Rabbi invokes Jewish law permitting killing of politicians cooperating with Arab parties - report

Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in Israel distanced itself from Rabbi Gedalia Axelrod, a former head of the Haifa Rabbinical Court, after he issued a handwritten letter with a halachic ruling invoking a religious doctrine that permits using lethal force against Jewish party leaders who cooperate with Arab parties, Haaretz reported on Thursday.In his letter, Axelrod reportedly argued that Jewish politicians who cooperate with the Arab parties were subject to the principle of “din rodef,” according to Haaretz. The term “rodef” in Hebrew translates to pursuer, and the religious doctrine stems from mitzvot commanding the saving of “a person who is being pursued, by killing the pursuer; Not to have mercy on the pursuer; Not to stand idly by when a colleague's life is in danger,” according to Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon. Haaretz reported that the handwritten letter by Axelrod asserted that collaborating with the Arab parties in Israel "poses a terrible danger to the people of Israel in the Holy Land and around the world." Axelrod argued that such collaboration could look like inviting Arab parties to join a governing coalition or relying on their support from outside it.In response, a group of former heads of Israel's security services and military called on police to investigate Axelrod on suspicion of incitement to murder. In a letter to Maj.-Gen.