Shalom Dov Wolpo
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo, also Sholom Ber Wolpe, (born 1948) is a prominent religious author and political activist in Israel
and a Chabad-Lubavitch
rabbi.
He has written more than forty books in Hebrew, some of which are on halachic topics, some which deal with the position of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Lubavitcher Rebbe, as the Jewish messiah
, some on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's position opposing religious Zionism.
He has become associated in recent years with right-wing political causes, and has set up a campaign group - SOS Israel
- an organization that runs press and billboard campaigns promoting the belief that surrender of parts of the Land of Israel
is prohibited by halacha, and the idea of "Greater Israel
". Later, in 2008, Wolpo established an additional group opposing land concessions, Our Land of Israel.
, is the messiah
. He was one of the first to openly describe Rabbi Schneerson as the Messiah. In 1984 he wrote a book proclaiming the Rebbe as Moshiach. However, after a public address by Rabbi Schneerson in which he said that “such a book can cause hundreds of Jews to stop learning Chassidus, and oppose the Baal Shem Tov and his teachings," he did not publish the book. The book was later published in 1991 with Rabbi Schneerson's blessings.
In an interview with Israeli Channel 2
evening news in March 1994, he told an interviewer that Rabbi Schneerson's place as the Messiah and the fact of his "eternal life" was "as secure as the rising of the sun in the morning."
He wrote a number of books of critique
on the writings of Elazar Shach
, leader of Lithuanian Haredim - a prominent opponent of the Chabad
-Lubavitch movement and of Rabbi Schneerson himself - under the title Yedaber Shalom.
as per the Rebbe's instructions to him, and in 1982 published the book Shalom, Shalom, Ve'ain Shalom that argued that peace with Arabs was impossible, and no discussions concerning concessions may be held.
In January 2006 he wrote a letter to Olmert warning him that if he ever gave up even "an tiny parcel" of the Land of Israel
he would suffer from a bitter fate. The letter noted that Rabbi Schneerson had warned that he would personally fight with all his powers against any Prime Minister who gave up Israeli territory or backpedaled over settlements. He told the press that Ariel Sharon
had brought about a "new holocaust" with the Gaza disengagement, and that he had gladly "collaborated with the Nazis of today." He ruled that assisting in the evacuation of the Gaza settlement was as bad as violating the Jewish Sabbath. He called for Olmert to be "brought to trial and punished."
Following the disengagement he published a book entitled "Between Light and Dark" in which he shows that Rabbi Schneerson was right about rejecting Zionism and the claim of religious zionists that the founding of the State is the "beginning of the redemption".
Another campaign run by his organization under the slogan "There is Judgment and there is a Judge" (referring to God), has generated considerable controversy in the Israeli press in March 2007. One radio host, Natan Zahavi, denounced Wolpo on the radio in obscene terms and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority is currently investigating.
He has recently released a film under the SOS Israel name entitled "there is judgement and there is a judge" which shows how all the political leaders that had a hand in the Gaza disengagement have suffered as a result, for example Sharon suffered a stroke; former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Police Chief Moshe Karadi were forced to resign; President Moshe Katsav, former Minister Chaim Ramon and MK Tzachi Hanegbi have been involved in criminal affairs; and Yonatan Bassi, head of the Disengagement Administration, had to leave his kibbutz after being accused of collaborating in driving settlers out of their homes. The film maintains that this is God's retribution. The film includes footage of Rabbi Schneerson declaring that making peace with the Arabs will lead to disaster and telling Katzav that "it would lead to the opposite of peace. Maariv
reports that two million copies of the film are to be distributed, and the film is to be made available for download online.
. The party allied itself with the Jewish National Front, and ran in the 2009 Knesset elections
as part of the National Union
alliance. Eretz Yisrael Shelanu took one of the party's four seats, taken by Michael Ben-Ari
.
marked, as this was an attack on West Bank
settlers. He told Maariv
that Israeli education minister Yuli Tamir
should "recall what happened to Ariel Sharon" before she attacked the settlement movement.
), who was disciplined for refusing to shake the hand of Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz
. The soldier was protesting the forced eviction of his grandparents from their Gaza home in 2005.
