^igal Amir believ^ he was domg the work of God when he murdered Yitzhak Eabin. He read the Torah that told him that God corn* mands the Jews to occupy Israel—all the land, including Judea and Samaria whenever it is witlain their powi^ tp do so. Condudmg we live in a Messianic age, he and his l^low believers contend that ownersMp of the land is a prerequisite of rsdemptEon—a st^ Mr. Rabin's pursuit of land-for-peaoe would prevent
But there are other arguments also based ovl Torah. For tJie saving of a life takes p3%cedence over all the comman^nents in the Torah, except Sn- iddatsy, incest and murder. Tlie Talmud states that even stopping to askarSbibi if it is per-to
carnation. While Mr. Mlible lead^of a dem ed king, Yigal Amir
was a
Bcy ratiier than an anoint-his life as ifwere di-
The place of religion in governance is a struggle with which every democracy must contend. It has never been more appar^t in Canada than it is today. The strain is even greater in Israel where there is no oonstitutaonal wall between religion and state. We]
might be required to overcome the oppression of a wicked government. But in allowing for such a possibility, we can clearly condemn t£is assassination, confident that change in Israel's democracy does not require a bullet.
bat to save a life might constitute a form of murder, as someone might die during such a delay.
As for-m e r Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Ovadiah once
the extremist ideas that encouraged, if not demand-
Amir follow the course he did, however, is more com-
_ iwere to come before lis whether tfuHnga it is oorr^ to sacnfice one life to bring the Messiah, we
.13.
_ democracy re-I quires a free marketplace of ideas. It ^ is di^cult, therefore, to draw lines with which we
Knesist ^ comfortable
regarding the latitude government is
ex-
that tlie Messisii (^mot oome at the cxist of the life of ev^ one Jew."
It is possible to cite other points of Torah and commentaiy supporting difoing i^ligious and political views. But the Iragedy of Yigal Amir's actions, and the sanction he was apparently given by his rabbis, is tliat Judaism, like any rehgion, can be dangerous if it is not taken as a whole. When
rone
scom-
mani
mands, he made a vain sacrifice in the name of God.
He did so in an age in which Israel exists as a democrasgr rather tb^ its Biblical monarchical in-
DiSicult — but not impossible. In the end, we must not outlaw the ideas of zealots or deny iiieir freedom to express them. But we must take eveiy opportunity to denounce them. And when their ideas lead them to break ihe law—or even to begin to conspire to do so—we must allow our governments to take preemptive action against them.
Such action is counter-intuitive to our notions of freedom and privacy. But we will not feel safe in any democracy — Israel or Canada—unless we know that an assassin's it is used. □
Ha¥© @m cipiifiioe yoii*d like t© voice?
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It is unimaginable that the Prime Minister was shot by a maniac with a grudge.
This letter was sent via e-mail from Daniel Quastel to his brother Jonas who lives in VancouveK Daniel is the grandson of Susan Quastel of Vancouver,
WMB. PMm SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
ihere is no shortage of words to describe what happened, no end to the editorials iiiat will be written, to the condemnations and other weepings.
But there is no way to talk about the flings—itfs too soon, too sharp, too &esh, to delve in and know what you feel about the unimaginable — that the Prime Minister, the democrati-
,was
bad, and that absolute situations can
shot down dead in the street by a maniac with a:
Even as I type these words I feel a ti^tness in my throat and water in my eyes. We never really thought it could happen to ushere,<Sdwe?
and final means—death.
Hie small splinter groups that have dropped off of Gush Emu-nim like bloodthirsty ticks are secretly applauding this murder. In certain homes aroimd the countiy, in Jerusalem, in Bnei Brak, but especially in Kiriat Arba and Gush Kat^, there are p^ple who are i^eling **the Killer was God's tool, doing God*s work".
On the TV and the radio, all the political parties are condemning the murder, left and right wing. But the people who do these things are so extreme ive no direct Knesset rep-
tiy, with all the wars and strife and international bickering, tliere has never been a political assassination here, nor did anyone consider it as being a possi-
know what, they will become stronger in tlieir twisted beliefs, fc^cause: 1. Since they are human beings, they feel guilt and shame. 2. Because they are be-lin'
I sat watching the news and I think that after all the crying and the funeral, one most important thing will be subconsciously remembered in our state: that it is possible to kill
the gmlt to change their belie&; therefore 3. They must reduce
Ml there is always the gun; that when you do not fit into the national a>nsensu3 ilien 3;^u do not have to try, rather you can curl upint
of absolute good and absolute
ij 28, is studying ■'Gurion in Beersheva, Israel.
is too strong a feeling to bear, and this will be done by increasing their belief in the rightness of what was done.
In psydioI(^ this is call^ dissonance reduction.
I can't write rniymore now. I can only feel changing mocds of anger and sadness and a sort of emptin^s one feels rarely. Well all be writing about this for a. long time to come.
^ehi sdchro baiuch.'' □
'I'll' ■ i I t t
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