I am glad to see some people speaking out in Israel - we need more of this, a true man with guts:
Lapid: IDF actions in Rafah contradict Jewish values
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Justice Minister Yossef Lapid spoke out at Sunday's cabinet meeting against the demolishing of houses in Rafah, saying the act is "inhumane" and contradicts Jewish values. Lapid said he was worried that the IDF's actions in the southern Gaza Strip town is causing Israel serious problems in the the international community.
"I saw an old Palestinian woman looking through the rubbles to find her medication. It reminded me of my grandmother," Lapid, a Holocaust survivor, said.
"When the army says that to widen the Philadelphi Route it needs to destroy thousands of buildings, I get worried. The army is talking about widening the corridor by 300 meters, but this will mean demolishing thousands of homes. This is totally out of the question. I was in the US last week, and we look very bad. But the question is not how we look, but who we are. These days we can't talk to anyone." Lapid told Channel 2 TV News Sunday night.
"Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told us today that we destroyed only a few houses in Rafah, but have a look at the pictures. I don't know if I believe him. The army has requested permission to demolish thousands of homes, and if we allow this, world opinion is going to fall on our heads like a thousand pound hammer," Lapid said.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom slammed Lapid for his remarks, demanding that he retract them.
"I think that any analogy is out of place," Health Minister Dan Naveh said in response, adding that his grandparents were taken from their home in Hungary to the Birkenau concentration camp.
Lapid later denied comparing the situation in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust, saying, "I meant that when you see an old woman, you are reminded of your grandmother. I didn't speak about Nazis, I didn't say Holocaust, nor did I mention Germany. How was I supposed to know that when I spoke about my grandmother, people would think about the Holocaust. They have blown it out of all proportion" he added.
"I said that we are a human nation and we are Jews and that we have a moral obligation beyond the security needs. If we continue this way we will be evicted from the United Nations and the people responsible will have to stand trial at The Hague," Lapid told Israel Radio.
Sharon rebuked Lapid in the cabinet meeting, saying the harsh criticism Lapid voiced last week against IDF's conduct in Rafah was based on Arab media reports, which eventually turned out to be false.
Lapid also said in the meeting that there is no legal obstacle to dismantling illegal settlements. Lapid said he does not understand why Israel doesn't fulfill the promises it made to US President George W. Bush.
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