A Chareidi Rav With Some Sense

Finally, a Chareidi Rav, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, has issued a ruling that hiring Arabs in Israel is against Jewish law because of Pikuach Nefesh (danger to people's lives). It's about time, I say. This is one ruling of one Chareidi rav with which I can wholeheartedly agree.

See, this is the kind of guidance people need. Not bans on concerts or a chumrah every other day or week. As in any other country, companies in Israel like to hire the cheapest labor possible. Unfortunately, unlike in other countries, this presents a clear and absolute danger to Jewish lives, making it a practice that simply needs to stop. Further, there are so many people in Israel who out of work INVOLUNTARILY that finding labor should not be a problem at all.

UPDATED 3/18 11:40 AM

Now, this might seem extreme. And it may very well be. But isn't it time, regardless of the reason, to start putting out of work Jews back in the workforce in Israel? There is a mitzvah in the Torah that there should be no poor people in our midst. There are many people willing to work, many out of work, and some even whose wives go out and prostitute themselves for money because they have no other option. Why NOT hire Jews and pay a fair salary? Why NOT have Jews doing the work Arabs are currently doing?