The Akron Beacon Journal reports about the American-born rabbi Arik Ascherman who has been taken to court for blocking Israeli bulldozers that were supposed to demolish Palestinian homes built in Jerusalem without the proper permits:
"Our defense is basically that because the policy is illegal and immoral, that it's a civic, Jewish and Zionist duty to stand in front of the bulldozers," he said. ... Ascherman, a Reform rabbi originally from Erie, Pa., said he has been involved in such issues for some two decades. "From a teenager on, I felt that that the basis of what I wanted to do as a rabbi was to uphold ethical values," he said.
"The very core of Judaism is the teaching from the Bible that all human beings are created in God's image," he said. "Either that means that we respect the image of God, the humanity, the human rights of every human being. Or it means nothing. It means that we throw the Bible into the trash can."
Israeli leaders are concerned about demographics: although Jews in Jerusalem outnumber Arabs, the Arab birthrate is far higher and, over time, their numbers are expected to outstrip the numbers of Jews. In an effort to prevent that from happening, the Israeli government has gone to great lengths to encourage Jews to move to Jerusalem while investing equal effort in dissuading Palestinians from doing the same. This, however, requires treating the two groups differently - something which Ascherman and those who think like him adamantly oppose.
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