Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior, former Chief Rabbi of Norway and currently the head of the left-wing religious Zionist Meimad party, has called upon Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein to order a police investigation against 17 leading religious-Zionist rabbis. Their crime, Melchior says, is that they signed a public call against the hiring of Arab workers during wartime. The rabbis\' call, which appeared in a periodical distributed free of charge by an organization associated with the Joseph\'s Tomb yeshiva, also recommends not buying Arab produce. Excerpts:
\"At this time, we find ourselves in a double \'milchemet mitzvah\' (obligatory war): for the defense of our lives, and to defend our societal existence and Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land. During time of war, we must not help the enemy in any manner. Both the Torah and common sense dictate that there should be no business ties with those who wish to destroy us. [In addition,] employing Arab workers at this time involves [the prohibition of] endangering our lives…\"
\"At this time, we find ourselves in a double \'milchemet mitzvah\' (obligatory war): for the defense of our lives, and to defend our societal existence and Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land. During time of war, we must not help the enemy in any manner. Both the Torah and common sense dictate that there should be no business ties with those who wish to destroy us. [In addition,] employing Arab workers at this time involves [the prohibition of] endangering our lives…\"