Top rabbi sparks freedom of speech debate over Charlie Hebdo |
January 21st 2015 An outspoken United Synagogue rabbi this week triggered a fierce debate about the grey area between freedom of speech and incitement, after he accused the satirical cartoonists murdered at French magazine Charlie Hebdo of “sinning against society”. Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet of Mill Hill shul, writing in his weekly ‘Ask the Rabbi’ column for Jewish News, was referring to unflattering images of religious figures in the magazine, which was targeted by Islamist gunmen in Paris on 7 January. Schochet said the cartoons were “not merely insensitive but a breach of fundamental rights,” adding that Judaism says “putting someone to shame is like bloodshed”. Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism, said Schochet had “missed the point” while Vivian Wineman, president of the Board of Deputies, defended the magazine’s “right to print” the cartoons. |