Neturei Karta: Anti-Zionist Jews
Not All Jews Are Zionist
Disclaimer: I am 49% Russian Jewish by DNA, and my mother is 98%. According to Jewish belief, I am fully Jewish, because the Judaism is matrilineal. However, I was raised without religion, and my thoughts are my own. I admit, that I have little knowledge about Judaism. Writing this article is helping me to understand my life.
Who Are The Neturei Karta?
The Neturei Karta are a group of Haredi Jews, within Orthodox Judaism. The word “Haredi” can be translated as “the one who trembles at the word of God.” Haredim (plural of “Haredi”) adhere to a very strict interpretation of Jewish law and traditions.
The Neturei Karta see themselves as defenders of “authentic” Judaism. In Aramaic, Neturei Karta means “Guardians of the City.” The phrase is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud (aka, the Palestinian Talmud or the Talmud of the Land of Israel).
Neturei Karta members are often mistaken for Hasidic Jews because their attire is similar to that of Hasidim; but Neturei Karta are not Hasidic. Group members reject modern values and appear reclusive or cultish. They are often referred to as ultra-Orthodox, which represent the conservative or pietistic form of Jewish fundamentalism.
The Neturei Karta was founded by Rabbi Amram Blau and Rabbi Aharon Katzenelbogen in Jerusalem in 1938. Many members of the Neturei Karta are descendants of Hungarian or Lithuanian Jews who settled in Jerusalem in the early nineteenth century. In 1971, it was reported that several hundred Neturei Karta families lived in Israel and throughout the diaspora. In 2007, membership was approximately a few thousand. In 2017, it was reported that 5,000 members were based mainly in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh.
The Gaon Of Vilna
The Neturei Karta are followers of the Polish Lithuanian Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (born 1720), commonly referred to as the Gaon of Vilna, or the GRA (Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu), or simply “the Gaon.” He was the foremost leader of misnagdic Orthodox Jewry, which opposes the Hasidic movement. In 1772 and again in 1781, the Gaon imposed a boycott on the Hasidim.
As a child, the Gaon delivered a sermon in his local synagogue and was considered a prodigy. He engaged in Torah study all his life, while his wife supported the family. He slept little and had only a handful of close disciples.
The Gaon is one of the most important rabbis in Jewish history because of his vast understanding of the Talmud and Kabbalah. He is considered to be the father of Lithuanian Kabbalah. He authored numerous annotations, marginal notes and commentaries, which he often dictated to his disciples. His corrections of Talmudic and other texts were so respected that he became one of the most influential figures in rabbinic studies since the Middle Ages.
The Gaon encouraged his students to study the pshat (i.e., the literal meaning of the text), and he was opposed to the “pilpul method” of studying the Talmud by using debate to reconcile contradictions presented in the text. He also studied the natural sciences and mathematics, which he considered important for understanding the Torah. He even wrote a book on mathematics and astronomy.
The Perushim
The Gaon attempted to immigrate to the land of Israel. However, for unknown reasons, his trip ended in Germany, and he returned to Vilna. In the early the 19th century, more than 500 of his disciples immigrated to Safed, Tiberias, Jaffa and Jerusalem, which were then part of Ottoman Syria. They call themselves “perushim,” meaning “to separate.”
Their goal was to rebuild Jerusalem as the Torah center of the world. However, when they arrived, the perushim learned that there was a ban preventing Ashkenazi Jews from settling in Jerusalem. The ban had been in effect since the early 18th century, when Ashkenazi synagogues were forcibly closed due to outstanding debts, and many Ashkenazim were forced out of the city.
Some perushim managed to evade the ban by disguising themselves as Sephardic Jews, and others settled in Safed, which had large Sephardi and Hasidic communities. The perushim eventually succeeded in renewing the Ashkenazi presence in Jerusalem, after nearly a hundred years of banishment by the local Arabs. By 1857, the perushim community in Jerusalem had grown to 750 people.
The immigration of perushim into Israel has influenced many Jews living in the region. The perushim spread the teachings of the Vilna Gaon, which has influenced the Ashkenazi community. They also set up several kollels (similar to a yeshiva, but consisting mostly of married men). They founded several neighborhoods in the New City of Jerusalem, including the neighborhood of Mea Shearim. And they participated in rebuilding the Hurva Synagogue, which had been neglected for 140 years.
Neturei Karta Don’t Support Zionism
Zionist political movements emerged as early as the 1890s, recruiting supporters in Europe and America. However, a vast majority of Orthodox Jews and Haredi Jews, including the Neturei Karta, believe the Jewish state must only emerge with divine intervention.
Most Neturei Karta advocate for a “peaceful dismantling” of the state of Israel. They believe the Jewish people are forbidden from establishing sovereignty in Israel until the arrival of the Messiah, and attempting to restore Jews in Israel is a rebellion against God. Therefore, any form of forceful recapture of the land of Israel is a violation of divine will.
However, while many in Neturei Karta choose to ignore the State of Israel, this has become more difficult. Some Neturei Karta members actively oppose the political ideology of Zionism that seeks to assert Jewish sovereignty in Palestine. The Neturei Karta website contains several articles reporting incidences when members burned the Israeli flag in public spaces.
