It's now final: No rabbinic signatures were forged.
The story began on Tuesday night, shortly before the Knesset vote on the disengagement, when Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party held an impromptu press conference and presented a letter signed by leading rabbis of the Religious Zionist sector. The letter stated that if Prime Minister Sharon agrees to hold a national referendum on the issue of the disengagement, the NRP would remain in the government until the end of its term. Among the signatories were Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and Rabbi Shabtai Sabato.
The next day, however, another letter by Rabbis Aviner and Levanon appeared on Rabbi Aviner's website, in which he advised the NRP to quit the government immediately. At the same time, accusations began to be heard to the effect that Rabbi Aviner's signature on the first document was forged.
Rabbi Sabato, who collected the signatures and insisted that all of them were genuine, has now received letters from Rabbis Aviner and Levanon confirming this. Rabbi Aviner wrote to Rabbi Sabato, "There is no question that on the document you showed me regarding a referendum, I signed with my own hand, and my signature was not forged. I am very sorry that there were suspicions on a Torah scholar [such as you]. The way in which I understand the document is [a different matter] that I publicized in my clarification [on the aforementioned website], but that has nothing to do with the fact that [I signed it]."
Rabbi Levanon similarly wrote that he was "sorry to hear lies in the media about your honor, as if you had people sign against their will on the document for the NRP. I myself saw the document and signed it, and it's clear to me that all the others did as well."
Some voices in the pro-Land of Israel camp are saying that the rabbis did not mean to give Sharon a 14-day grace period, and that this was a change instituted at the last minute by Orlev. Rabbi Sabato, however, said that the change was actually instituted, with the rabbis' consent, by leading members of the Council of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha).
Asked to explain whether the document actually gives rabbinical sanction to the NRP to remain in the governnment even if it begins uprooting Jewish towns, one of the signatory rabbis explained, "First of all, I have no doubt that if there is a referendum, we will win it. It is a test of our commitment that G-d apparently feels we are ready for. With great dedication, hard work and faith, we will win. But even if not, we do not want civil war. It is clear that if the nation makes a decision, this will remove the stain of illegitimacy from the decision to withdraw and will lessen the tensions that could lead, Heaven forbid, to a civil war."
The story began on Tuesday night, shortly before the Knesset vote on the disengagement, when Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party held an impromptu press conference and presented a letter signed by leading rabbis of the Religious Zionist sector. The letter stated that if Prime Minister Sharon agrees to hold a national referendum on the issue of the disengagement, the NRP would remain in the government until the end of its term. Among the signatories were Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and Rabbi Shabtai Sabato.
The next day, however, another letter by Rabbis Aviner and Levanon appeared on Rabbi Aviner's website, in which he advised the NRP to quit the government immediately. At the same time, accusations began to be heard to the effect that Rabbi Aviner's signature on the first document was forged.
Rabbi Sabato, who collected the signatures and insisted that all of them were genuine, has now received letters from Rabbis Aviner and Levanon confirming this. Rabbi Aviner wrote to Rabbi Sabato, "There is no question that on the document you showed me regarding a referendum, I signed with my own hand, and my signature was not forged. I am very sorry that there were suspicions on a Torah scholar [such as you]. The way in which I understand the document is [a different matter] that I publicized in my clarification [on the aforementioned website], but that has nothing to do with the fact that [I signed it]."
Rabbi Levanon similarly wrote that he was "sorry to hear lies in the media about your honor, as if you had people sign against their will on the document for the NRP. I myself saw the document and signed it, and it's clear to me that all the others did as well."
Some voices in the pro-Land of Israel camp are saying that the rabbis did not mean to give Sharon a 14-day grace period, and that this was a change instituted at the last minute by Orlev. Rabbi Sabato, however, said that the change was actually instituted, with the rabbis' consent, by leading members of the Council of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha).
Asked to explain whether the document actually gives rabbinical sanction to the NRP to remain in the governnment even if it begins uprooting Jewish towns, one of the signatory rabbis explained, "First of all, I have no doubt that if there is a referendum, we will win it. It is a test of our commitment that G-d apparently feels we are ready for. With great dedication, hard work and faith, we will win. But even if not, we do not want civil war. It is clear that if the nation makes a decision, this will remove the stain of illegitimacy from the decision to withdraw and will lessen the tensions that could lead, Heaven forbid, to a civil war."