The Rishon LeZion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Speaks on the Massacre in Syria What the

The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef shlit"a, recently addressed the horrific massacre in Syria, in which, according to various reports, between 49 and 150 people were murdered, while at least 500 more residents are suffering from respiratory problems and the smell of chlorine gas. The massacre began with the regime's chemical attack in the city of Douma in the suburbs of Damascus. Rabbi Yosef called for the State of Israel to intervene in what is happening in Syria and to stop the mass murder. "In Syria, a cruel genocide is taking place, including of women and children, with weapons of mass destruction," said Rabbi Yosef. "As Jews who have undergone genocide, as Jews whose Torah is a light unto the nations, our moral obligation is to try to prevent the massacre; this is an obligation no less than the moral obligation that existed for the destruction of the nuclear reactor in Syria."

Until now, it seems, the great leaders of Israel have refrained from addressing the terrible massacre in the country located just across the border, and the words of the Rishon LeZion sounded surprising; however, to all those who attended the massive Torah conference at the Winter Stadium in Ramat Gan, these words were not new at all. These are the words of the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a from that same conference held almost eight years ago.

"The Talmud teaches us that we must perform kindness for Arabs, it does not matter which Arab it is, except for a terrorist; every Arab, we must assist him, help him in every way possible, with money and encouragement, in every way possible, and even to split the river or the stream for him. All the more so when we see the terrible massacre being committed here two hours from here, right under our noses, while the whole world fills its mouth with water. And Kofi Annan, may his name be erased, took Ahmadinejad so that he would make peace there, that he would stop the terrible massacre—Thursday, 170 children, 107 children are being slaughtered every day under our noses, and Kofi Annan says, 'We will take Ahmadinejad, he will make the peace, he will stop the weapons of destruction, he will make the peace.'"

And now, at this conference, we must stand up against the entire world and demand immediate intervention in Syria to stop the terrible massacre, to stop the horrific slaughters by the Shabiha sect and the entire army, and to stand by the side of these miserable, poor people.

"Where have we reached, to what kind of closed-off world have we arrived? The nations of the world fill their mouths with water, and we, the People of Israel, are the people of justice, the people of conscience, the people of integrity. The People of Israel are the conscience of the entire world; the entire world looks to the People of Israel, the entire world believes in the People of Israel, the entire world knows that the People of Israel will bring the Geulah. Only the People of Israel will bring Mashiach, and now, at this conference, we must stand up against the entire world and demand immediate intervention in Syria to stop the terrible massacre, to stop the horrific slaughters by the Shabiha sect and the entire army, and to stand by the side of these miserable, poor people."

"It does not matter if they are Ishmaelites, and it does not matter if terrorists arise from there afterward; the first thing is to save the miserable children, the little girls, the babies. Babies, women—this is the first mission that the People of Israel must place before its eyes." Thus far are the words of the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland as delivered at the Winter Stadium before thousands of his listeners.

One must remember that at the time Rav Berland shlit"a said his words, they were not yet taken seriously; the war in Syria was only in its beginning, and the world had not yet become aware of the dimensions of the killing and evil into which this war was destined to spiral. In retrospect, the words of Rav Berland shlit"a are a distant and piercing mirror, long before all of humanity began to awaken—if it has at all.