Commentators on modern Jewish history are often puzzled by the animosity of secular Jews toward gentiles. Particularly puzzling is the scale of Jewish ‘revolutionary’ violence towards Christianity and churches in particular. It is no secret that Bolshevism set many churches ablaze. The International Brigade followed a similar pattern in Spain (1936).

It is an established fact that Yiddish was the lingua franca of the International Brigade that was formed following a tidal wave of Church burning by the Republicans. That act of barbarism didn’t seem to deter the salt of the Jewish Left who rushed to liberate Spain in the name of the ‘International’. And yet, historically, this kind of barbaric act was never associated with rabbinical Judaism.

Apparently, this is not the case anymore. In the Jewish State, Orthodox Jews do burn churches and they do it in the name of the Torah and in accordance with their interpretation of the Jewish religion. In an unusually brave article, Ynet revealed yesterday that, Bentzi Gophstein, the head of Lehave, an Orthodox Jewish organisation dedicated to preventing assimilation in the Holy Land, said that he unquestionably supports burning churches and ‘houses of idolatry.’

Gophstein further stated that church burning is a legitimate act under Jewish law. The right wing activist made the statement during a summer seminar in Jerusalem.