Hello?! There Already Is A Ban On Land Sales To Arabs!

11 Ellul 5769

Rabbis Meeting to Consider a Ban on Selling Houses to Arabs
Gil Ronen, 10 Ellul 5769/August 30, 2009, 7:40 PM

(IsraelNN.com) Hareidi and national-religious rabbis will meet Monday in Jerusalem to discuss ways of dealing with the Arab influx into Jewish neighborhoods in northern Jerusalem, as well as the purchasing of agricultural land in the Galilee by wealthy foreign Arabs.

The rabbis are expected to call for an end to the phenomenon of sale of land and houses by Jews to Arabs. The organizer, Aryeh King, who heads the Israel Lands Fund, told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew service that he is hoping to see the rabbis issue a pronouncement that sale of land and houses to Arabs is forbidden....

This is awfully frustrating, as we already have such a law (see sources below). It is a shame such a meeting even needs to take place.

However, since Rabbi Ya'aqov Yosef and Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu, legitimate halachic authorities, are said to be involved, I have confidence that this meeting will be used as a some sort of strategy to publicize the 3,300 year old halacha mid'Oraitha.

Unfortunately, I must offer the prediction that this will be on the first stage in the next set of battles between Torah and anti-Torah Israeli laws. The Israeli Supreme Court will undoubtedly decry "racism."

In recent years, we have already seen the Israeli Supreme Court order the Chief Rabbinate around with regard to kashruth (dietary laws) certification. We have also seen prominent rabbis, such as Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, arrested for daring to discuss halachoth (Jewish laws) which appear to be in contradiction of Israeli law.

Stay tuned...

רמב"ם הלכות עבודה זרה פרק י
ד [ג] אין מוכרין להם בתים ושדות, בארץ ישראל; ובסוריה, מוכרין להם בתים, אבל לא שדות. ומשכירין להם בתים בארץ ישראל, ובלבד שלא יעשם שכונה--ואין שכונה, פחותה משלושה. ואין משכירין להם שדות; ובסוריה, משכירין להם שדות. ומפני מה החמירו בשדה: מפני שיש בה שתיים--מפקיעה מן המעשרות, ונותן להם חניה בקרקע

Ramba"m: Laws of Foreign Worship 10
4 [3] One does not sell them houses or fields in Eretz Yisrael; but in Suriyah one may sell them houses, but not fields. One may rent them houses in Eretz Yisrael, provided that one does not make them a neighborhood -- and there is no neighborhood with less than three [households]. One does not rent them fields; but in Suriyah one rents them fields. And why were they strict regarding fields? For two reasons -- [because they would] expropriate the tithes and be allowed to settle the land.

The negative commandments "do not make a covenant with foreign worshipers" and "do not have mercy on them" come directly from Deuteronomy.

דברים ז,ב ונתנם יהוה אלהיך, לפניך--והכיתם: החרם תחרים אתם, לא-תכרת להם ברית ולא תחנם

Deuteronomy 7:2 and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.

For additional information on these negative commandments, you can download the shi'urim (audio) given by Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, part 1 and part 2.




Cross-posted on Esser Agaroth.