Q:
Is it a chillul Hashem what these people did last week when they burned the Israeli flag?
A:
Well they’ll tell you it was a kiddush Hashem! Because who said that the flag of Israel has any holiness to it? Where does it say that the Israeli flag is a sacred object?! And I’ll tell you why it’s not a chillul Hashem. Now, nobody has to accept what I say, but of course I’m not going to accept what other people say either.
The Israeli flag is a symbol of Zionism. And Zionism is a principle that means something. Zionism is not just some political movement; it represents the principle that in order to be a Jew all you need is to subscribe to the idea of a Jewish state. You don’t need any Torah. You know you can be an atheist and you can still be a very good Zionist! And that’s where we come in and we say, that’s the chillul Hashem!
When the blue and white flag is raised, that’s what it’s saying. That flag is saying that this is the purpose, this is the ideal, this is the justification, and all other things are unimportant. And we say it’s not so! It’s the flag that is the chillul Hashem! Because we have only one flag and that is the Torah. We are a nation because of the Torah. Without the Torah we are nothing but gypsies, we’re a polyglot, and we’re halfbreeds; we have all types of people mixed into our nation. But there’s only one thing that makes Jews Jews. And that it that they are loyal to Hashem and His Torah.
From Toras Avigdor, here.
