Rabbis visit torched mosque, condemn attack

A day after the torching of the Beit Fajar mosque near Bethlehem, apparently by a group of extreme settlers, a delegation of prominent settler rabbis visited the site and publicly condemned the attack.

The delegation included Rabbi Lichtenstein from Gush Etzion, Rabbi Menachem Fruman from Tekoa, Efrat's Chief Rabbi Shlomi Rifkin and Rabbi Shlomo Brin from Yeshivat Har Etzion. They were escorted by IDF officers and jeeps,while dozens of Palestinian policemen deployed at the village and around the mosque – a day after a request to carry out the visit was denied. 

Rabbi Fruman at mosque (Photo: Noam Moscowitz)

Rabbi Brin stated that "Our goal is to share our horror at the attack of the mosque and to clearly state that this is not the way of the Torah or the Jewish way."

"This act does nothing for the settlements; it is morally and religiously wrong and is offensive to its core," he saidl "This is not how we educated our children; Islam is not a hostile religion even if we have a dispute with some of its followers."

'Very serious offense'

In conclusion, Rabbi Brin made it clear that "religion is religion and the mosque is a holy place to Muslims. We have no interest in offending their religious beliefs. To attack a place that is holy to our Muslim friends is a very serious offense. The person responsible for the attack is insignificant and didn't even bother to mention his name.

Another rabbi who took part in the visit added that "the people visiting today are residents of Judea and Samaria who believe that the presence and settlement in the land of our forefathers is part of our stance. In spite of this, we condemn the attack."

Yair Altman contributed to the story

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