User:Daniel Breslauer/Haredi anti-Zionism

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Haredi anti-Zionism refers to the position of many Haredi Jewish movements in opposition to Zionism.

According to Haredi Judaism, there should not be a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah; however, now that this state exists, views differ on how to deal with that state.

Several Haredi Jewish movements, especially Hasidic movements, very strongly oppose Zionism on religious grounds. They hold that since the Jewish people were exiled from the Holy Land, they are forbidden from reconquering the land, even though individual Jews are permitted to live there without taking control of the land. According to their interpretation of Jewish sources including the Talmud on this matter, only after the Jewish Messiah has arrived will a Jewish state be re-established in the Holy Land.

There are no Haredi Jews who say any prayers for the State of Israel. The border between Haredi Judaism and the most conservative wings of Religious Zionism lies exactly at this point. There are those who are known as 'Hardalim'; these are fervently religious Religious Zionists who in some aspects mirror a Haredi lifestyle. Nevertheless, socially, these groups are not part of the Haredi world.

Background

The Talmud, in Ketubot 111a, mentions that the Jewish people have been bound by three oaths: 1) not to ascend to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) as a group using force; 2) not to rebel against the nations of the world; and 3) not to delay the coming of Moshiach, the Jewish messiah, through their own sins. Zionism is perceived as a violation of all three, but primarily the first two oaths.

This passage of the Talmud is based on a mystical meaning of the verse "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you neither awaken nor arouse the love while it is desirous." This verse is found thrice in Shir HaShirim, (Song of Songs), verses 2:7, 3:5, 8:4.

Involvement with the State

Among Haredi anti-Zionist movements, opinions differ on the attitude to take now that the state exists. Some movements remained actively anti-Zionist, others lowered their voice; some refuse to vote, while others do vote; some accept money from the government, while others do it.

The most extreme example of refusal to acknowledge the state is found in Neturei Karta, which not only organizes active demonstrations calling on others not to vote on election days, but some of whose members even refrain from using Israeli government-subsidized buses, since bus tickets are partially subsidized by the government as in most western countries. They also prefer not to touch Israeli money, and do not acknowledge the authority of the Israeli police in any matter, including criminal affairs.

A slightly less extreme example is found in the communities associated with the Edah HaChareidis rabbinical council of Jerusalem. These communities, including Satmar, Dushinsky, Toldos Aharon and Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, do not vote and do not accept government money. Around election days, posters by the Edah HaChareidis are posted throughout Haredi neighborhoods of Jerusalem proclaiming that it is forbidden to vote in the elections, and that doing so is a grave sin.

Positions of different Haredi movements regarding Zionism

Neturei Karta

A famous group holding this ideology is Neturei Karta, a controversial group with followers mainly in Jerusalem and Ramat Beit Shemesh, as well as smaller groups of followers in London and New York.

Neturei Karta consists of two separate groups: a small, radical group which advocates immediate annulation of the State of Israel and handing its territory over to Hamas and strongly supports controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and a much larger and slightly more moderate group which condemns those who join hands with Arabic groups.

Most of the public - including many Haredim - are only aware of the smaller and more radical group, leading many to condemn all of 'Neturei Karta' without being aware of the fact that those who espouse pro-Iranian views and support Hamas are only a tiny faction which has been condemned by the leadership of the larger Neturei Karta movement.

Satmar

Slightly more moderate anti-Zionist Haredim, however, number in the hundreds of thousands. The Satmar Hassidic movement, whose previous Rebbe, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum wrote an extensive refutation of Zionism entitled Vayoel Moshe, counts more than 100,000 members alone. Other strongly anti-Zionist Hasidic groups include Dushinsky and Toldos Aharon, both having many thousands of adherents mainly in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum of Satmar, whose movement counts more than 100,000 followers, wrote in his book Vayoel Moshe, written during the 1960s, that the Holocaust came to pass only because of the Zionists, that the Zionists made sure that fleeing Jews were refused entry to western nations, and that the Zionists have intentionally caused a huge rise in antisemitism around the world. He held that all of Israel's wars were against Jewish law, that Zionism is the greatest spiritual impurity in the entire world, and that it is the duty of every God-fearing Jew to oppose the Zionists as much as he can.

Satmar plays a major role in Jerusalem's Edah HaChareidis rabbinical council. All movements affiliated with the Edah accept Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum's Vayoel Moshe as binding.

Satmar and Neturei Karta are often confused by people not aware of the difference between these movements. While certain elements of Neturei Karta actively cooperate with Arab and Islamic movements calling for the destruction of Israel, Satmar Hassidim have never and will never do this, as they have been instructed by their leaders.

The book Vayoel Moshe

Vayoel Moshe was written by the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum (1887-1979). It consists of three parts: Maamar Shalosh Shevuos (three oaths), Maamar Yishuv Eretz Yisroel (settling the Land of Israel), and Maamar Loshon HaKodesh (the holy tongue). The first part, which is the main part of the book, discusses the three oaths mentioned in Ketubot 111a - that the Jewish people is not allowed to ascend to Eretz Yisrael by force, that the Jewish people is not allowed to rebel against the nations of the world, and that the Jewish people may not by their sins delay the coming of Moshiach, the Jewish messiah.

The book is held in high regard by many Haredim, especially Hasidim. It has been accepted as binding by all movements affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis. In 2002, the rabbinical court of the Edah HaChareidis wrote a praising approbation to a new edition of it.

Dushinsky

In July 1947, less than a year before the actual founding of the state, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, the Ashkenazi Haredi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and of the Edah HaChareidis rabbinical council, went to New York to deliver a personal statement to the United Nations, declaring his "definite opposition to a Jewish state in any part of Palestine." Also in these days, Dushinsky is known as one of the most virulently anti-Zionist groups.

Lithuanian ('Litvish') Haredi Judaism

The Litvish Haredi world, led in recent years by the Chazon Ish (1878-1953), Rabbi Elazar Shach (1898-2001), and Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, is also strongly opposed to Zionism. Examples of this are found in lectures and letters of Rabbi Shach.

Ger and Belz Hasidism

The Ger and Belz Hasidic movements have adopted a pragmatically supportive stance towards the state of Israel, Ger slightly more so than Belz. While both movements have a history of anti-Zionism just like that of all other Hasidic movements, in modern times their positions have changed somewhat. Like all other Haredim, they do not say prayers for the State of Israel nor do they serve in the Israeli military. However, they do vote, and passively oppose withdrawals from the occupied territories.