A LETTER signed by 27 prominent Israeli rabbis’ wives calls on Jewish girls not to go out with Arabs or work in places where Arabs are employed.
The letter states: “There are quite a few Arab workers who give themselves Hebrew names. Yussef turns into Yossi, Samir turns into Sami, and Abed turns into Ami.
“They ask to be close to you, try to find favour with you, and give you all the attention in world. They know how to act with courtesy, as if they really care for you, but their behaviour is only temporary. The moment you are in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes. Your life will never go back to the way it was, and the attention you so desired will turn into curses, beatings, and humiliations.”
The initiative was backed by Tzipi Hotovel, from the prime minister’s ruling Likud party. “The intermarriage phenomenon among Jewish girls and Arab men is dangerous for women, who suffer abuse and disconnection from their families after the marriage,” she said.
But Labor party leader Ehud Barak warned that a wave of dangerous racism was threatening to take over Israeli society. “The Labor party under my leadership is working to bring the Israeli people together, from all nationalities, in the spirit of the declaration of independence.”
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, head of Israel’s Reform branch of Judaism, also condemned the letter. “Israeli society is nearing a deep dark abyss of racism and xenophobia encouraged by an inciting rabbinical establishment,” he warned.
Among those who signed the letter were the wives and daughters of senior rabbis, including the daughter of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a member of Israel’s coalition government.
Groups working against intermarriage estimate some 25,000 Jewish women have married or are involved with Arab men.
The letter is only the latest in a series of anti-Arab initiatives by right-wing religious elements.
Earlier this month there was outrage after dozens of municipal rabbis signed a petition urging Jews not to rent or sell homes to non-Jews.
A few weeks ago Jewish residents protested in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, warning Jewish women to stay away from Arab men.