BBC News reports today that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza has created spiritual turmoil in the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Most authorities on Jewish law say that land in the Biblical boundaries of Israel can only be given up if doing so would guarantee the preservation of Jewish lives.
Former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira has issuing a ruling declaring the disengagement forbidden under Jewish law He said: "This prohibition applies to every Jew, soldier and civilian alike. An order to take part in the evacuation of Jews from their homes in order to give over the land to non-Jews is an order that is against the religion of our holy Torah and forbidden to fulfill. Anyone who violates this prohibition will not be exonerated, not in this world and not in the world to come." Not all Orthodox rabbis agree. US Yeshiva University Chancellor, Dr. Norman Lamm said he and other rabbis "felt very strongly that actual disobedience on the part of the Israeli forces would constitute a desecration of God's name that would haunt [the Jewish people] for generations".
