A tale of two rabbis: Eliyahu Mali and Elhanan Beck

From Anadolu Agency (AA), the Turkish state-owned news news agency.

1. Eliyahu Mali

An Israeli rabbi urged the killing of women and children in the Gaza Strip and said he considered it a response to the teachings of halakha, or Jewish law.

It came from Eliyahu Mali in a video that was widely circulated Thursday on social media.

Mali heads the Shirat Moshe religious school in Jaffa in central Israel, where students serve in the army.

“In our mitzvah (holy) war, in our situation in Gaza, according to what the law says, ‘Not every soul shall live,’ and the logic of this is very clear: if you do not kill them, they will kill you,” said Mali.

He claimed that those described as "vandals" in today's war are “the children of the previous war whom we kept alive, and in reality, it is the women who produce terrorists.”

“This means that this rule (do not keep alive every soul) is very clear in its concept, either you or them," he said. “Whoever comes to kill you, kill him first.”

“Whoever comes to kill you with this concept does not only include the young man aged 16, 18, 20, or 30 who is now pointing a weapon at you, but also the future generation (the children of Gaza), and those who produce the future generation (women of Gaza), because there is really no difference,” he said.




2. Elhanan Beck

[The video is here.]

- ‘A person who can justify genocide, a person who can commit genocide, I can't count him as a Jew. People (who) justify genocide, they are more Nazis than Jews,’ Orthodox Rabbi Elhanan Beck tells Anadolu

- ’75 years of killing. Still, Jews live in the Muslim world peacefully. Take the example, in Morocco, in Tunisia, in Algeria, in Iran, in Türkiye, in Yemen,’ says Beck, a leading Rabbi of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta movement

- On Oct. 7 attacks, Beck explains: ‘Oct. 7 didn't start on Oct. 7. It started in 1948 on May 15. It was started by the Nakba for the Palestinians. This happened and they want to cover up their killings, the genocide, with more genocide, with more killings’

LONDON

Israel has long claimed to be a safe haven for the Jewish people, an assertion that has been widely affirmed by Israeli officials for decades, as well as by key legislation and policy allowing Jews all over the world to settle within its borders.

But according to one of Britain’s well-known Jewish figures, far from providing the safety and security it claims, Israel since its inception has brought little more than “bloodshed after bloodshed” for the Jewish people.

“Today, where is the most dangerous place for Jewish people?” asked Elhanan Beck, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, speaking to Anadolu in an interview.

“Go all around the world, all the world. You will come to one point, the middle of the world, the state of Israel. That is the most dangerous place for Jewish people,” said the Rabbi, who has lived for decades in the UK, which he suggested was much safer for Jews than Israel.

“I’ve lived in England for 36 years. I don't know how an English soldier looks like. I never saw them. I don't know the uniform, how it looks like … This means a safe country,” he said, adding: “Jews have a good life today in England, in the USA.”

Orthodox Jews have long been one of the strongest non-Muslim voices against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories as they have repeatedly expressed their wishes for the “peaceful dismantlement of the state of Israel.”

Members of the community rose to prominence once again since Israel launched its latest campaign against the Gaza Strip, ongoing for more than two-and-a-half months. Members of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City) movement have been vocal participants of massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London.

Beck, a leading Rabbi from that movement and community, spoke to Anadolu at the group's main building on Stamford Hill in north London, home to thousands of Orthodox Jews.

During the interview, he asserted that Zionism was in "total opposition" with the Jewish faith, saying that Orthodox Jews were against the foundation of Israel from the very emergence of the idea of Zionism.

Elaborating, Beck said Zionism was not only non-religious but also a "rebellion against God," as it sought to create a land for Jewish people despite Jews’ belief that they are “in exile” by God.

Israel will come to an end ‘sooner or later'

“Zionism is basically built upon mistrusting God, don't believe in God, don't trust God. From the other side, Judaism is built upon trust in God,” Beck explained.

“The state of Israel is a rebellion against God and will not succeed. They will come to an end sooner or later, but they will come to an end,” said Beck, adding that in its 75 years of existence, Israel has failed to achieve peace.

“How many countries have been established in these 75 years? Fifty? Sixty? Many counties. Everybody has peace. The only place where there is no peace for a single day, that is the state of Israel,” he said.

According to Beck, most Orthodox Jews “are strongly opposing the state of Israel,” and are “waiting for the dismantlement of the state of Israel.”

“Of course, we’re looking for a peaceful dismantlement. Nobody looks for bloodshed, but they’re looking for the end of this state of Israel.”