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WHAT IS THE NETUREI KARTA?
Neturei Karta opposed the
establishment of and retain all opposition to the existence of the
so-called "State of Israel"!
Neturei-Karta is the Aramaic term for
"Guardians of the City. The name Neturei-Karta originates from an
incident in which R. Yehudah Ha-Nassi (Rabbi Judah the Prince) sent R.
Hiyya and R. Ashi on a pastoral tour of inspection. In one town they
asked to see the "guardians of the city" and the city guard was paraded
before them. They said that these were not the guardians of the city
but its destroyers, which prompted the citizens to ask who, then, could
be considered the guardians. The rabbis answered, "The scribes and the
scholars," referring them to Tehillim (Psalms) Chap. 127. (Jerusalem
Talmud, Tractate Hagiga. 76c).
The name was given to a group of Orthodox
Jews in Jerusalem who refused (and still refuse) to recognize the
existence or authority of the so-called "State of Israel" and made (and
still make) a point of publicly demonstrating their position, the
position of the Torah and authentic unadulterated Judaism.
The group was founded in Jerusalem,
Palestine in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel. Agudas Yisroel
was established in 1912 for the purpose of fighting Zionism. Gradually
lured by money and honor they sold out to the "Golden-Calf" (see
Exodus, XXXII) of Zionism. Those who wanted to maintain their faith and
continue the struggle against Zionism, dissociated themselves from
Agudas Yisroel and associated parties.
Over the years, a number of Neturei Karta
activists and followers settled outside of Palestine. Some of the
reasons that these individuals abandoned the country in which they and
their families had lived for many generations (having lived there many
years prior to the establishment of the illegitimate so-called "State
of Israel") include; ideological refusal to live under the illegitimate
heretical "Israeli" regime, them being exiled by the Zionist government
for their insistence of remaining independent of the illegitimate
heretical regime or them being unable to live a normal family life due
to them and their families being persistently harassed, repeatedly
incarcerated and many times even physically tortured by the Zionist
police and agents. This dispersion resulted in the emergence of various
Neturei Karta establishments on the broader international scene. These
establishments include synagogues, educational institutions, publishing
houses and organizations. The establishments in New York include three
synagogues in Brooklyn (Boro Park and Williamsburg), three upstate, and
organizations include the Friends of Jerusalem in NY, NY.
Neturei Karta is not - as is often
alleged - a small sect or an extremist group of "ultra-orthodox" Jews.
The Neturei Karta have added nothing to nor have they taken anything
away from the written and oral law of the Torah as it is expressed in
the Halacha and the Shulchan Aruch. The Neturei Karta are fighting the
changes and inroads made by political Zionism during the past
one-hundred odd years. Guided by the rabbis of our time and under the
inspiring leadership of the late Reb Amram Blau, the Neturei Karta
refuse to recognize the right of anyone to establish a "Jewish" state
during the present period of exile.
There are those who wish to play down the
Neturei Karta and its' Torah-true beliefs. This has been attempted many
a time by stating that the Neturei Karta is a minority group and that
compared to other Jewish groups the Neturei Karta aren't even
noticeable in terms of number.
The name Neturei Karta is a name usually
given to those people who regularly pray in the Neturei Karta
synagogues (Torah Ve'Yirah Jerusalem, Torah U'Tefillah London, Torah
U'Tefillah NY, Beis Yehudi Upstate NY, etc.), study in or send their
children to educational institutions run by Neturei Karta, or actively
participate in activities, assemblies or demonstrations called by the
Neturei Karta. Although it is true that the number of families which
could be classified as Neturei Karta members or activists per-se is
relatively small (several thousand), the number of Orthodox Jews who
believe in the anti-Zionist ideology which Neturei Karta is known for,
number in the hundreds of thousands.
Neturei Karta oppose the
so-called "State of Israel" not because it operates secularly, but
because the entire concept of a sovereign Jewish state is contrary to
Jewish Law.
All the great rabbis who in accordance
with Jewish Law opposed Zionism at its inception did not do so merely
due to consideration of the secular lifestyles of the then Zionist
leaders or even for their opposition to Torah heritage and rejection of
its values and practices, but due to the fact that the entire concept
of a Jewish state is in direct conflict with a number of Judaism's
fundamentals.
Condemnation of and segregation from
anything connected to or affiliated with the so-called modern day
"State of Israel" is based on the Talmud, the key fundamental doctrine
of the Oral Tradition handed down by G-d to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The
Talmud in Tractate Kesubos (p. 111a), teaches that Jews shall not use
human force to bring about the establishment of a Jewish state before
the coming of the universally accepted Moshiach (Messiah from the House
of David). Furthermore it states that we are forbidden to rebel against
the nations and that we should remain loyal citizens and we shall not
attempt to leave the exile which G-d sent us into, ahead of time.
Jews are not allowed to
dominate, kill, harm or demean another people and are not allowed to
have anything to do with the Zionist enterprise, their political
meddling and their wars.
Neturei Karta forbid any participation
with the so-called "State of Israel" or any of its subsidiaries.
Neturei Karta followers do not participate in "Israeli" elections nor
do they accept any aid from "Bituach Le'Umi" (Social Security), and the
educational institutions of the Neturei Karta reject any form of
financial support from the so-called "Va'ad HaYeshivos" (equiv. to
Department of Education).
The Zionist state employs a set of chief
rabbis and uses religious parties to ornament their state with a
clerical image. They study the Torah with commentaries altered to
clothe the words with nationalistic nuances. Our rabbis have countless
times proclaimed that it matters little which individuals or parties
govern in the Zionist state because the very establishment and
existence of the state itself is to be condemned and to be deplored.
The true Jews remain
faithful to Jewish belief and are not contaminated with Zionism.
The true Jews are against
dispossessing the Arabs of their land and homes. According to the
Torah, the land should be returned to them.
Neturei Karta deplore the systematic
uprooting of ancient Jewish communities by the Zionists, the shedding
of Jewish and non-Jewish blood for the sake of Zionist sovereignty and
the Neturei Karta favor a peaceful transition from the present Zionist
rule to a non-Zionist entity.
According to Judaic Law the Torah has the
last word. There is no such thing as a majority of Jews who happen to
be Jewish by birth who can alter Torah Law in any way. In fact even the
greatest rabbi or as Maimonides writes, "even the greatest prophet"
[referring actually to an authentic prophet], has no right to distort
or amend even one letter of the Torah.
Rabbi Blau stated shortly before his
death that the acceptance by the United Nations of the Zionist state as
a member state constituted a grave injustice to the Jewish people.
Neturei Karta hope that this great error will be corrected at the
earliest opportunity. The Neturei Karta regret that the Zionist state
has usurped the holy name of Israel and that the Zionists so often
pretend to speak in the name of the Jewish people and assume the right
to act on our behalf. Only those rabbis who have not been affected or
influenced by the poison of Zionism, can be considered the spiritual
leaders of today's Jewry.
The world must know that
the Zionists have illegitimately seized the name Israel and have no
right to speak in the name of the Jewish people!