Jerusalem, March 29, 2004 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is concerned and troubled at the violent and wholly inappropriate behavior that a number of hesder yeshiva students exhibited at a meeting held yesterday in Mitzpe Ramon to promote the Geneva Accords.

ADL's Jerusalem Office sent a letter to Rabbi David Avichail, head of the yeshiva:

"While your students have every right to demonstrate peacefully against the political platform laid out by the Accords and its initiators, the violent acts perpetrated by some of the demonstrators are not only unlawful they defy the very nature of the democracy that Israel stands for.

"Furthermore, by calling Yossi Beilin, Amiram Mitzna and other supporters of the Accords 'traitors', your students are inciting hatred and further violence.  We need not remind you the label 'traitor' was an important factor in the assassination of  Prime Minister Rabin."

ADL called on Rabbi Avichail to use his leadership role to educate his students against the type of actions and behavior that was reported to us and covered widely in the Israeli media.