Posted on 07/07/2004 11:11:20 AM PDT by Nachum
As the debate about resisting the expulsion of Gaza's Jews heats up, some who vehemently oppose the 'illegal order' to transfer Arabs are calling the same opposition to the transfer of Jews "incitement."
Pressure is being placed on Attorney-General Meni Mazuz to put on trial right-wing figures who mention the word "rodef" in their public statements regarding the disengagement plan. A "rodef" is one who is about to murder or cause the wrongful death of a person, thus leaving himself open to be killed by anyone who can stop the murder. Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl recently quoted, in a public forum, the well-known Halakhic [Jewish Legal] ruling that one who causes the loss of Jewish-owned property to bandits in a manner that could lead to loss of life is also a "rodef" - but he emphasized that this law does not apply to the current situation. He brought himself the wrath of the establishment, however, for using the word - though Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid emphasized this morning that the rabbi's explanation that the law does not apply would "make it very difficult to put him on trial."
Labor MK Dalia Itzik inflamed matters by saying in the Knesset yesterday, "The names of the rabbis who called Rabin a 'rodef' were covered up, but the name of the rabbi who has 'let the blood' of Sharon is known: Avigdor Nebenzahl. Why does Attorney-General Mazuz not put him on trial?"
Mazuz was to convene a meeting today to discuss how to deal with statements that smack of incitement. It was announced this morning, however, that the meeting has been postponed, for "technical" reasons, until next week. In addition to Rabbi Nebenzahl, another public figure likely to be discussed at that time is a former top aide to then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Uri Elitzur. Elitzur was quoted recently as saying that we would "understand" if efforts to expel people from their homes would be met with bodily violence.
In response to demands by MKs such as Avshalom Vilan (Meretz-Yahad) that Elitzur be indicted for incitement, the latter said yesterday that while Justice Minister Yosef Lapid himself has publicly supported refusal to serve in the IDF in any capacity as a form of protest, "I am merely calling for soldiers to refuse to carry out an illegal order - a principle taught to every IDF soldier during basic training." Elitzur quoted Lapid as having written, "The shame of exempting yeshiva students from IDF service will not end until a draft refusal movement arises in Israel ... Only if hundreds and thousands of draftees return their service orders will the political establishment be compelled to come to the IDF's aid."
Yossi Sarid and former MK Ya'ir Tzaban wrote in Yediot Acharonot (June 27, 1990), in response to a proposal to temporarily move several Arab villages until the end of the grape harvest: "Let there be no misunderstandings amongst us, and let it not be said that you were not warned in advance: We shall not obey the transfer order, nor will our children or our students obey it. The day that the transfer order - a patently illegal order - is given, shall be the day of refusal to obey an order."
Elitzur also noted the recent Supreme Court decision preventing the expropriation of land for the construction of the counter-terrorism security barrier: "In light of this, how can the government feel it has the right to uproot 22 communities in Gaza, including land, homes, and entire townships?"
Elitzur stressed that one is prohibited from striking soldiers, but that it is even more prohibited to remove persons from their homes against their will. He said that if anyone ever comes to remove him from his home, he would resist with all his ability and would not permit anyone to remove him without a fight.
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