Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren demanded yesterday that the Knesset enact laws to curb Christian missionary activities in Israel. Addressing the Jerusalem Labor Council, Rabbi Goren claimed there was nothing anti-democratic about such legislation and contended that members of all factions would support it. “The Knesset must display courage and act without fear of offending certain gentile groups,” he said.
The Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi denounced the National Religious Party for adopting a resolution at its convention last week advocating an end to the exemption of yeshiva students from military service. He said their exemption has been an accepted fact since the inception of the State because Israel had to build up a new reserve of Torah scholars to replace those lost in the European holocaust. “Those who wish to devote their lives to study ought to continue to be exempt,” he said.
The Chief Rabbi expressed a hawkish view on Israel’s boundaries. He contended that Israel has a right to every inch of the West Bank, no different from its right to Tel Aviv.
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