Jerusalem, October 26, 2004...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is appalled that two rabbis associated with the Chabad Movement called for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be tried for "cooperating with the Nazis."

In a letter to Israeli Attorney General Menahem Mazus, rabbis Shalom Volpe from Israel and Yekutiel Rap from New York called for Sharon to be tried in court under the "Nazis and Nazi Collaborators Law" for, among other things, cooperating "with the Nazis when the Knesset and the government plan to deport thousands of Jews from their homes in order to transfer the property to Nazi organizations."

Ken Jacobson, ADL Associate National Director, who is currently in Israel, issued the following statement:

It matters not that these two rabbis represent a fringe group within the Chabad organization.  Their words should be condemned loudly and clearly by rabbinic leaders of all persuasions.

 

Comparing the Prime Minister of the State of Israel to a Nazi collaborator is not just offensive and a perversion of history.  It plays into the hands of Israel's enemies who often use the very same comparison to discredit Israel's rightful and moral place among the nations.

 

Moreover, the rabbis' words represent the height of incitement.  On this very memorial day of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin we are reminded that words have the power to unleash and legitimize violence.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.