DUBAI (Al Arabiya)
An Arab member of the Israeli parliament called for a ban on a book written by a rabbi who sanctions the killing of non-Jewish children if they pose a threat to security, according to press reports Tuesday.
The 320-page book called "The Torah of the King" is a collection of religious edicts, backed by fanatic Jews and extremist right-wing groups, sanctioning the killing of gentiles, non-Jews, including babies and children, if they pose a threat to Israel’s security.
Dr. Jamal Zahalka, the Knesset's representative of the Arab nationalist party Balad, filed a complaint with the attorney general and called for the book to be banned and its author, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, to be prosecuted, the Lebanese newspaper Assafir reported Tuesday.
Zahalka likened the instructions in the book to Israel's actions against Palestinians but added "the only difference is that Israel tries to justify its crimes while the author of the book argues that there is no need to offer explanations for killing Arabs.”
According to Rabbi Shapira, non-Jews who weaken the sovereignty of Jews, even by speech, should be killed even if they are not directly involved in a threatening situation.
Many prominent rabbis have praised the book and recommended it to their students and followers, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday. The book is based on quotations from the Bible to which Shapira added his opinion.
The publication of the book coincided with the commemoration of the death of Meir Kahane, an ultra-nationalist rabbi and a member of the Knesset who promoted the mass-expulsion of Palestinians.
The book was also sold in the religious school of the Yitzhar settlement, near Nablus. In addition to the fact the settlement contains the largest number of Kahane supporters, it is also headed by Rabbi Shapira himself.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid) |
