Scores more Israeli rabbis have added their names to a document calling on Jews to avoid renting or selling property to gentiles

Some 300 religious figures have signed the public statement, which warns that "it is forbidden in the Torah to sell a house or a field in the land of Israel to a foreigner." The statement calls for those who rent or sell property to non-Jews to be ostracized by the larger community. "After someone sells or rents just one flat, the value of all the neighboring flats drops ... He who sells or rents (to non-Jews) causes his neighbors a big loss and his sin is great," it says. "Anyone who sells (property to a non-Jew) must be cut off!!" The manifesto quotes extensively from Jewish writings, including from the Bible. It cites Exodus 23:33, which reads: "Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." The document initially garnered the signatures of some 50 rabbis, most of them employed by the state and minister to Jewish communities across Israel. That number has now grown to more than 300. Menachem Friedman, a specialist on the Jewish world at Bar Ilan university, said there was widespread support for the views in the letter. "They are expressing the fears of the whole population, particularly those in the poorest sectors of society," he said. "The threats that Israel faces comes from Islamism, and the hostile positions the state takes towards the Arab minority contributes to fear and creates a ghetto mentality among the Jews, even though they are the majority in Israel." Historian Ilan Greilsammer agreed, saying the sentiments expressed in the letter were merely a reflection of what people were actually thinking. "The rabbis are saying above what the people are thinking below. What's new is that they are expressing it publicly." Israel has 1.3 million Arab citizens - Palestinians who remained in the country after the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 and their descendants.