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Jewish rabbi expelled by Zionist group for accusing Israel of causing another holocaust

August 13, 2020 at 1:43 pm

Rabbi Gabor Finali, 16 December 2018 [MAZSIHISZ-Magyarországi Zsidó Hitközségek Szövetsége/Facebook]

Hungary’s largest pro-Israel Jewish group has expelled a rabbi for his denouncement of the Zionist state. Rabbi Gabor Finali was shown the door by the umbrella Jewish group Mazsihisz, which describes itself as being an “important partner of the State of Israel” and has ties to major Zionist organisations like the World Jewish Congress, the European Jewish Congress and the European Council of Jewish Communities.

Finali’s offending comment accused Israel of appropriating the money of Holocaust victims and suggested that Zionism was causing another holocaust. “Israel took all the benefits and most of the compensation from Germany for the death and suffering of our relatives,” wrote Finali in his Facebook post last month, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“The chaos that Israel has been causing since 1948 is the reason for most, if not all, attacks on Jews in the Diaspora,” Finali continued in reference to the Nakba which saw the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel, adding that “the money spent on security until recently (2018) was because [we] suffer the consequences, we’re the soft targets.” The 43-year-old left his most controversial statement until the end, accusing Israel of initiating a holocaust against the Palestinians. “Herzl’s mission failed because it didn’t stop the Holocaust, but soon it will lead to a new one,” insisted Finali.

Reporting on Finali’s expulsion, Jewish News said that the rabbinical council of the Mazsihisz umbrella announced in a letter to Israeli Ambassador to Hungary, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, that it was “terminating its relationship” with Finali who since 2017 has served as the resident rabbi of a Mazsihisz-affiliated congregation, the Ohel Avraham Synagogue in Budapest.  The suspension is said to be “indefinite”.

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