The simmering tensions between synagogue and state came to the boiling point again, when Israeli police stopped Rabbi Dov Lior on the road between Jerusalem and Hebron and detained him in handcuffs for questioning.

For four months, the rabbi, one of the top spiritual leaders of the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria, had ignored police summonses to appear for questioning on suspicion of incitement.

Lior is one of four rabbis who endorse the controversial book The King’s Torah by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, which discusses situations in which it is permissible for Jews to kill Gentiles. The book says, for instance, that in a situation of war, Jews must not only fight against armed combatants, but also the killing of civilians and children must be taken into account if they are assisting the enemy or being used as human shields.

However, in times of peace Gentiles must not be killed, in accordance with Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.”

In contrast to Lior, many leading sages have sharply criticized the book, including the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 91, and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, 101. From the point of view of the State Prosecutor, the concepts expressed in the book amount to racism and incitement to violence.

For Rabbi Lior’s followers and other ultra-Orthodox Jews, the dispute goes beyond the book to a much bigger issue, namely, that Torah law supersedes state law. In that context, the state does not have the moral authority to question a holy sage, much less humiliate him.

Therefore, news of the rabbi’s detention spread like wildfire in the settlements, and within hours hundreds of religious Jews had blocked the main road leading into Jerusalem during rush hour, enraging commuters. Police reinforcements rushed to the scene to restore order.

The behavior of the demonstrators was widely criticized in the Israeli and international media. Nevertheless, Rabbi Lior’s followers fought for their spiritual leader in the same way that Jesus’ disciples fought for Him 2,000 years ago. When someone laid hands on Jesus, one of His disciples reached for his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Yet Jesus called on His disciples not to resort to violence: “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

We are not drawing a comparison here between Jesus and Rabbi Dov Lior; rather, we are making a point about the value placed on religious leaders among the Jewish people and how their followers behave when someone threatens, harms or humiliates their rabbis. The people of Israel behave no differently today than they did 2,000 years ago at the time of Jesus, and this incident is case in point.

Some Christians reject the Chosen People and maintain that the modern State of Israel is not the same as the nation of biblical times. Thus Israel’s actions, and indeed its very existence, are invalid. But these people misjudge how authentically the Bible describes the life of the Jewish people at that time, and how it is still valid for Israel today!