American Orthodox Groups Condemn Israeli Extremist Violence
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(JTA) — Orthodox Jewish organizations in America are condemning attacks by religious extremists on Israeli soldiers and police officers.
In recent months there has been an increase in violent attacks against religious Jews in Israel who join the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police.
The leaders of the Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Council of America and National Council of Young Israel have issued official statements condemning such attacks. The statements were issued at the request of New York Orthodox activist David Nyer, the activist said in a news release sent to JTA.
Moishe Bane, president of the Orthodox Union, said in a statement that “violence by one Jew against another, whether physical or otherwise, is an assault on the Torah values that have been passed down through our mesorah (tradition), from generation to generation.”
A religious IDF soldier and his family in the haredi Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood were pelted with stones and had to be evacuated by police, in an incident that occurred last week. In February, an Orthodox soldier was attacked after stopping to pray at a synagogue in a Jerusalem neighborhood. In January, an IDF soldier was taken to the hospital after being hit with stones while driving through the haredi Orthodox-dominated Ramat Beit Shemesh.
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