In Tammuz police announced the arrests of suspects in the arson attack against the Church of the Multiplication on the northwestern shore of the Kinneret. A gag order was placed on the investigation, with the case being viewed as a so-called ‘price tag’ attack.

This week, about a month since the attack, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein presented a check in the amount of NIS 50,000 to repair the damage to the church. The funds were collected by a group of rabbonim who were determined to make amends for the arson attack the church, which attracts 5,000 people daily.

The effort was spearheaded by Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, who heads the Elijah Interfaith Institute, which according to the organization’s website states “There are many organizations of goodwill, devoted to increasing understanding between religions. All of them do important work. Elijah has achieved recognition as a path breaker in the field of interfaith education. It seeks to share that path with others and to serve other organizations”.

Among the prominent rabbonim who signed on the call for funding were Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, Rabbi Shlomo Wilk, Rabbi David Rozen, and Rabbi Michael Melchior.

During an event hosted by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein in Knesset, Rabbi Goshen explained “Rabbis spend too much time issuing condemnatory statements against the price tag phenomenon, stating such actions are not consistent with Jewish values, but these condemnation are not helpful. They are perceived as rabbis going through the motions rather than as a statement of honest principle. When Jews begin putting their hands in their pockets it is an entirely different matter”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo: Knesset PR)