A Time to Embrace?
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) embraces anti-Zionist Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Monsey...."
Caption of Associated Press photo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 13, 2006.
"A time to embrace, a time to be far from embracing."
Koheles 3:5
The photo of a mutual embrace between the man who wants to wipe Israel off the map and the Neturei Karta leader was taken at a conference on the Holocaust Hoax in Tehran. Other guests included David Duke, a notorious anti-Semite and racist from Louisiana.
I understand that certain Chasidim (though a very small minority) have halachic problems with the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel by political and military means. For this reason, some Chasidim living in Israel refuse to vote, serve in the Army, or otherwise participate in the secular State of Israel.
Since I am not a " posake" (halachic expert), I will not refute the position taken by Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City). However, it is clear that without the State of Israel and its military might, Jews could not live in the Land of Israel with even the most minimal rights or security. Signficantly, Jews have been driven out of Arab states by the most brutal persecutions since these states became independent; it is absurd to believe that they could now live in an Arab-ruled Palestine.
Even if you believe Neturei Karta are halachically correct (which the vast majority of poskim do not), attendance at the Holocaust Denial Convention and embracing the enemies of Israel is still thoroughly reprehensible.
Perhaps the worst consequence of Weiss and his associates shmoozing with Ahmadinejad and the like is that millions of people around the world who see the photograph referenced above (including many Jews) will get the false impression that Neturei Karta represents a significant segment of the Chassidic community. Those of us who know the truth must correct this impression any way we can.
When Rabbi Weiss gets back to Monsey I hope that the Jewish community there demands an explanation from him and his travelling companions. The old union question "Which side are you on?" would be appropriate.
I would also remind him of the Talmudic quotation "Oy l'rosho, oy l'shchainov" meaning "Woe to the evil person, and woe to his neighbors."
Caption of Associated Press photo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 13, 2006.
"A time to embrace, a time to be far from embracing."
Koheles 3:5
The photo of a mutual embrace between the man who wants to wipe Israel off the map and the Neturei Karta leader was taken at a conference on the Holocaust Hoax in Tehran. Other guests included David Duke, a notorious anti-Semite and racist from Louisiana.
I understand that certain Chasidim (though a very small minority) have halachic problems with the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel by political and military means. For this reason, some Chasidim living in Israel refuse to vote, serve in the Army, or otherwise participate in the secular State of Israel.
Since I am not a " posake" (halachic expert), I will not refute the position taken by Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City). However, it is clear that without the State of Israel and its military might, Jews could not live in the Land of Israel with even the most minimal rights or security. Signficantly, Jews have been driven out of Arab states by the most brutal persecutions since these states became independent; it is absurd to believe that they could now live in an Arab-ruled Palestine.
Even if you believe Neturei Karta are halachically correct (which the vast majority of poskim do not), attendance at the Holocaust Denial Convention and embracing the enemies of Israel is still thoroughly reprehensible.
Perhaps the worst consequence of Weiss and his associates shmoozing with Ahmadinejad and the like is that millions of people around the world who see the photograph referenced above (including many Jews) will get the false impression that Neturei Karta represents a significant segment of the Chassidic community. Those of us who know the truth must correct this impression any way we can.
When Rabbi Weiss gets back to Monsey I hope that the Jewish community there demands an explanation from him and his travelling companions. The old union question "Which side are you on?" would be appropriate.
I would also remind him of the Talmudic quotation "Oy l'rosho, oy l'shchainov" meaning "Woe to the evil person, and woe to his neighbors."
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 6:15 PM
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