" and that he should be brought to justice. He added that the war should continue "until the enemy has been totally eradicated."
In 2007, he told a conference in Jerusalem that "the remedy for the disengagement is to understand that the State of Israel is a terrible thing. We should not bless or praise the state that was founded by criminals and heretics like Herzl."
from Israel if the Israeli government withdraws from Judea and Samaria
It is unclear which part of Israel Wolpo and his followers would claim, or how they would achieve autonomous status.
Wolpo, addressing a demonstration against the Olmert government's peace moves with the Palestinian Authority, said the prime minister, Vice Premier Chaim Ramon, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak would be "hung from the gallows" were Israel run properly.
"The terrible traitor, Ehud Olmert, who gives these Nazis weapons, who gives money, who frees their murderous terrorists, this man, like Ariel Sharon, collaborates with the Nazis," Wolpo said in the speech.
Yoel Hasson, a lawmaker with Olmert's Kadima party, said he would ask Israel's attorney general to take legal steps against Wolpo. The U.S.-based Orthodox Union issued a statement condemning the remarks.
Rabbi Wolpo said that the comments he made at the conference were twisted and taken out of context. In calling for the execution of state leaders by legal means, he was not calling for vigilante violence, he explained, but rather calling on the police to implement the law. Rabbi Wolpo wrote that he believes violence against a fellow Jew is unacceptable, but that law enforcement has the right and responsibility to enforce the law.
One of Israel's laws prohibits providing assistance to Nazis, he explained, and Muslim terrorist groups are the Nazis of our day. If the government provides terrorists with aid, he reasoned, then the government has violated the law and its members must suffer the consequences, which can include the death penalty.
Rabbi Wolpo emphasized that he was calling for any such punishments to be carried out in a legal manner.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and a Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
rabbi.
He has written more than forty books in Hebrew, some of which are on halachic topics, some which deal with the position of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Lubavitcher Rebbe, as the Jewish messiah
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
, some on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's position opposing religious Zionism.
He has become associated in recent years with right-wing political causes, and has set up a campaign group - SOS Israel
SOS Israel
SOS Israel is a militant Israeli Jewish political movement founded by Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo, which is opposed to any agreement leading to land concessions to the Palestinians.Wolpo later formed a split-off group, Our Land of Israel....
- an organization that runs press and billboard campaigns promoting the belief that surrender of parts of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
is prohibited by halacha, and the idea of "Greater Israel
Greater Israel
Greater Israel is a controversial expression with several different Biblical and political meanings over time.Currently, the most common definition of the land encompassed by the term is the territory of the State of Israel together with the Palestinian territories...
". Later, in 2008, Wolpo established an additional group opposing land concessions, Our Land of Israel.
Chabad messianism
Rabbi Wolpo is one of the leaders of the group of Chabad Chasidim believing that the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
, is the messiah
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
. He was one of the first to openly describe Rabbi Schneerson as the Messiah. In 1984 he wrote a book proclaiming the Rebbe as Moshiach. However, after a public address by Rabbi Schneerson in which he said that “such a book can cause hundreds of Jews to stop learning Chassidus, and oppose the Baal Shem Tov and his teachings," he did not publish the book. The book was later published in 1991 with Rabbi Schneerson's blessings.
In an interview with Israeli Channel 2
Channel 2 (Israel)
Channel 2 is an Israeli commercial television channel.- History :In 1990, after 13 years of deliberations, the Knesset passed a law that paved the way for the establishment of commercial television in Israel. The goal was to enhance pluralism and create competition. Channel 2 began broadcasting on...
evening news in March 1994, he told an interviewer that Rabbi Schneerson's place as the Messiah and the fact of his "eternal life" was "as secure as the rising of the sun in the morning."
He wrote a number of books of critique
Critique
Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic analysis of a written or oral discourse. Critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgement, but it can also involve merit recognition, and in the philosophical tradition it also means a methodical practice of doubt...
on the writings of Elazar Shach
Elazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...
, leader of Lithuanian Haredim - a prominent opponent of the Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
-Lubavitch movement and of Rabbi Schneerson himself - under the title Yedaber Shalom.
