Pulsa Denura

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PULSA DENURA

In Aramaic, "fire baton." Ceremony practiced by certain extremist rabbis, chanted in Aramaic and meant to fatally hex a person. It was originally performed by initiated kabbalists and thought to be effective only when at least ten pious Jews participated in it after a fast of three days. This ceremony was carried out on 2 October 1995, conducted by Rabbi Yossef Dayan, with twenty or so members of the Kach extremist party near the domicile of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, whose death they desired. On 4 November, the latter was assassinated by Yigal Amir, an extremist Jew close to Kach who may have been aware of the ceremony, or at least of reports of it that appeared prior to the assassination.

On 14 September 2004, Rabbi Dayan declared on Israeli television that he would be prepared to carry out the ceremony again, to put a curse on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, if the Gaza disengagement plan was not called off. Officials initiated an investigation of him on suspicion of incitement to murder.

SEE ALSO Amir, Yigal;Devekut;Eyal;Kach Party;Rabin, Yitzhak.