Guardians in Gaza
"(Israel's invasion of Gaza in 2008) was against Palestine, against Judaism, against the Jewish people and against humanity."
Rabbi Dovid Feldman of New York, speaking in Gaza, December 30, 2009 (1)
Rabbi Feldman and three other members of the tiny Neturei Karta (NK) movement participated in an international group of about 100 who joined around 500 Gaza Arabs in demonstrating against the Israeli partial blockade of Gaza. NK, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, is totally opposed to the existence of the State of Israel, so Rabbi Feldman and his colleagues apparently were comfortable in collaborating with those who have fired thousands of rockets at Sderot and other Israeli cities.
Who are these guys, and what do they want?
The Neturei Karta (Aramaic for "Guardians of the City" of Jerusalem) began as a movement among Hungarian and Lithuanian Jews who settled in the Mea Shearim (100 Gates) area of Jerusalem during the 19th Century(2). They were happy to live as a tolerated small minority, first under the rule of Muslim Turks, and subsequently under the British. They steadfastly opposed the idea of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel before the coming of Moshiach (Messiah) as a violation of the post-Exile covenant between God and Jewish people (3). NK joined with Satmar chasidim and Agudas Israel in trying to prevent the partition of the Palestine Mandate by the United Nations in 1947.
After the State was established in 1948, Agudas Israel accepted it and participated in the Knesset. But NK and Satmar refused to support the State of Israel in any way, and have isolated themselves from it to the extent possible. While most other orthodox Jews in the country became Israeli patriots, NK established contacts with PLO; one rabbi even served in Yassir Arafat's cabinet. NK has splintered into a number of factions, including some that have settled in Brooklyn and Monsey, New York.
Among the most radical of NK activists is Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Monsey, New York, who spoke at the Holocaust revisionist conference in Tehran in 2006. Although insisting that the Holocaust was an indisputable historical fact (which some other participants denied), he asserted that it should never be "used as a tool to oppress other people." Weiss supported the goal of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the State of Israel be dismantled, albeit by peaceful means., and replaced by a Palestinian state.
Like the rejectionist Arab factions, Neturei Karta longs to turn back the clock to 1918, when Jews lived in Jerusalem as a tolerated minority in a Muslim-run country. To this end they are willing to align themselves with the enemies of Israel, who use them for anti-Israel propaganda. The media are happy to publicize their activities and statements, despite their tiny numbers and lack of support among other orthodox Jews.
What the NK rabbis do not realize is that the world of 1917 has vanished forever; if the Arabs ever did take over in Jerusalem (God forbid!), there would be no Jews in Mea Shearim, or anywhere else in the Land of Israel. Their Arab friends would have no further use for them, and they would be driven out or killed. Only the despised State of Israel defends their ability to live in the Holy Land.
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(1) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 31, 2009, page 5A.
(2) Wikipedia.
(3) Talmud: Kesubos 111A.
Rabbi Dovid Feldman of New York, speaking in Gaza, December 30, 2009 (1)
Rabbi Feldman and three other members of the tiny Neturei Karta (NK) movement participated in an international group of about 100 who joined around 500 Gaza Arabs in demonstrating against the Israeli partial blockade of Gaza. NK, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, is totally opposed to the existence of the State of Israel, so Rabbi Feldman and his colleagues apparently were comfortable in collaborating with those who have fired thousands of rockets at Sderot and other Israeli cities.
Who are these guys, and what do they want?
The Neturei Karta (Aramaic for "Guardians of the City" of Jerusalem) began as a movement among Hungarian and Lithuanian Jews who settled in the Mea Shearim (100 Gates) area of Jerusalem during the 19th Century(2). They were happy to live as a tolerated small minority, first under the rule of Muslim Turks, and subsequently under the British. They steadfastly opposed the idea of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel before the coming of Moshiach (Messiah) as a violation of the post-Exile covenant between God and Jewish people (3). NK joined with Satmar chasidim and Agudas Israel in trying to prevent the partition of the Palestine Mandate by the United Nations in 1947.
After the State was established in 1948, Agudas Israel accepted it and participated in the Knesset. But NK and Satmar refused to support the State of Israel in any way, and have isolated themselves from it to the extent possible. While most other orthodox Jews in the country became Israeli patriots, NK established contacts with PLO; one rabbi even served in Yassir Arafat's cabinet. NK has splintered into a number of factions, including some that have settled in Brooklyn and Monsey, New York.
Among the most radical of NK activists is Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Monsey, New York, who spoke at the Holocaust revisionist conference in Tehran in 2006. Although insisting that the Holocaust was an indisputable historical fact (which some other participants denied), he asserted that it should never be "used as a tool to oppress other people." Weiss supported the goal of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the State of Israel be dismantled, albeit by peaceful means., and replaced by a Palestinian state.
Like the rejectionist Arab factions, Neturei Karta longs to turn back the clock to 1918, when Jews lived in Jerusalem as a tolerated minority in a Muslim-run country. To this end they are willing to align themselves with the enemies of Israel, who use them for anti-Israel propaganda. The media are happy to publicize their activities and statements, despite their tiny numbers and lack of support among other orthodox Jews.
What the NK rabbis do not realize is that the world of 1917 has vanished forever; if the Arabs ever did take over in Jerusalem (God forbid!), there would be no Jews in Mea Shearim, or anywhere else in the Land of Israel. Their Arab friends would have no further use for them, and they would be driven out or killed. Only the despised State of Israel defends their ability to live in the Holy Land.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 31, 2009, page 5A.
(2) Wikipedia.
(3) Talmud: Kesubos 111A.
Labels: Gaza, Israel, Neturie Karta
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 9:39 AM
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