Politics
In 1979, on the instructions of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he published his first book Da'at Torah a polemic against returning lands captured by Israel. He was active in the protests that surrounded the forced eviction of YamitYamit
Yamit was an Israeli settlement in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula with a population of about 2,500 people .The settlement was established during Israel's occupation of the peninsula from the end of the 1967 Six-Day War, until that part of the Sinai was handed over to Egypt in 1982 as...
as per the Rebbe's instructions to him, and in 1982 published the book Shalom, Shalom, Ve'ain Shalom that argued that peace with Arabs was impossible, and no discussions concerning concessions may be held.
Gaza disengagement
He was active in the protest movement in 2005 that fought the disengagement from Gaza. Following the failure of that campaign he organized a rabbinical conference entitled "We shall never forget and we shall never forgive". After the Second Lebanon War Wolpo organized a publicity campaign with the slogan "We Told You So" that distributed over a million brochures. He was also responsible for a poster campaign promising that those responsible for Israel's actions during the war would be "punished from heaven".In January 2006 he wrote a letter to Olmert warning him that if he ever gave up even "an tiny parcel" of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
he would suffer from a bitter fate. The letter noted that Rabbi Schneerson had warned that he would personally fight with all his powers against any Prime Minister who gave up Israeli territory or backpedaled over settlements. He told the press that Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
had brought about a "new holocaust" with the Gaza disengagement, and that he had gladly "collaborated with the Nazis of today." He ruled that assisting in the evacuation of the Gaza settlement was as bad as violating the Jewish Sabbath. He called for Olmert to be "brought to trial and punished."
Following the disengagement he published a book entitled "Between Light and Dark" in which he shows that Rabbi Schneerson was right about rejecting Zionism and the claim of religious zionists that the founding of the State is the "beginning of the redemption".
SOS Israel
He is the founder of the organization Ha'Matteh L'Hatzolat Ha'Am V'Ha'Aretz - SOS Israel - a grassroots action group that unites a broad spectrum of the religious right in Israel behind extensive poster campaigns and mass protests against giving parts of the Holy Land away to Israel's enemies.Another campaign run by his organization under the slogan "There is Judgment and there is a Judge" (referring to God), has generated considerable controversy in the Israeli press in March 2007. One radio host, Natan Zahavi, denounced Wolpo on the radio in obscene terms and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority is currently investigating.
He has recently released a film under the SOS Israel name entitled "there is judgement and there is a judge" which shows how all the political leaders that had a hand in the Gaza disengagement have suffered as a result, for example Sharon suffered a stroke; former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Police Chief Moshe Karadi were forced to resign; President Moshe Katsav, former Minister Chaim Ramon and MK Tzachi Hanegbi have been involved in criminal affairs; and Yonatan Bassi, head of the Disengagement Administration, had to leave his kibbutz after being accused of collaborating in driving settlers out of their homes. The film maintains that this is God's retribution. The film includes footage of Rabbi Schneerson declaring that making peace with the Arabs will lead to disaster and telling Katzav that "it would lead to the opposite of peace. Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
reports that two million copies of the film are to be distributed, and the film is to be made available for download online.
New political party
On 11 November 2008 Wolpo founded a new party, Eretz Yisrael ShelanuEretz Yisrael Shelanu
Eretz Yisrael Shelanu is a far-right religious party in Israel. Founded by Chabad Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo and Baruch Marzel on 11 November, 2008 it seeks to prevent both the creation of a Palestinian state as well as the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.In 2008, in anticipation...
. The party allied itself with the Jewish National Front, and ran in the 2009 Knesset elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
as part of the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
alliance. Eretz Yisrael Shelanu took one of the party's four seats, taken by Michael Ben-Ari
Michael Ben-Ari
Michael Ben-Ari is an Israeli politician, and a current member of the Knesset for the National Union party. He is the first outspoken disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahane to be elected to the Knesset. He has a Ph.D in Land of Israel studies.-Biography:...
.
