Legal action against hate speech involving Bentzi Gopstein who stated in a public debate that “idolatrous places must be destroyed”.
A complaint for hate speech against Rabbi Bentzi Gopstein, leader of Lehava, one of the most extreme movements of the Jewish religious right. Faced with the escalation of violence in recent weeks, and the promises of the Netanyahu government, the heads of the Catholic Churches of Jerusalem are going turning from appeals to legal pathways. They explicitly put on trial not only those who set fire to churches and mosques, but also those who with their own teaching encourage young people to carry out these violent acts.
Underlying the initiative is a specific incident: a few days ago in Jerusalem, at a roundtable held in front of many students of the yeshiva, the rabbinical schools, Rabbi Gopstein expressly endorsed the fires. Asked about his position with respect to the “churches burned in the Land of Israel,” Gopstein responded: “Did or did not Maimonides (the great Jewish philosopher of the twelfth century, considered a point of reference in the interpretation of the Torah ed) establish that idolatrous places should be destroyed? They should be destroyed, it is that simple. What question is there?” And to the moderator who warned him, pointing out that the round table was filmed and therefore he could also be arrested for these claims, the leader of Lehava replied: “That's the least of my worries. In the name of truth I am willing to remain in prison even fifty years.”
As early as Friday morning, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land - which brings together the bishops of the various rites - had filed a complaint with the police, accusing Gopstein of the crime of hate speech. “These words, uttered after worrying acts of vandalism against the holy places in Israel, are unacceptable,” they said in a statement, “inciting hatred and representing a real threat to the Christian religious buildings in the country. The Catholic community in the Holy Land is afraid and feels in danger. The Assembly calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure effective protection of Christian citizens in this country and their places of worship.”
Then yesterday - facing the lack of action against Lehava - a new step was taken by the lawyer of the Custody of the Holy Land, Farid Joubran, with a letter sent to the attorney general Yehuda Weinstein and State Attorney Shai Nitzan - the two competent authorities. The letter criticizes the fact that no action has yet been taken: “This delay,” writes the lawyer Joubran, “could be interpreted by some as a weakness on the part of those who must enforce the law, if not as a seal of approval for Lehava’s racist provocations. It is not the right time for postponements, delays and omissions.”
For his part, Gopstein defended himself, criticizing what he calls interference in a discussion on halakha, the Jewish law: “It is time to remind the Vatican that the time of censoring Jewish books has passed. Hands off the Torah,” he wrote on his Facebook profile. The initiative of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land is an important test of the actual determination of the Israeli authorities in tackling the roots of the Jewish terrorism. For some time now the bishops have pointed out some yeshiva, where hatred is incited against Christians, as being the true cause of the wave of violence in recent weeks culminating in the burning of the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves in Tabgha and in the house in the Palestinian village of Duma where the little eighteen-month Ali and his father were killed. Following this the Netanyahu government has promised an iron fist and just in the last hours it has arrested those who would be the perpetrators of the fires. But the problem remains of the religious people who, with their extremist readings of the Torah, set the stage for these acts of violence to multiply. Just last Tuesday the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service, stated that there was insufficient evidence to outlaw the activity of Lehava, the organization led by Gopstein.
