A Rabbinic Ruling on Disengagement
- - - - by Akiva
Definitive Halachic (Jewish Law) Ruling Forbidding the Surrender of Any
Part of the Holy Land Recently Issued by 300 Prominent Israeli Rabbis Including Former Justices of Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical Court
"The meticulous observance of the Sabbath as a Day of Rest is one of the most cherished of all Jewish religious obligations. Nevertheless, the Code of Jewish Law prescribes (see Orach Chaim, 329:6) that if marauders approach a border town on the Sabbath, then even if their ostensible aim is merely to steal straw and stubble, we are commanded to take up arms and repel their attack, for otherwise the entire land will be easy for them to conquer and lives will thereby be jeopardized.
The above ruling applies more than fully to today’s situation. Firstly, the towns and settlements now under discussion are not merely close to Israel’s threatened borders: they themselves constitute the borders. Secondly, Israel’s neighbors are not coveting mere straw and stubble; they declare publicly that their goal is to dispossess Israel of entire cities, such as Jerusalem and Lod, and strategic lifelines, such as the Golan Heights. Thirdly, experience has taught that surrender of territories has provided Israel with (at best) a piece of paper.
Hence, since it is forbidden to jeopardize the lives of Israel’s residents, it is forbidden, under any circumstances, to surrender any part of the Holy Land.
PIKUACH NEFESH - The Rabbinical Congress for Peace
Rabbi's Endorsing the Ruling
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Part of the Holy Land Recently Issued by 300 Prominent Israeli Rabbis Including Former Justices of Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical Court
"The meticulous observance of the Sabbath as a Day of Rest is one of the most cherished of all Jewish religious obligations. Nevertheless, the Code of Jewish Law prescribes (see Orach Chaim, 329:6) that if marauders approach a border town on the Sabbath, then even if their ostensible aim is merely to steal straw and stubble, we are commanded to take up arms and repel their attack, for otherwise the entire land will be easy for them to conquer and lives will thereby be jeopardized.
The above ruling applies more than fully to today’s situation. Firstly, the towns and settlements now under discussion are not merely close to Israel’s threatened borders: they themselves constitute the borders. Secondly, Israel’s neighbors are not coveting mere straw and stubble; they declare publicly that their goal is to dispossess Israel of entire cities, such as Jerusalem and Lod, and strategic lifelines, such as the Golan Heights. Thirdly, experience has taught that surrender of territories has provided Israel with (at best) a piece of paper.
Hence, since it is forbidden to jeopardize the lives of Israel’s residents, it is forbidden, under any circumstances, to surrender any part of the Holy Land.
Rabbi's Endorsing the Ruling