Israel Matzav: 'He would have died for Jerusalem'

'He would have died for Jerusalem'

Tuesday night was the 15th yahrtzeit of Rav Shlomo Goren z"l (of blessed memory). Rav Goren was the Chief Rabbi of the IDF during the Six Day War and later became the Chief Rabbi of Israel.

Arutz Sheva went to the commemoration event last night and interviewed Rabbi Goren's son Rami, a former work colleague of mine whom I have not seen since his father's shiva. Here are some highlights:

Concerning Jerusalem, which the United States wants divided between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the late Rabbi Goren’s son stated that his father told him a month before he died, "I am prepared to die for Jerusalem."

"From his standpoint, there is a basis in Jewish law that if necessary, one must sacrifice his life for the Land of Israel," Rami Goren explained. "He fought for Jerusalem all his life.” He said that his father’s efforts succeeded in keeping Hevron's Cave of the Patriarchs in Jewish hands, although he failed to keep the Temple Mount under Jewish sovereignty.

Tuesday night’s event in memory of Rabbi Goren featured a discussion of the aspects of Jewish law concerning the release of terrorists in exchange for Jewish kidnap victims. The younger Goren offered his opinion that “the question does not concern the specific issue of kidnapped [IDF] soldier Gilad Shalit, but rather the principle of the government’s determining it needs to enter into negotiations” to bring back victims.

"My father’s answer on the issue clearly was ‘no,'” he added. “A large part of the reasoning is to prevent encouraging terrorists to kidnap again and again."

Read the whole thing.

Israel Matzav: 'He would have died for Jerusalem'