Rabbis' merciless booklets justified Gaza atrocities

Israeli Defense Ministry admits to distributing a booklet written by military Rabbis which asked troops to show no mercy against Palestinians.

The real Satanic Verses

The admission was made in a letter to Member of Knesset Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) by an aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, attorney Ruth Bar, who acknowledged that the booklet "evidently contained certain content unsuitable for military publication."

The booklet which advocated cruelty against Palestinians included articles by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, telling soldiers to show no mercy because they were fighting a "cruel enemey" and "murderers".

“When you show mercy to a cruel enemy, you are being cruel to pure and honest soldiers … This is a war on murderers," the booklet quotes from far-right rabbi Shlomo Aviner.

The booklet also warned the soldiers against losing what it called an inch of Land of Israel to Palestinians.

The IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi summoned the chief military rabbi, Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki after Vilan urged the defense ministry to look in to the matter.

"After the mishap, Ashkenazi held a personal meeting with the chief military rabbi in which he was instructed to investigate the matter to ensure such incidents do not recur," a part of Bar's letter wrote.

Investigations show the military rabbinate had tried to turn the deadly Israeli offensive in Gaza into a holy war, asking soldiers to show cruelty at the time of need.

"The chief military rabbinate long ago broke barriers and turned the IDF's activity from fighting out of necessity into a holy war. If the chief of staff, his discussion with the chief military rabbi notwithstanding, does not set definite boundaries, he will very quickly be facing battalions of Jewish fundamentalists," Vilan told Haaretz. More

Did the Israeli Army Wage Jewish Jihad in Gaza?