The more radical branch of Neturei Karta has been widely condemned by other Orthodox Jewish organizations, including anti-Zionist Haredi organizations, both in New York and Jerusalem. Other Orthodox Jewish movements, including some who oppose Zionism, have also denounced the activities of Neturei Karta.
The Shomer Emunim is another Hasidic group with a similar anti-Zionist ideology. The largest anti-Zionist Hasidic group is Satmar, which has around 100,000 members worldwide. The group's charismatic leader, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, authored comprehensive and polemic tracts detailing his opposition to Zionism. These anti-Zionist groups and others are often bundled together with the Neturei Karta.
The Three Oaths
Neturei Karta believe that the exile of the Jews can end only after the Messiah returns. They believe Zionism is a presumptuous affront against God, and human attempts to establish Jewish sovereignty in Israel are sinful.
The Neturei Karta argue that Zionism is a rejection of the concept of the Three Oaths, which is the popular name for a midrash (i.e., a textual interpretation) in the Talmud. During the exile of the Jews, God made a pact with the Jewish people (known as the Three Oaths), as well as all the other nations of the world. The Three Oaths state that only God can decide when the Jewish people may return to Israel.
More specifically, two of the oaths pertain to the Jewish people, and one of the oaths pertains to the other nations of the world. The Jews must not reclaim the land of Israel forcefully, and they must not rebel against the non-Jewish world that gave them sanctuary. Another provision stated that the Jews must not immigrate en masse to the Land of Israel. In return, the gentile nations must promise not to subjugate or persecute the Jews excessively.
Therefore, it is easy to see that by forcing the creation of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people were rebelling against God. However, this position is not predominant. Even Maimonides (1138–1204) advocated for the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel through human initiative rather than waiting for the Messiah.
Neither the Gemara (in the Talmud) or the Halacha (Jewish Law) are specific regarding what precisely would constitute permission from the nations. As such, the Balfour Declaration (1917), the San Remo conference (1920), the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922), and the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947) calling for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states are collectively understood as approval from the nations of the world.
Other interpretations state that the Three Oaths simply meant that God had decreed an exile for the Jewish people. Some believe that the fact that the Jewish people have successfully returned to the Land of Israel, and that the State of Israel has survived, is evidence that the oath is void and the decree has ended.
Other arguments rejecting the legality of the Three Oaths:
The Balfour Declaration doesn’t mention the Three Oaths.
The State of Israel has expanded its borders beyond the areas mandated by the UN, without permission of the other nations.
UN approval of the establishment of the State of Israel does not constitute permission from the nations of the world.
Jewish law attaches no significant value to the UN.
Only the people who live in the land (i.e., the Palestinian Arabs) can approve the creation of an Israeli State.
Despite these conflicts, many anti-Zionist Haredim have immigrated to Israel, claiming that they moved to Israel simply to live there, and they have no intention of attempting to conquer it or rule over it. Such Haredim accordingly do not believe themselves to be in violation of the Three Oaths.
Neturei Karta Support Palestinians
Neturei Karta members criticize Israeli policies toward the Palestinian people. They blame Zionism for the degradation of Jewish-Muslim relations that inevitably lead to bloodshed of both Arabs and Israeli Jews.
The Neturei Karta reject the claim that Israel is democratic, citing what they refer to as the racist, genocidal treatment of Palestinians. They state that before the creation of Israel, both peoples lived together in peace, and they call for the return of all Palestinians refugees to “their rightful land.”
In 2004, members associated with the radical branch of Neturei Karta participated in a prayer vigil for Yasser Arafat (Former President of the State of Palestine) outside the Percy Military Hospital in Paris, France, where he lay on his death bed. They also attended his funeral in Ramallah.
Relations With Iran And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss is an American Haredi Jew, activist, and spokesman for the worldwide religious group Neturei Karta. In October 2005, Weiss issued a statement criticizing Jewish attacks on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Weiss wrote that Ahmadinejad's statements were not anti-Semitic, but instead expressed a desire for a more peaceful world.
In March 2006, Weiss and several other Neturei Karta members visited Iran where they attended the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust and met with Iranian leaders. They praised Ahmadinejad for calling for the Zionist occupation in Jerusalem to vanish from the pages of time. NPR and London's Jewish Chronicle judged the conference to be a gathering of Holocaust deniers.
Despite the fact that Weiss lost most of his family in the Holocaust, he believes that Zionists use the Holocaust to advance their own objectives. And he criticized Israelis for exploiting WWII in order to justify the creation of a Jewish state in Israel. He asserts that many Jews oppose Zionism.
“It would be forbidden for us to have a State, even if it would be in a land that is desolate and uninhabited.” — Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss.
Sources:
Wikipedia: Neturei Karta.
Wikipedia: Haredi Judaism.
Wikipedia: Haredim and Zionism.
The National Library of Israel: The Vilna Gaon.
Wikipedia: Vilna Gaon.
Wikipedia: Perushim.
Wikipedia: Three Oaths.
Wikipedia: Yisroel Dovid Weiss.
1948:
In world affairs, there had been terrible disturbances in Palestine for some time. On midnight of 14 May, independence from the British was achieved and the new Jewish state of Israel was proclaimed. On various occasions, [Meher] Baba had stated that he had to find a home in the world for the Jewish people and finally it had come to pass.
LordMeher.org, p. 2646
Dear Gott. Jews are everywhere these days. Terrible infestation.