Rabbi Abraham Shreiber. Photo: The Rabbinical Congress for Peace.

JNS.org – The Rabbinical Congress for Peace, which is comprised of more than 400 rabbis, has issued a statement slamming the government for its complacency in dealing with the burning kite attacks from Gaza.

“It’s appalling to see how the government is repeating the same fatal mistake that has led to so many casualties and victims in the past. Every time that we show restraint in dealing with terrorists it does not take long before we discover that it becomes a tailwind for far worse and increased terrorist attacks.”

Rabbi Abraham Shreiber of Shevei Darom, where a burning kite fell on one of the rooftops and caused extensive damage this past weekend, warned that these kites are extremely dangerous—not only do they destroy the agriculture in the area, but it was a miracle that no one was killed.

“This is exactly what the Jewish Code of Law in Orach Chaim, Chapter 329, meant when it ruled: ‘In a town that is near the border, even if [the non-Jews] only seek to come for matters concerning hay and straw, the Shabbos may be desecrated because of them, lest they capture the town, and from there, the [entire] land will be easier for them to conquer.’ ”

The rabbis expressed disgust over Israeli Minister Tzachi Hanegbi’s statement saying, “we’re not worried about the burning kites.”

“You should be worried,” said Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, chairman of the RCP. “Have you forgotten what some MKs said 10 years ago when the terrorists shot mortar shells from Gaza, that they were only ‘pieces of tin’ and there’s nothing to worry about? It is time that the government follow the Talmudic adage ‘one who comes to kill you should know he will be killed first.’”

“Burning kites are not only playing with fire, but it is playing with lives and endangers the peace of the land,” he said.