December 2010 Israeli rabbi letter controversy
The December 2010 Israeli rabbi letter controversy was a scandal that erupted surrounding the appearance of two open letters, signed by a number of Israeli rabbis, that were discriminatory towards non-Jews in Israel. Although the letters sparked considerable outrage, evoking condemnation from prominent Israeli and American Jews and others, a poll showed that 44 percent of Israeli society supported the letters' messages. Letters. Rabbis' letter. The rabbis' letter was a psak din (religious ruling) signed by an estimated 50 rabbis, that urged Israeli landowners not to rent apartments to Arabs, or any other  non-Jews. The letter was initiated by the chief rabbi of Safed, Shmuel Eliyahu. On January 2, 2011, Eliyahu was summoned to an Israeli police interrogation on suspicion of incitement to racism, which is a crime in Israel, but he refused to answer the summons. Many of the rabbis who signed the letter were municipal rabbis, state employees in charge of religious services, who receive salaries paid for by the taxpayer. Among the signers were rabbis from Rishon LeZion, Ramat HaSharon, Herzliya, Kfar Saba and Holon (suburbs of Tel Aviv); from Jerusalem; and from other towns and settlements. According to  a poll conducted by the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a narrow plurality of Jewish Israelis were opposed to the rabbis' call not to rent to Arabs: 48 percent opposed the statement, and 44 percent supported it. Rebbetzins' letter. The second letter was released on December 28, 2010, by the Lehava organization. It was signed by at least 27 rebbetzins (rabbis' wives). It urged young Jewish women to not date Arabs, and to not work at locations where non-Jews might be present. December 2010 Israeli rabbi letter controversy The