Joint statement on the violence in Bet Shemesh from the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and Rabbi Baruch Davis, Chair of the RCUS (The Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue):
“We unequivocally condemn the intimidation of schoolchildren in Bet Shemesh. While recognising that this and other related events involved only a small minority of the communities involved, it is important to state that such behaviour has no place in a decent society, least of all by those who see themselves and are seen by others as representing Torah values, whose “ways are ways of peace.” At a time when Israel faces grave dangers, we should remember the lesson of Jewish history and what it teaches about the consequences of sinat chinam, baseless hatred and the divisions it inflames. Now is a time for leaders of all sectors of the Jewish public to seek peaceful ways of defusing tension and resolving the inevitable clashes that occur in a free society, which Israel blessedly remains.”