Senior Chabad rabbi condones killing Jewish politicians who work with Arabs

Senior Chabad rabbi Gedalia Axelrod said Jewish Israeli politicians who form a government with support from Arab parties could be considered “pursuers” under Jewish law, a status that permits lethal force. The ruling has been criticised by Chabad leaders and prompted a call for a police investigation, amid a sensitive period of political leadership change.

Axelrod said cooperation with Arab parties posed a danger to Jews in Israel and around the world, including when parties support a coalition from outside government. Chabad spokesperson Rabbi Shimi Segal said Axelrod’s views were personal and that he holds no position in the movement’s Rabbinical Court. The “pursuer” doctrine was invoked by Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, Yigal Amir, to justify the prime minister’s 1995 killing; lawmaker Ofer Cassif has urged the state prosecutor to investigate Axelrod.