The Israeli Rabbis’ Letter: a Translation

Today we post the controversial Rabbinical open letter in Israel prohibiting as a matter of religious obligation the renting or selling of property to non-Jews, translated and with reflections on its meaning by Iddo Tavory.  It has caused great controversy in Israel and beyond (link and link), including at DC as it challenges the meaning of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state.  -Jeff

The Translation:

In response to the query of many, we respond that is forbidden, by Torah-law, to sell a house or a field in the land of Israel to a non-Jew. As Maimonedes wrote: “as it is written (Deuteronomy 7:2) ‘thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them’ which means you shall give them no title to land. For if you do not give them title, their staying shall be temporary.” (laws: 77; 10, 4). And on that topic, the Torah warned in numerous places, that it causes evil and make the many sin in intermarriage, as it is said “For they will turn your sons away from following Me” (Deuteronomy 7:4), which is blasphemy (Maimonedes, 12:6). And it also causes the many to otherwise transgress, as the Torah has warned: “They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me” (Exodus 23: 33). And the sin of he who sells, and he who profits from it, is upon the heads of those who sell, God shall have mercy.

And evil upon evil, that he who sells or lets them rent an apartment in an area in which Jews are living, causes great damage to his neighbors, and for them it is said “and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” (Numbers 33: 55). For their way of life is different from that of Jews, and some of them harass us and make our life hard, to the point of danger to our very lives, as has become well known on several occasions. And even outside of Israel they have forbidden to sell them in Jewish neighborhoods for this very reason, and all the more so in the land of Israel, as it is elucidated in the [Jewish book of law] Shulhan Aruch (Yoreh Deah, 151) that it is a prohibition that pertains both to the realm of actions between man and God and that between man and his fellow man.

And it is well known that renting or selling even one apartment causes all of the neighbors’ apartments’ prices to go down, even when initially the renters or buyers seem nice. And he who rents or sells first thus causes his neighbors great loss, and his sin is too great to bear. And who let him do such a thing? And he causes others to sell their property after him, to take flight from the place. And those who follow him in selling to non-Jews, they compound the grave sin that is the responsibility of all.

And if this foreigner is violent and harasses his neighbors, then it was already elucidated in the Shulhan Aruch that all who sell to him should be excommunicated!! And that until the seller undoes this evil, even if that costs him much money. (Yoreh Deah 344: 43). And in our days, as it is well known, we do not excommunicate, as excommunication is of grave consequence.  However, his neighbors must talk to him and warn him, first in private, and if that doesn’t work, they are then allowed to make his name public. And to stay away from him socially, and to avoid having any business relations with him, and not to give him any honors in reading the Torah in synagogue, and other such measures. And that until he changes his decision on this issue that causes great harm to the many. And those who listen to us shall dwell in peace. Amen, may it be God’s will.

Reflections

You may ask why it is important to know exactly what the rabbis wrote. We know the gist of it already. However, there are a couple of things that I think could be noted if you actually do pay attention to it:

The letter begins in ordinary rabbinic fashion, with quotes from the Bible and from Maimonedes (and later from the “Shulhan Aruch,” which is a compilation of laws based on major interpretations of the Talmud). As many have opined based on this, the fact that these rabbis decreed that it is “prohibited” to sell to a non-Jew is not that surprising. There are plenty of sources they could use. Indeed, there was actually a short letter written a few years ago, that somehow did not make it to the news, that said basically the same, signed by 5-6 major rabbis. This does not make it less racist of course.

But now note the third paragraph. Here, suddenly, the rhetoric slightly changes to talk about real-estate prices, and the dangers of Jewish-flight (seems like this could be written by any white supremacist, just change “non-Jew” to Black, and “Jew” to White). Interesting that the rabbis’ letter so seamlessly articulate the presumably religious with the patently racist.

Last, and perhaps most troubling, the rabbis note that though official excommunication does not exist anymore in the Orthodox world, they recommend that people basically cut all social ties with those who sell or rent to Arabs. This, from people who receive their salary from the state (though not hired directly by the state, but through the rabbinate).

There are other things in the letter that deserve attention, but I leave the readers with the following: a week after the publication of this letter the following text appeared on posters all over Bat-Yam, a city adjacent to Tel-Aviv:

They will not hit on my sister!!!

What would you do if an Arab would hit on your sister?

We Make an End to it!

We became aware that of late there is a rise in a saddening phenomenon:hundreds of girls from Bat-Yam and the center are seeing Arabs. They assimilate into us, and their confidence is rising.

Let’s make an end to it!

Let’s shatter their confidence!

Jews, let us win!