The Torah teaches that every person – Jew and non-Jew alike, every human being – is created in the image of God. As such, it insists that we do not degrade one another. Deuteronomy commands that punishment for a person found guilty be carried out precisely as handed down, with not one extra lash, for that would degrade the person being punished. Even someone who has been put to death, the Torah commands that they be given a proper burial, so as not to shame them and not to shame the image of God in which they were created.
All of this – and so much more – makes the behavior and rhetoric of Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir antithetical to our religious tradition and to our morals as Jews and as human beings. His defense of so-called Hilltop Youth, Israelis who violently terrorize West Bank Palestinians, flies in the face of the rule of law. His deliberate upending of the status quo with repeated visits and prayer services on the Temple Mount recklessly inflames an already combustible religious conflict. His recent social media broadcast mocking a female Palestinian prisoner is a black mark on all of Israeli society.
If you read these weekly pieces, if you listen to my sermons, if you even drive by the temple, you know that I am a proud Zionist, a supporter of a free, democratic, Jewish State in our ancient homeland. You know that I encourage our congregants to find Israeli voices that speak to them, that speak to their vision for the Jewish state, and to support those Israelis. As a rabbi, I do not care if you support the Left or support the Right. I care that you stand with our people and care deeply about what kind of country Israel becomes. Arguing about Israeli policy? It’s great! It is the main activity of Israelis themselves. But there must be lines even within the wide range of legitimate debate over Israel, and Itamar Ben-Gvir crosses them. His actions harm Israel and Palestinians alike. And when he humiliates and degrades other human beings, when he demands punishment for Palestinian lawbreakers while defending Israelis who break the law, he degrades the image of God within them – precisely the kind of degradation the Torah warns us against.
