Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, chairman of the newly formed People of Israel Party, rebuked Rabbi Shlomo Aviner on Wednesday after the rabbi said voting for Winter's party violated Jewish law because Yoseph Haddad, an Arab-Israeli, holds the second position on its Knesset slate. Haddad is a former soldier who was wounded in military service, Winter noted.
Winter invoked his own combat experience alongside non-Jewish soldiers. "When I fought under fire in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, I served under and personally commanded leaders — commanders and soldiers — who were Druze, Bedouin, and Christian," he said in a statement. He said Haddad, whom he called his brother, was worthy to lead.
Aviner, president of the Ateret Kohanim Yeshiva, argued on Tuesday that while non-Jews living in Israel should be treated well, Jewish law prohibits appointing them to positions of national leadership. He cited the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides, saying that even a non-Jew considered "righteous among the nations" could not lead in the Land of Israel.
The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, which represents Israeli rabbis, rejected Aviner's interpretation. It said leading Jewish law authorities, including former chief rabbi Isaac Herzog and Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, had already ruled that non-Jews may be elected to the Knesset and that restrictions on appointing a king did not apply to modern democratic government in the same way.
Tzohar cited the biblical example of King David appointing a foreign military commander because of his loyalty. The organization said non-Jewish citizens who are loyal to Israel and have public confidence strengthen the state's identity. "Precisely at a time when there are elements among the non-Jewish public who incite against the State of Israel," Tzohar said, "we must strengthen and empower those Arab citizens who recognize the State of Israel, its Jewish identity, and its sovereignty."
