ARTICLE

Time for Soul Searching

A Man without a Conscience

Adolf Eichmann... the face of a man without a conscience

Gideon Hausner, the esteemed former Attorney General of Israel, who prosecuted Adolf Eichmann on behalf of the state in 1961, would sometimes describe to his family and close friends what it was like to look into the eyes of a man who was personally responsible for the systematic killing of so many Jews; the man responsible for immeasurable amounts of pain, torment and grief caused to so many of his fellow human beings. Hausner said it was like "looking into the face of a man without a conscience".


"Jack" Teitel... "it has been a pleasure and honor to serve my G-d"

Unfortunately that face, that familiar blank stare, has appeared and reappeared in the faces of so many tormentors and persecutors throughout the history of the Jewish people. From Haman to Titus, to Hitler , and more recently to Achmadinejad the President of Iran, the face of indifferent cruelty has never ceased to remind us of the importance of teaching the most basic principle of the Torah: that life is sacred because every human being has been created in the image of their Maker.

 Please explain how one amasses a significant arsenal of military-grade weapons in Israel without speaking any Hebrew

It was quite alarming to see that same face appear once again on our television screens this week, and this time from an unexpected corner of the globe. Our own backyard. Yaacov "Jack" Teitel , an orthodox Jewish Israeli citizen was indicted this week for the indiscriminate slaying of two Palestinians, the bombing of Messianic Jewish youth Ami Ortiz , the bombing of Israel Prize Laureate Prof. Zeev Sternhell , and several other hate crimes. When asked by reporters to comment on his atrocious actions, Teitel repeatedly smiled at the cameras and said "it has been a pleasure and honor to serve my G-d. No regrets… no regrets".

Stating the Obvious

The obvious reality is that Teitel, like Eichmann, did not become a systematic brutal murderer simply of his own volition. Rather, he is the operative arm of a radical racist element which has succeeded to infiltrate the public establishment and poison the minds of many well-meaning Israelis. Self-described "anti-missionary organizations" who are really nothing more than a revived ultra-orthodox Jewish version of the Klu Klux Klan have, in their zeal to "purify" the land of Israel, forgotten what it means to be a true Jew. By harassing and persecuting law abiding citizens solely because of their religious affiliation, they have diverged from legitimate Jewish activity. It is time for ultra-orthodox Jewish rabbis to start searching their souls.

Are we saying that all ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel are evil? G-d forbid. There are many G-d fearing, peace loving, upstanding citizens in their ranks just like there were in Germany in 1945. If fact, there is no real contradiction between Orthodox Judaism and democracy. There is a major conflict however between radical orthodox institutions, some of which are endorsed by major rabbis in Israel, and democratic principles such as tolerance, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and equality for minority streams.

Teitel's lawyer, Adi Keidar, who is being financed by "Honenu" an organization endorsed by several very prominent ultra-orthodox rabbis in Israel (such as Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, Rabbi Simcha Hacohen Kook, and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef) laughably claims that his client is not mentally stable. This assertion, beyond being a typical last resort legal tactic, has dangerous implications. By hastily brushing aside Teitel's actions as the behavior of a deranged man, the whole sector of society to which he belongs and the leaders from whom he derived his theological and spiritual inspiration can conveniently wash their hands of his actions.

Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva is supported by the Israeli Government

Not so fast, friends. Teitel is not insane; at least not according the State psychologists who tested him to confirm that he is stable enough to stand trial. Teitel, like Eichmann, is actually quite intelligent. He has been described by the GSS as a gifted "auto-deduct", who throughout the time period in which he carried out his heinous actions, was building a successful internet marketing business. Furthermore, let's ask the obvious question. If Teitel's actions are the freak behavior of a deranged individual, and not an expression of these rabbis' world view, why are they endorsing the organization which is granting Teitel free legal representation? At the very least, aren't they sending a double message to their crowd of believers?

Teitel was obviously not acting alone

Or is there really even a double message? The fact that within two weeks of Teitel's arrest, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, published in his book "The King's Torah" that even Gentile babies and children can be killed if they pose a threat to the nation, sends a very clear message to the next generation of devout orthodox Jews in Israel. What is even more alarming is that the Od Yoseh Chai Yeshiva is supported by the Israeli government. In fact, according to Ha'aretz Newspaper, the yeshiva received over NIS 1,000,000 from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2006-2007.

Difficult Questions

Let's be honest. Teitel was obviously not acting alone. Having lived in Israel for little more than nine years, he does not speak any Hebrew. So, how one amasses a significant arsenal of military-grade weapons in Israel without speaking any Hebrew? And who prepared the "anti-missionary", anti-Arab and anti-homosexual posters which Teitel allegedly posted around neighborhoods in Israel, which were written in proper Hebrew? Who drafted them? Who printed them?

We, at the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, hope and pray that the leaders of the ultra-orthodox movement in Israel, as well as Israel's law enforcement agencies, will have the courage to ask these difficult questions. The future of human rights and the rule of law in Israel hang in the balance.

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