Q&A: State Funds
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
State Funds
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permitted to steal from / damage the state, for example by dirtying the street or uprooting a traffic light and the like?
Answer
Dirtying the street is not theft, but at most damage, or simply a lack of consideration for others. And of course it is also a violation of the law.
It is obviously forbidden to damage state property, and not only because of the law of the land, but also, and primarily, because it is theft from the public. Is public property less important than the property of a private individual? I don’t understand the question.