British Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits has returned from Canada to a storm of controversy over his remarks critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian refugees, contained in an interview the Evening Standard published while he was away.
Lord Jakobovits, who retires in August after 24 years as chief rabbi of Britain and the Commonwealth, said he was “angry and scandalized” by the front-page headline — “Chief Rabbi Shames Israel” — with which the Standard topped the piece.
The Standard defended it but deleted the word “shames” from the final edition, at the demand of the chief rabbi’s office here.
Speaking from Toronto, where he received the prestigious Templeton Award for progress in religion last week, the rabbi called the headline a “complete falsification” of his words.
“When I give an interview, I rely on the integrity and honesty of the press. In this case, there was neither,” he said.
Jakobovits, who has publicly criticized some policies of Israel’s Likud governments in the past, drew the ire of the Anglo-Jewish leadership, whose support of the Israel government is unquestioning.
Lionel Kopelowitz, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called the rabbi’s public remarks “unhelpful” at a time when there is a need for “total solidarity” with Israel.
“On these matters, the chief rabbi speaks for himself, not as a representative of Anglo-Jewry,” Kopelowitz said.
The rabbi was quoted in the Standard as saying that the plight of Palestinian refugees is “a stain on humanity,” while stressing that the Jews are not to blame for creating the problem.
He also remarked, “We cannot forever dominate a million-and-a-half Arabs, lord it over them. This blinkered attitude is self-destructive.”
Eric Graus, chairman of the right-wing Herut Zionist movement, chastised the chief rabbi. “It’s wrong for anyone to make statements that can be misused by the media,” he said.
The chief rabbi’s office reported their phone lines jammed with “hostile” callers right after the interview appeared. But the mail brought more measured criticism and many letters praising the chief rabbi’s stand.
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