Orthodox Jews to Join Other Arab Organizations in Protest Against the AIPAC

[Purveyor]

Orthodox Jews to Join Other Arab Organizations in Protest Against the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Annual Dinner, and Against the Recent Atrocities in GAZA

Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008

The following is a statement by Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a spokesman for Neturei Karta International:

AIPAC: (An Institution Perpetuating Atrocities and Catastrophe)

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a spokesman for Neturei Karta International, Jews United Against Zionism, stated at a recent meeting: "Philanthropists, government representatives and well meaning people, should be apprised of the reality, that supporting Zionism and the State of 'Israel' does not help Jews or Judaism, but on the contrary only helps to perpetuate the tragic impasse and constant bloodshed in the Middle East, both of Arab and Jew.

"Not supporting the State of 'Israel' does not make one, in any way, less of a friend of the Jewish people and most certainly does not label one an anti-semite."

The Rabbi further stated: "The terrible oppression and deaths wrought on the Palestinian people in general and now particularly of those residing in Gaza is yet another example of the awful consequences of Zionism. We Jews true the Torah, issue a passionate condemnation of these latest Israeli atrocities. The deaths and suffering of these people, is only the most recent example of the sixty year toll of human suffering created by the Zionist enterprise in the Middle East.

"History clearly attests to the fact that the Jewish existence in all Muslim countries was mostly harmonious and only since the inception of Zionism has this relationship been destroyed. Remove the intimidation and hyperbole of AIPAC and its ilk, and any logical person will conclude that the difference of religion is not the cause of the deep seated rift between Jews and Arabs. The new ideology, the political movement of Zionism, which culminated in the form of the State of 'Israel,' is the real culprit. In fact, Zionism is the direct cause for the exacerbation of anti Semitism universally."

He further stated: "The Jewish principles of exile may be a shock and a complete surprise to the well-meaning friends and supporters of the Jewish people, but facts cannot be disputed. The Torah explicitly forbids us, the Jewish nation, from having our own State in this Heavenly decreed exile. We must patiently await the day when the Almighty Himself, without any human intervention, will bring the hearts of all mankind together to serve Him in peace and harmony.

---eoe---

http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/orthodox-jews-join-arab-organizations-protest-aipac-american-israel-public_459696_1.html

[On the Road]

1. Wow -- I Did Not Know This Sentiment Was So Organized

I have heard that there were some Orthdox Jews who believed that the Holocaust was God's punishment for the sin of Zionism, but figured that was a fringe sentiment.

[LeftishBrit]

6. It is indeed a fringe sentiment

This is a very small but vocal minority of Orthodox Jews.

[Phx_Dem]

2. It's amazing how much attention this group gets

Considering that they amount to a few thousand adherents.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. It's not amazing at all...

They're a powerful and influential lobby group, and of course they're going to get attention, especially from people who oppose their one-sided views on the I/P conflict...

[Phx_Dem]

4. I was referring to the Neturei Karta

I thought using the word "adherents" made that clear. I guess not clear enough.

[Phx_Dem]

7. Why are the Neturei Karta Media Darlings?

snip

Some of the outsized attention given to the Neturei Karta has to do with journalistic practice. There is shoddy journalism; many journalists are ignorant of the Jewish community, and have no idea that the Neturei Karta are a fringe group. In addition, journalists are swept away by the Neturei Karta’s flowing beards and billowing caftans. As Hassidic Jews, they are exotic figures who seem to have stepped straight out of the 18th century. Because of this, the Neturei Karta are the perfect photo op. And in an image driven media culture, photo ops are the news.

The Neturei Karta’s protests are also a “man bites dog” story. Here you have very Jewish-looking Jews denouncing Israel, the Jewish state. The value of this story becomes magnified in what Deborah Tannen called “an argument culture”. Contemporary media, much like pro wrestling, thrives on conflict. In that regard, the Neturei Karta are the “Hulk Hogan” of pro-Israel events, protesting in order to irritate and annoy, hoping their protests will start fistfights with supporters of Israel. All of these factors encourage journalists to turn kitschy performance art into a front page story.

While poor journalism is forgivable, of greater concern is the ideological bias behind the media’s fascination with the Neturei Karta. In a politically correct culture that despises military action and assigns moral superiority to any victim, Israel is the ultimate bully. Journalists who sympathize with the Palestinian cause find Jewish solidarity with Israel puzzling. These journalists are left searching in vain for some sort of internal Jewish discord over Israel’s right to exist. When they discover the Neturei Karta, they accept them uncritically, because the Neturei Karta offer a story of internal debate unavailable elsewhere.

Sadly, when journalists give the Neturei Karta prominent coverage, they have taken a circus sideshow and put it on the front page. There are many important debates about the Middle East, but instead of those, these journalists have chosen to focus on a fringe phenomenon and consider it newsworthy.

It’s a shame the media seems to make this journalistic mistake, over and over again.

http://chaimsteinmetz.blogspot.com/2006/12/neturei-karta-are-circus-freaks-part-ii.html

[Violet_Crumble]

12. Sorry, My mistake. But here's an answer for you...

The reason they get so much attention in the US is the same reason why folk like Walid Shoebat and Tawfik Hamid get attention, wouldn't you agree?

[LeftishBrit]

5. Neturei Karta are fundie nuts...

the Jewish equivalent of a Christian Right group. The reason why they don't believe in the state of Israel is that they think it's against the prophecies to have established such a state before the arrival of the Messiah.

ETA: they do not represent Orthodox Jews as a whole, but are a small faction.

[Lithos]

8. Yes, agreed

I think I took it a bit farther and stated that a bit of irony that people don't get about this group is that it's not the idea of Israel as a nation they are against, but rather that they feel that the current situation is against "G*d" because it was done without the benefit of a messiah. As I understand it, should said messiah appear, they would immediately be fully on the Israel bandwagon. As such they feel that the current state of Israel's existence is an impediment to the messiah's coming (because Israel exists now, the messiah can't found it). Their support has nothing to do with Palestinian rights which they view as a tool to restore things temporarily to a state to allow the messiah to create the proper state of Israel.

Definitely a fringe group and definitely not indicative of global Judaism.

L-

[msmcghee]

9. Global Judaism? Please define. n/t

[Lithos]

10. all of Judaism

mainstream Judaism, or even a significant minority opinion.

ie, Even though Judaism has a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices associated within it, for most, NK is considered a fringe or out of mainstream element.

[Tom Joad]

11. I agree that they are fringe. but Christians fundamentalists are much more numerous

and they are much more dangerous in their beliefs and practices. and some are allied with AIPAC, in supporting war. In order to promote the "end times".