Reactions to the terror attacks that directly involve religion

Terror and Religion

As expected, the terrorist attacks of recent days have led to many reactions – some violent and harsh towards Arabs; some directly involving religion.

Uri Regev 31/03/2022 23:22

Tags: Mansour Abbas ·  Chabad ·  Terror Attacks ·  Terrorism

i24 coverage of Bnei Brak terror attack

Unfortunately, there are no magic solutions to terrorism, nor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are political figures who push the idea of the need to be ‘strong handed’, and some present this as a difference between former PM Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which excelled at protecting public security, and the current “left-wing” government, which has abandoned the public and has encouraged terrorism.

Hiddush does not get involved in political disputes between the right-wing, centrist, and left-wing camps on issues unrelated to Hiddush's mission to promote religious freedom and equality. However, we cannot help but mention that this juxtaposition is artificial and false, as many researchers and journalists have pointed out over the years. They investigated the many terrorist attacks and victims during the years of Netanyahu's tenure as Prime Minister, as well as promises and pronouncements about public security, which never materialized.

MK Mansour Abbas, leader of the Islamic Ra'am Party wrote yesterday, following the murder of the innocents in Bnei Brak, after having previously condemned the terrorist acts in Hadera and Be'er Sheva:

“In Bnei Brak, a heinous and despicable terrorist crime took place today against innocent civilians. I join in the grief of the bereaved families and wish the wounded a complete healing... We all stand together against a wave of murderous terrorism – all of us, without distinction. The streets of Israel’s cities are packed with Arab and Jewish citizens; whoever embarks on a vile killing spree does not notice or distinguish between one and the other.

Ramadan, Passover, and Easter are approaching; morally, religiously, and as leaders, our duty as successors of the Prophet Abraham and adherents of the three religions is to initiate a process of reconciliation and partnership, based on the values of religion, belief in God, and in the universal human values that educate towards tolerance, peace, and sanctity of all human lives – and, of course, against hatred, crime and violence.”

Even fifty years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe warned again and again that if they talk about handing over the territories of the Land of Israel to the Arabs, the Arabs will immediately understand who the Land belongs to.

On the other hand, Rabbi Menachem Israeli, one of the active Chabad rabbis in Israel, wrote yesterday:

“To heal, we must know the root of the disease, and it is: ‘The sea is the same sea, and the Arabs are the same Arabs,’ as the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said. So he said, and he was correct. The Arabs do not need a real reason to murder Jews; they just need to smell our weakness... Even fifty years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe warned again and again that if they talk about handing over the territories of the Land of Israel to the Arabs, the Arabs will immediately understand who the Land belongs to. And when they understand this, we will pay a bloody price…

... What must we do so that these bastards do not come to kill us? The Holy Torah says ‘If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell’ (Numbers 33:55).

As long as the Arabs feel they have rights in this country, and the more we strengthen and justify their national aspiration, telling them that we are seeking peace in exchange for territories and a Palestinian state, the more their appetite will increase. That is the first reason for terrorism.

Yeshiva students marching with loudspeaker: “Tomorrow’s terrorist should be fired today!”

[And the second reason is that] The State of Israel has just invited Gentiles from Ukraine to come to Israel – sad. After all, this is exactly the cause of assimilation that weakens the Jewish people from within... Who am I to know the Divine accounting? But maybe this is the reason for the rise of terrorism? And even if it's not a reason for what was in the past, maybe the reason for it is because of the future. That is to say that since the State of Israel is opening its doors to Ukrainian Gentiles, perhaps the growing Arab terrorism is intended to tell the Ukrainian Gentiles: ‘It’s not worth it for you to come to Israel…’”

In this spirit, a group of yeshiva students from Ramat Hasharon that arrived in Bnei Brak last night, following the murders that took place there, was reported upon by the media, showing them shouting into a loudspeaker, calling for business owners not to employ Arabs: “Tomorrow’s terrorist should be fired today!”