Quote: "In recordings in the police's possession, your client [Yehuda Glick] is seen and heard praying ... and reciting the prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel and for the welfare of IDF soldiers. ... A criminal file has been opened against your client. ... Signed: Superintendent Shimi Marciano."
I do not know Yehuda Glick personally. But his name is familiar to anyone who keeps up with the news: He is one of the people who works to encourage Jews to visit the Temple Mount. The State of Israel and its judiciary have never deemed this activity as illegal. On the contrary: The High Court of Justice has ruled time and again that Jews are permitted to pray on the Temple Mount -- providing, of course, that public order is preserved.
Now, what should one do when he comes across an official state document, bearing the Israel Police letterhead, stating that this man, Yehuda Glick (whom I have never met or spoken with), is barred from going up to the Temple Mount because he was caught praying there? It is true that entrance to the compound must be coordinated ahead of time, and it is well known that one must avoid creating any provocation on the premises, but let's not get carried away.
It bears repeating: The State of Israel is punishing a person for having prayed for the welfare of the country and its soldiers, and has ruled that as punishment, he may not enter the Temple Mount compound. All the while the investigation into his alleged "crimes" is still ongoing.
There is something else. Demonstrations against the state take place routinely on the Temple Mount. Harsh racist slogans against Jews and Israel Defense Forces soldiers are shouted there, and posters bearing similar messages are prevalent as well. All of this is done under the aegis of free speech. Fine. We can live with that. But if freedom of speech allows people to insult the state and wish death on its soldiers, does it not tolerate the recitation of prayers for the welfare of the state and its soldiers in the same place-
The police claim they fear Jewish prayer will inflame the Muslim extremists. Let's say this is true.
At the end of the first Lebanon War, Peace Now wanted to hold a demonstration. This turned out to be the demonstration in which Emil Grunzweig was murdered. The police had barred the demonstration fearing that things might heat up. Peace Now officials appealed to the High Court of Justice, which overturned the police's decision.
The court's ruling stated the following, more or less: It is inconceivable that the fear of criminal activity will lead to a ban on an activity that is permitted by law. Demonstrating is permitted in Israel, and if the police fear that protesters may be harmed, it is their job to protect them, not capitulate to criminals. In the words of our sages: "A sinner should not be rewarded."
The same is true of the Temple Mount -- there is a court ruling stating that Jews have the right to pray there. In other words, it is a legal activity.
But as it turns out, the police have determined that some prayers are permitted while others are forbidden. One may pray on the Temple Mount for the destruction of Israel, but one may not pray for its welfare.
What awaits us next? Will a police permit be required to print prayer books-
On second thought, regarding the differences between various types of prayer, we can learn from an incident that took place during the enlightened rule of Duke of Transylvania Stephen Bathory in the 16th century.
Illiterate himself, Bathory sent his son to prestigious schools. One day, he received a letter from his son, who was attending the renowned Bolyai-Farkas school in Targu Mures. At that moment, he saw the butcher arriving at his palace with several cuts of meat. He called the butcher over and asked him to read his son's letter to him.
The butcher, a rugged man, read in a whiny, demanding tone: "Father, my trousers have fallen apart from overuse. Send me money to buy new ones."
When the butcher had finished reading the letter, Bathory said, "See how insolent my son is! It is not enough that I am paying a fortune for his schooling, but he makes even more demands. He will not see a penny from me!"
But Bathory, knowing that his court was filled with intrigue, decided to ask someone else to read the letter to him. Looking out of his palace window, he saw the cantor of the Jewish community passing by. He called to the cantor and asked him to read him his son's letter. In a soft, pleading tone, the cantor read: "Father, my trousers have fallen apart from overuse. Send me money to buy new ones."
Bathory's eyes filled with tears. "See what a pleading tone my son uses, and how much he respects me! I will give him whatever he desires."
On third thought, it seems that Iranian President Hasan Rouhani is familiar with this story.
Where is the money-
During the election campaign, the Finance Minister Yair Lapid was fond of the question: "Where is the money-" Well, this week a mass grave containing a 1 billion shekels ($283 million) was discovered. That is the Palestinian Authority's debt to the Israel Electric Corporation. The Palestinians are not paying. We are doing it for them. Each and every one of us is paying the electric bill of a family in Nablus or in Ramallah along with our own.
If any one of us were to accumulate a debt, even a far smaller one, we would encounter the IEC employees coming to cut off the power. But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is like an IEC employee. He gets free electricity at our expense. Except that IEC employees cost the rest of us a few million shekels, while the electricity Abbas receives has reached NIS 1 billion.
On the other hand, this may be the result of a slight misunderstanding. It may be that the Palestinians do not know that generating electricity costs money. There is even proof of this assumption. Here it is:
During physics class, the teacher asked the students: "Who knows how electricity is generated-"
Yossi raised his hand and said: "I know. Electricity is created every time we use the bathroom."
"What-!" the teacher said, "Where on earth did you get that idea-"
"From my father," Yossi said. "Every time we have a blackout, he says, 'Shit!'"
Correction
I was so happy to receive a link saying that Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau had not made a statement attributed to him -- that religious girls were forbidden to enlist in the army -- that I did not bother to look further. It was a mistake. The speaker was Rabbi Benny Lau. I regret the error.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו