‘It is a mitzvah to break Shabbat to stop an arsonist’

Within the context of the fires currently raging around Israel, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat Shmuel Eliyahu was asked how one should behave, according to Jewish law, should one encounter an Arab starting a fire on Shabbat – or any other day of the week. Jewish law forbids Jews from extinguishing fires on Shabbat – unless risk…