Statement in Reaction to U.N. Security Council Resolution Condemning Israeli Settlements
On behalf of anti-Zionist Jews worldwide, we of Neturei Karta International,
Jews United Against Zionism, greet with enthusiasm the recent United
Nations Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements
as illegal. For decades, the settlements have been a major cause for
bloodshed and unrest in the Holy Land. Hundreds of innocent lives have
been sacrificed on the altar of nationalism and lust for land. We
congratulate the countries in the Security Council for taking this
long-overdue step toward justice and peace. And in particular, we
congratulate the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, on
his success in achieving the passage of this resolution.
At the same time, we wish to reiterate the Torah position that it is
not just the West Bank that is illegally occupied. Jews have been sent
into exile by the Almighty, and any kind of Jewish sovereignty over any
territory is a violation of that decree. Therefore the concept of the
State of Israel is entirely illegitimate and forbidden. The crime is
compounded when the creation of this homeland entails the occupation,
oppression, subjugation and expulsion of another people. Before the era
of Zionism, Jews lived in Palestine in peace and security, side by side
with the Palestinian Arab population. We fervently hope for the day when
Jews return to abiding by the laws of the Torah and living in peace
with all peoples.
As Jews, we have always been especially pained
by the actions of the State of Israel in general, and the radical
settlers in particular, since they claim to be acting in our name.
Predictably, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has reacted with anger to
this clear demonstration of unanimous world opinion against his state's
crimes. Drawing on Jewish themes, he has cast himself in the role of
the Maccabee fighters whose victories we celebrate on Chanukah, and the
Security Council nations as their enemies. Let no one be fooled. The
State of Israel has nothing to do with Judaism, and on the contrary, it
has consistently tried to extinguish Torah observance and values. The
Torah values life and service of the Almighty, while Zionism values land
conquest and secular culture. The Maccabees did not go to battle for
freedom or independence; they wanted only the right to continue to
practice Judaism. If any comparison is to be made to the Chanukah story,
it is of Netanyahu and his fellow Zionists to the enemies of the Jewish
people in the time of the Maccabees.
Netanyahu has vowed to
continue building settlements, but we appeal to the world to realize
that the Jewish people in general are not behind him. This show of
defiance against the world community and the United States for taking up
a just cause is completely against the Torah. American Orthodox Jews in
particular, as loyal citizens enjoined by the Torah to respect their
president, are embarrassed and completely disgusted by Netanyahu and his
supporters’ vicious attacks on President Obama.
We also wish to
state that the Zionists have no right to control the Western Wall and
other holy sites of Jerusalem. All claims the Israeli government makes
to these places are baseless. Furthermore, the recent U.N. General
Assembly resolution that the State of Israel has no right to impose its
laws on these places, in no way detracts from the holiness of these
sites in the eyes of Jews.
In these days of Chanukah, may the
Almighty send a spirit of repentance into Jewish hearts, so that they
look into the Torah and resolve to follow its guidance. And may we be
privileged to see peace in the Middle East and the entire world. Amen.
