This is Israel Shahak's point about the ethnocentrism of any strict interpretation of Jewish law. And it's in Haaretz, thanks to Breaking the Silence:
An overview of some of the army rabbinate's
publications made available during the fighting reflects the tone of
nationalist propaganda that steps blatantly into politics, sounds
racist and can be interpreted as a call to challenge international law
when it comes to dealing with enemy civilians.
Haaretz has received some of the publications through Breaking the
Silence, a group of former soldiers who collect evidence of
unacceptable behavior in the army vis-a-vis Palestinians. Other
material was provided by officers and men who received it during
Operation Cast Lead. Following are quotations from this material:
"[There is] a biblical ban on surrendering a single millimeter of
it [the Land of Israel] to gentiles, though all sorts of impure
distortions and foolishness of autonomy, enclaves and other national
weaknesses. We will not abandon it to the hands of another nation, not
a finger, not a nail of it." This is an excerpt from a publication
entitled "Daily Torah studies for the soldier and the commander in
Operation Cast Lead," issued by the IDF rabbinate. The text is from
"Books of Rabbi Shlomo Aviner," who heads the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva in
the Muslim quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.
publications made available during the fighting reflects the tone of
nationalist propaganda that steps blatantly into politics, sounds
racist and can be interpreted as a call to challenge international law
when it comes to dealing with enemy civilians.
Haaretz has received some of the publications through Breaking the
Silence, a group of former soldiers who collect evidence of
unacceptable behavior in the army vis-a-vis Palestinians. Other
material was provided by officers and men who received it during
Operation Cast Lead. Following are quotations from this material:
"[There is] a biblical ban on surrendering a single millimeter of
it [the Land of Israel] to gentiles, though all sorts of impure
distortions and foolishness of autonomy, enclaves and other national
weaknesses. We will not abandon it to the hands of another nation, not
a finger, not a nail of it." This is an excerpt from a publication
entitled "Daily Torah studies for the soldier and the commander in
Operation Cast Lead," issued by the IDF rabbinate. The text is from
"Books of Rabbi Shlomo Aviner," who heads the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva in
the Muslim quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.
