RABI WA ISRAELI ASEMA 'WAUENI WOTE GAZA PAMOJA NA WATOTO WACHANGA'

Rabi Eliyahu Mali wa Yeshiva ya Shirat Moshe huko Jaffa ametoa kauli inayoshauri jeshi la Israel kuua kila mtu huko Gaza, pamoja na watoto wachanga.

Kauli hii ilitolewa wakati wa mkutano wa Machi 8, ambapo Mali alisema kwa mujibu wa kanuni za halakha (mfumo wa maadili na sheria za Kiyahudi), wakazi wote wa Gaza wanapaswa kuuawa. Alipoulizwa kuhusu watoto, alijibu, "Ni sawa. Hauwezi kuwa na hekima na Torati. Leo ni mtoto, kesho ni mpiganaji. Hakuna maswali hapa. Magaidi wa leo walikuwa watoto wa miaka 8 hapo awali."

Aidha, aliongeza kwamba "wale wanaounda magaidi" nao wanapaswa kuuawa, akiashiria wanawake huko Gaza. Rabi huyo aliendelea kueleza kuwa vita vya Israel dhidi ya Gaza ni "vita vya Mitzvah," vinavyofafanuliwa kama vita vya "amri" katika mila ya Kiyahudi. Kwa mujibu wa sheria za Kiyahudi, aina hii ya vita haitaji idhini kutoka kwa "Sanhedrin," inayojulikana kama baraza au kikao, kama ilivyokuwa vita dhidi ya Amaleki - iliyotangazwa hapo awali katika kumbukumbu ya Biblia na Waziri Mkuu wa Israel Benjamin Netanyahu mwanzoni mwa vita vya Gaza.

Mali aliendelea kusema kuwa kuna tofauti kati ya idadi ya watu wa kiraia mahali pengine na idadi ya watu wa kiraia Gaza. Kwa mujibu wa makadirio, Gaza ina asilimia 95 hadi 98 ya watu wanaotaka kuangamizwa kwao. Aliongeza, "Kwa kuwa hili ni suala nyeti, na nimeambiwa kuwa litapakiwa kwenye Mtandao, nataka kuwa mbele na kusema kuwa hitimisho ni kwamba lazima ufanye kama inavyosemwa katika amri za IDF," aliongeza Mali.

Wanafunzi wa Rabi katika yeshiva ya Shirat Moshe wanahudumu katika jeshi la Israel, na yeshiva yenyewe inapata ufadhili kutoka serikali ya Israel. Baadhi nchini Israel wamejitenga na kauli yake, akiwemo kiongozi wa chama cha Kazi, Merav Michaeli, ambaye amesema, "Kutumia Halakha haimpi kibali rabi yeyote kuonyesha Uyahudi au Israel kama wenye kiu ya damu na kisasi. Hii inaathiri moja kwa moja usalama wa Nchi ya Israel, na kama taarifa zingine zilizopotoshwa kwa jina la Halakha, itatumika na maadui zetu... Naitaka IDF na Wizara ya Ulinzi kuacha kushirikiana na yeshiva hadi rabi atakapofutwa kazi. IDF isiruhusu uharibifu wa maadili hatari kama huo miongoni mwa wafanyakazi wake," alisema. Kwa muda mrefu, Mali amekuwa mtu mwenye utata kutokana na imani zake. Mwaka 2021, muda mfupi kabla ya kuanza kwa vita vya Upanga wa Yerusalemu kati ya Israel na upinzani wa Gaza, alishambuliwa na raia wa Palestina huko Jaffa.

English

Israeli rabbi says ‘kill everyone in Gaza, including babies’

Rabbi Eliyahu Mali and his Yeshiva are sponsored by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government

Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, head of the Shirat Moshe yeshiva (religious school) in the occupied city of Jaffa, called on the Israeli army to kill everyone in Gaza, including babies. 

During a conference on 8 March, Mali said that “according to the halachic principle (a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning in Judaism), all residents of Gaza must be killed.” 

When asked during the conference if babies should be killed as well, he said: “The same thing. You can't be clever with the Torah. Today he's a baby, tomorrow he's a fighter. There are no questions here. Today's terrorists were previously 8-year-old children.”

“Those who create the terrorists” should also be killed, he said in reference to women in Gaza.

The Rabbi went on to explain that Israel’s war on Gaza is a “Mitzvah war,” which is defined as a war of “commandment” in Jewish tradition. According to Jewish law, this kind of war does not require permission from a “Sanhedrin,” also known as a council or assembly, such as the war against Amalek – previously declared in a biblical reference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the war on Gaza.

“There is a difference between a civilian population in other places and a civilian population in Gaza. In Gaza, according to estimates, 95 to 98 percent want us destroyed.” 

"Since this is a sensitive issue, and I was told that it is being uploaded on the Internet, I want to be ahead of the curve and say that the bottom line is that you have to do exactly what is said in the IDF's order,” Mali added. 

The rabbi’s students in the Shirat Moshe yeshiva serve in the Israeli army. The Yeshiva is sponsored by the Israeli government. 

Some in Israel have distanced themselves from his rhetoric, such as Israeli Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli. 

"Using Halacha does not give any rabbi permission to present Judaism or Israel as bloodthirsty and revengeful. This directly harms the security of the State of Israel and like other distorted statements in the name of Halacha, it will be used by our enemies … I demand that the IDF and the Ministry of Defense stop cooperating with the Yeshiva until the rabbi is fired. The IDF must not allow such dangerous moral corruption in its ranks," she said.

Mali has long been a controversial figure due to his beliefs. In 2021, shortly before the outbreak of the Sword of Jerusalem battle between Israel and the Gaza resistance, he was beaten up by Palestinian citizens of Israel on the streets of occupied Jaffa.