Over the last week, the Kingdom of Brunei and the Islamic Republic of Somalia have both banned Christians from celebrating Christmas within their domains. Now, Rabbi Gopstein, the leader of the ultra-orthodox Jewish group Lahava, which means Flame in Hebrew, wants Israel to follow suit.
Rabbi Gopstein said: "Christmas has no place in the Holy Land and Christians must leave the region. Missionary work must not be given a foothold and let’s throw the vampires out of our land before they drink our blood again.”
Known for his controversial views, in August, Rabbi Gopstein called for the burning down of Christian churches in Israel. However, he said he had been misquoted in his latest outburst adding that he only called Christian missionary groups vampires, not all Christians.
Ahmad Taibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, denounced Rabbi Gopstein’s Lahava organisation calling it a hate group engaged in spreading racist violence against Muslims and Christians. In the past, the group has also been accused of opposing marriages between Jews and Arabs.
Mr Taibi said: “The Israeli government is complicit and is aiding and abetting racists and terrorists like Gopstein. The government is guilty of institutional racism against its Arab citizens as while it punishes the Islamic movement for incitement, authorities allow organisations such as Gopstein’s to spread religious hatred."
Rabbi Gopstein is said to view himself as the successor to his former mentor, Orthodox Rabbi Meir Kahane, who before he was killed in New York City in 1990 advocated expelling all Palestinians from Israel. Lahava is considered dangerous by Israeli security agencies and in July, several members were arrested for firebombing a Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Duma that killed an 18-month-old boy and his parents.
Comments
Post a Comment