Activities Lehava

1 activities

1.1 opposition interfaith marriages
1.2 calls segregation
1.3 protests
1.4 opposition christianity in israel

activities
opposition interfaith marriages

the organization gained notoriety in 2010 after sending open letter israeli jewish supermodel bar refaeli urging break off relationship american actor leonardo dicaprio, roman catholic.

multiple rebbetzins, acting on behalf of lehava, issued open letter urging israeli women not associate non-jews . haaretz quoted letter saying, don t date non-jews, don t work @ places non-jews frequent, , don t national service non-jews; letter implied if did so, cut off holy race . letter caused controversy , denounced other rabbis. when poll conducted of jewish israelis reaction letters denouncing rent or sell homes non-jews, 44 per cent of israeli jews supported rabbis call, while 48 per cent opposed.

the organization has spoken out against mark zuckerberg s marriage priscilla chan.

in 2014, organized hostile protests against mixed couple jaffa, objecting marriage of mahmoud mansour, israeli arab, , bride-to-be, morel malka, converted judaism islam ahead of wedding. group reported saying, please come positive energy , bring loudspeakers , horns. ask our sister return home jewish people waiting , israeli news site arutz sheva. when couple appealed court ban demonstration, judgement handed down allowing protest proceed, no closer 200 metres away site of ceremony in israeli town of rishon letzion. haaretz reported protesters chanted death leftists , death arabs , despite 1 of organizers trying calm them down.

in 2013, started facebook page purpose of identifying mixed jewish-arab couples, page shut down in 2014 after there numerous complaints had become repository of racist comments. liat bar-stav, journalist went undercover in lehava organization, described how members jewish females might dating arabs. if members thought had discovered any, follow gopstein s instructions: approach woman, , give phone number organization further action. approach girl , say, excuse me, don t have phone. may make call? call phone, , s how number, gopstein explained activists coached.

calls segregation

in addition opposing interfaith marriages, lehava has encouraged israelis report organization names of jews rent arabs, can named , shamed publicly. in 2012, group distributed flyers in east jerusalem warning arabs not visit jewish western side of city. campaigned against jews , arabs mixing on beaches.

in november 2014, 4 activists in group arrested in petah tikva after distributed propaganda material, attacked , wounded police. liat bar-stav described meeting gopstein led followers, in said them, 45 years ago, rabbi kahane said, shouted, , cried out enemies within cancer, , if don t take cancer , rid of it, won t continue exist. unfortunately, dangerous cancer of coexistence has metastasized everywhere. there various ministers in government encouraging coexistence, giving them jobs, allowing them hi-tech world, allowing them become doctors. crowd responded booing , cheering, gopstein continued: cancer spoke in beginning has offshoots in knesset of israel too. thirty years ago, rabbi kahane stood in knesset , took out hangman s noose traitors, noose arab mk there. s not threat, s promise, rabbi said when attacked doing so. want wish (former mk azmi) bishara on behalf of of you. @ point, gopstein waved noose. day come, azmi! waiting israeli government come , hang tallest tree! azmi, rabbi kahane make sure hanged 1 day.

in december 2014, 3 members of lehava arrested , charged november 29 arson @ integrated arab-jewish school. suspects, yitzhak gabbai, , brothers nahman twito , shlomo twito, attacked school, according shin bet, because jews , arabs learn @ school, , goal put opposition coexistence , assimilation in public eye . in courtroom photos, 3 members of radical group shown smiling , smirking faced charges. within days of arrest, police completed raid on homes of several lehava members. lehava s chairman, bentzi gopstein, among arrested.

protests

in 2017 lehava protested jerusalem gay pride parade.

opposition christianity in israel

lehava had organized demonstrations protesting presence of christians in israel, , in late 2015 demonstrated before jerusalem international ymca, crowd shouting: arabs won t defeat knives, , christians won t buy presents! gopstein wrote article local website, kooker, in declared: missionary work must not given foothold... let s throw vampires out of our land before drink our blood again. called ban on christmas holiday.