Hitchhiking, a favorite means of transportation among Israelis, may be forbidden by religious injunction if Rabbi Yitzhak Barda, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Ramat Gan, has his way.
Barda has petitioned the Chief Rabbinate to issue a religious ban on hitchhiking, Yediot Achronot reported.
The paper said the new religious edict, expected to be issued Tuesday, determines “that it is absolutely forbidden to hitchhike, especially at night.”
The rule is needed, Barda explained Monday, in light of the murders of two Jewish youths who were hitchhiking in Jerusalem’s suburbs Saturday night.
Youths and soldiers who hitchhike during the evening hours present a target for Arab terrorists, according to the rabbi, who said he found a verse in the scriptures that applies to such situations.
“One must refrain from hitchhiking in order not to make it easy for those wishing to kill Jews. The ruling is based on the verse, ‘And you will protect your souls,’ which is an obligation incumbent on every Jew. Hitchhiking is a violation of this verse,” the rabbi said.
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