemy

Israel Eichler, who is returning to the Knesset, sees in Israel an "enemy state", "historic national disaster", "evil regime" and "Hebrew ghetto". He frequently compares his opponents to "Nazis" and "beasts".

17/03/2011 12:52

Tags: haredim · Israel · Eichler

Haredi Rabbi Eichler Flash90

Exactly six years after he finished his first term as an MK, the Haredi journalist and publicist rabbi Israel Eichler has returned to serve another term. Eichler will replace MK Meir Porush, who resigned lastg week due to a rotation agreement between them.

When he returned to the Knesset, Hiddish –Freedom of Religion in Israel published a report in which it denounced statements by him about secular people. Among other things, he described the secular public as "a generation of people who look like man-beasts and behave like two-footed animals".

Upon taking office, Eichler spoke to Kobi Nachshoni of ynet about the goals he had set himself: "to denounce the legitimacy of anti-Haredi racism. It is spread and financed by sources in the U.S. and Europe and foments hatred. We will fight it all the way, including a parlementary investigative committee which will discuss it. Our entire struggle is to preserve Jewish culture and the soul of Israel, may it never be extinguished."

Following Eichler's return to parliament on Monday, February 7th, Hiddush – Freedom of Religion for Israel prepared a report focused on scathing remarks which Eichler has used in recent years against the secular public and the state. The report was put

Eichler called Israel an "enemy state"

together by the Hiddush deputy director for research and public relations, Shahar Ilan. The report was delivered to members of Knesset on the morning Eichler returned to public office.

Among other things, Eichler called Israel an "enemy state", "historic national disaster", "evil regime" and "Hebrew ghetto", and said that "all the phrases about democracy are simply lies and hyprocrisy". On the relations between Haredim and the secular, Eichler wrote: "There is no further basis for us to be one people". He also claimed that the secular people fighting against keeping shabbat at the Ramat Aviv mall are "Nazis", and also wrote about the "crematoria of the media".

The CEO of Hiddush, rabbi and attorney Uri Regev, said after the swearing in, "We must protect Eichler's right to shoot off his mouth against all that is dear to the majority of our citizens. It's good we live in a modern democracy which allows us him to express publicly his ultra-extreme positions against the state and democracy. However, we must remember the relationship of the new MK to the state, to Zionism and to non-Haredim, and remember the considerable interest Torah Judaism has in the state and regime of which it is a part.