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OP
- ED June
11, 2003: NY Now, upon hearing this, the average viewer probably associated the protest with local Palestinian Americans and perhaps some Jewish Americans who may disagree with Israel's policy towards the Palestinians, however, this was not the case. Interestingly enough video or photo coverage of the demonstrators, by mainstream media, was minimum to none. The majority of the protesters were orthodox Hasidic Jews in their traditional garb and I am sure this would have come as a shock to the audience if the media had provided more details. Maybe that is why popular news media tried to gloss over this important fact regarding the protesters, to protect the general public from shock, or perhaps they have a certain agenda (now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reduced news media regulation even further, to the point where many outlets can be owned by the few, it can enhance its control over our minds and perceptions - I diverge). I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Freimann, a religious man and a social and political activist. He is always dressed in the traditional Hasidic Jewish garb and is a soft-spoken, gentle man with a permanent smile on his face. Rabbi Freimann is affiliated with a group known as Neturei Karta (an Aramaic term for "Guardians of the City"). This group of orthodox Jews was given this name because they 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 (the Jewish religious scripture) and authentic unadulterated Judaism. They publicly voice their ideology, which is anti-Israel and anti-Zionism. According to Rabbi Freimann, the Jewish state of Israel has "hijacked the word 'Zion' and coined the term Zionism." He said that the term "Zionism is a synonym for the holy land" which is known as 'Zion'; the term Zionism "was coined by the founders of a movement to resurrect the Jewish people on their ancestral homeland," a movement that is anti-Judaism in accordance with orthodox Jewish beliefs supported by the Torah. Most ultra orthodox Jews condemned the creation of Israel, which according to Rabbi Freimann was established "as an independent entity on land which was forcefully taken from indigenous people who belonged there." He points to the religious scripture of the Jews, the Torah, which "does not allow them to have dominion over any people" and is the ultimate reason for condemning the State of Israel, the so-called Jewish homeland. The exile of the Jewish community was "divinely ordained and precipitated by the status of not being deserving anymore to live as a sovereign nation because of their sins," said Rabbi Freimann. Therefore, their "sovereignty has to be divinely ordained and not achieved by man made efforts." Neturei Karta is a group of orthodox Jews who are dedicated to the propagation and clarification of Torah Judaism. Their stance on the State of Israel and Zionism commits them to support the Palestinian struggle to end the occupation. However, they go a step further and demand the complete dismantlement of the Jewish state and the formation of a Palestinian state with Jews as its citizens living in harmony with their neighbors. Neturei Karta and other Jews against Zionism consider the inhuman policies of Israel towards the Palestinians in violation of the Torah. Rabbi Freimann feels that the misinformation campaign propagated by Israel, which labels the Palestinians as murderers and Jews as the innocent victims, is the reason for the support of Israel by the misguided Jewish masses and is also creating a gulf between them and the Torah (Judaism - the religion). I discussed with Rabbi Freimann the, sometimes reckless, use of the word anti-Semite by entities such as the Jewish Anti-defamation League (JAL) and instantly he responded by saying that the JAL propagates anti-Semitism and is a pawn of the Zionist Israel. He expressed his concern over the fact that anti-Jewish sentiments were on the rise worldwide because of the Zionist agenda and their campaign against Palestine. Anti-Zionist and anti-Israel campaigners seek the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees to their rightful land and to reside amongst them as loyal and peaceful Jewish Palestinian citizens. While this notion may seem absolutely absurd to many of us it is the premise of Neturei Karta and many Orthodox Jews worldwide and supported by the Torah. Perhaps we need to educate ourselves about the roots of Israel and the last 50 years of oppression faced by the Palestinians in order to understand this premise. Some Orthodox Jews have tried to make the best of a bad situation by working within the Jewish state to protect religious interests thus implicitly recognizing its legitimacy and according to Rabbi Freimann "denying the reality of Divine exile and Messianic redemption." The site of an Orthodox Jew burning the flag of Israel during a protest rally in Brooklyn is what captured my attention and compelled me to learn more about this movement. Their recent presence at the Israel day parade was also significant even though the media chose to ignore it. It is a peaceful movement, which has religious roots and somewhat of an implicit social agenda. Rabbi Freimann lives in a predominantly orthodox Jewish neighborhood but is usually ignored or on occasion even verbally abused by most of his neighbors who see his actions as anti-Judaism but in reality they are anti-Zionism. The difference between the two is vast but often not understood by the masses and this, Rabbi Freimann feels, is tragic for the Jewish faith. While Judaism is a faith that has existed for thousands of years, with the sole purpose of its followers to study and fulfill the divine commandments of the Torah; Zionism, according to Neturei Karta, "is a persuasion less than one hundred years old; its essential goal was and is to change the nature of the Jewish people from that of a religious entity to a political movement." I encourage readers to visit Neturei Karta's website at
www.nkusa.org and to educate themselves of the history of Israel and Palestine
since the 1940's. The subservient mainstream media is not always an impartial
source when it comes to intricate world affairs but independent media
and other such resources are available if one wants to broaden his/her
horizons. In order for us to assure a peaceful world for our future generations
we have to understand the obstacles that are in the way. This world is
becoming a very small entity evident by the fact that religious, social,
geographical and ideological conflicts in a particular part of the planet
are affecting humanity as a whole. References:
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