The December 2010 Israeli rabbi letter controversy was a scandal that erupted surrounding the appearance of two open letters, signed by a number of Israeli rabbis, that were discriminatory towards non-Jews in Israel.
Although the letters sparked considerable outrage, evoking condemnation from prominent Israeli and American Jews and others, a poll showed that 44 percent of Israeli society supported the letters' messages.
Among the signers were rabbis from Rishon LeZion, Ramat HaSharon, Herzliya, Kfar Saba and Holon (suburbs of Tel Aviv); from Jerusalem; and from other towns and settlements.
[6] According to a poll conducted by the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a narrow plurality of Jewish Israelis were opposed to the rabbis' call not to rent to Arabs: 48 percent opposed the statement, and 44 percent supported it.
It urged young Jewish women to not date Arabs, and to not work at locations where non-Jews might be present.