The Independent, Jewish settlers in the West Bank are being asked to trade in their guard dogs for pigs. The animals, considered unclean in Judaism for thousands of years, would help protect the settlements from attacks by Palestinians.
A company which supplies guard dogs to the settlements in the West Bank has asked senior rabbis for approval under Jewish law to train the pigs. The company says they are better than dogs because they have a stronger sense of smell. Because they are considered unclean by Islam as well, their presence could discourage Muslim attackers.
The settlements, built on occupied land in contravention of international law, are frequently attacked. Many are surrounded by high fences and guarded by Israeli soldiers.
“Pigs' sense of smell is far more developed than that of dogs,” said Yekutiel Ben-Yakov of Gdud Haivri, the company that supplies guard dogs to settlements. “The pigs will also be able to identify weapons from huge distances, and walk in the direction of the terrorist, so pointing him out. And this animal is considered dangerous by Islam.” Muslims also believe that dogs are unclean.
“The prohibition against raising pigs is well-known,” Rabbi Daniel Shilo, head of a rabbinical council for settlers in the West Bank, said. “But since this is a matter of saving lives, it will be permissible to have the animal.”
Despite the Jewish ban on pigs, pork is sold at many fashionable Jerusalem restaurants, though it usually has to be ordered as “white meat”. Pork and bacon is also sold by butchers in Jerusalem.
The Israeli army is thought to have rejected suggestions that pigs could be used to detect explosives. It seems that would have been a step too far.
