Russian security forces reportedly buried Chechen terrorists in pigskin last year in attempts to end their suicide bombing attacks. Israeli police have considered using pigs, or pig products to ward off terrorism in the past, but needed a rabbinical permit to carry it out, as Judaism, like Islam, regards the pig as an unclean animal, Maariv reported. Rabbi Eliezer Moshe Fisher, of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court, ruled yesterday that "there is no Halachic ban on using bags of lard in buses and other places" when saving lives is concerned. The Halachic permit says bags of lard may be used in any place that might be a target for suicide bombings, such as schools, shopping malls and railway stations.
The rabbi also said that if the police do not use pig fat in buses, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews will arm themselves with toy water pistols filled with liquid lard to be used against terrorists, Maariv reported.
"If bags of pig lard will prevent zealous Moslem terrorists from carrying out attacks, I'm all for it," said Deputy Internal Security Minister Ya'acov Edri (Likud) in response to the plan.