Textbooks
In a halachic ruling, Wolpo ruled that it was forbidden to teach children from Israeli education ministry approved textbooks that show maps of Israel with Green LineGreen Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
marked, as this was an attack on West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
settlers. He told Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
that Israeli education minister Yuli Tamir
Yuli Tamir
Yael "Yuli" Tamir is an Israeli academic and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 2003 and 2010, and as Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Education.-Biography:...
should "recall what happened to Ariel Sharon" before she attacked the settlement movement.
Controversial slogan
In February 2007, Wolpo appealed a decision that a political campaign under the slogan "if anyone comes to remove me from my home, I will chop off their hands" amounted to incitement to violence, since retired Supreme Court Justice Mishael Cheshin vowed to defend the Supreme Court, which he said was dear to him, with all his strength, saying, "If someone raises a hand against my house, I will cut it off," and he wasn't accused of anything. The slogan was meant to protest the removal of Jewish settlers from their West Bank homes.Hananel Dayan
Wolpo arranged an elaborate award ceremony for Sergeant Hananel Dayan (son of Yosef DayanYosef Dayan
Yosef Dayan is a rabbi and the author of several books in Hebrew, Spanish and Italian. He also worked to translate modern Spanish literature into Hebrew....
), who was disciplined for refusing to shake the hand of Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz
Dan Halutz
' is an Israeli Air Force Lt. General and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz was appointed as Chief of Staff on June 1, 2005. On January 17, 2007 he announced his resignation. He has a degree in economics. He was born to a Mizrahi...
. The soldier was protesting the forced eviction of his grandparents from their Gaza home in 2005.
Rabbi David Druckman
In 2006 Wolpo defended Rabbi David Drukman, chief rabbi of Kiryat Motzkin, over charges that he had abused his position as a state employee to incite violence. Wolpo said: "Rabbi Drukman will go down in history as someone who stood up to a vile government fearlessly."Second Lebanon War
During the 2006 Second Lebanon War he told the local Kiryat Gat weekly that "Olmert has declared war against God and against his TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
" and that he should be brought to justice. He added that the war should continue "until the enemy has been totally eradicated."
Anti-Zionism
In 2006 offered a free copy of one of his book "From Light to Darkness" to anyone that pledged to refrain from celebrating Independence Day.In 2007, he told a conference in Jerusalem that "the remedy for the disengagement is to understand that the State of Israel is a terrible thing. We should not bless or praise the state that was founded by criminals and heretics like Herzl."
Olmert hanging comments
In December 2007, Wolpo stated that his followers will secedeSecession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from Israel if the Israeli government withdraws from Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria Area is the official Israeli term roughly corresponding to the territory usually known outside Israel as the West Bank and to the Israeli settlements there that are not governed as part of Jerusalem.-Terminology:...
It is unclear which part of Israel Wolpo and his followers would claim, or how they would achieve autonomous status.
Wolpo, addressing a demonstration against the Olmert government's peace moves with the Palestinian Authority, said the prime minister, Vice Premier Chaim Ramon, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak would be "hung from the gallows" were Israel run properly.
"The terrible traitor, Ehud Olmert, who gives these Nazis weapons, who gives money, who frees their murderous terrorists, this man, like Ariel Sharon, collaborates with the Nazis," Wolpo said in the speech.
Yoel Hasson, a lawmaker with Olmert's Kadima party, said he would ask Israel's attorney general to take legal steps against Wolpo. The U.S.-based Orthodox Union issued a statement condemning the remarks.
Rabbi Wolpo said that the comments he made at the conference were twisted and taken out of context. In calling for the execution of state leaders by legal means, he was not calling for vigilante violence, he explained, but rather calling on the police to implement the law. Rabbi Wolpo wrote that he believes violence against a fellow Jew is unacceptable, but that law enforcement has the right and responsibility to enforce the law.
One of Israel's laws prohibits providing assistance to Nazis, he explained, and Muslim terrorist groups are the Nazis of our day. If the government provides terrorists with aid, he reasoned, then the government has violated the law and its members must suffer the consequences, which can include the death penalty.
Rabbi Wolpo emphasized that he was calling for any such punishments to be carried out in a legal manner.