Religion flaunts its nasty side in Israel

When bigotry starts to lag, you can always count on religion to give it a shot in the arm. In early December, 40 municipal chief rabbis in Israel signed a letter in support of a ruling by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu instructing his followers not to offer accommodation to non-Jews. The rabbis didn't allow their status as public servants (their salaries are paid out of the public purse) to preclude their mischief-making.

Not to be outdone by their menfolk, rabbis' wives have now gotten in on the act. The wives of 27 prominent Israeli rabbis have signed a letter of their own urging Jewish women not to date or work with Arab men. The not dating is one thing, but the not working with is something else. Do they think their young women will get pregnant from drinking at the same water fountain as Arabs? No chances are to be taken it seems to prevent the defiling of the flower of Jewish womanhood by Arab seducers.

An array of Israelis have expressed outrage at these sentiments, including top political leaders, the prime minister and the defence minister among them. Ordinary Israelis are not so righteous however. A recent poll showed that 44 per cent of Israeli Jews support the rabbis' ruling banning the renting of apartments to non-Jews.

Actually, if the rabbis and their wives are so concerned about Jewish purity, they should welcome their young women mixing it up with Arab boys. After all, their Semitic blood has been diluted by 2000 years of miscegenation with Europeans. Intermarriage with their fellow Semites would restore them to a purer Semitic state. Sounds like win-win to me.