Let’s Talk – Not
Vent
Bs’d
To the children of Avrohom, Yitzchock and
Yakov, a people who has stood on Mount Sinai.
We take this opportunity to welcome you to Monsey. We understand
that you have gathered here today, to vent your anger at the recent
trip of a Neturei Karta delegation to Tehran. We understand further
why you feel this trip was wrong and capable of creating great harm.
You are thus among those Jews who value the safety of the Jewish
people. You are here because of a sense of ahavas Yisroel.
Therefore, we ask that you to pause for a
moment to consider the following. We live here in Monsey and
know the members of this delegation quite well. They are men
of extraordinary kindness (chesed) towards one and all. If any
of you assembled here today would need help of any sort they’d
be the first to offer it. Why then did the go on this trip,
which so many think is bad for the Jewish people?
The answer, friends, is, very simply stated,
that they felt, as do many in the Jewish community, that the
trip was a good thing for the Jewish people. They felt and feel
that a primary source of anti - Semitism in the world today
is Zionism. They feel that it has poisoned the way we are viewed
in the Islamic world. They hope, that by speaking directly to
the very people who might be inclined to anti - Jewish feelings,
by listening to them and telling them that Zionism is not the
desire of many Jews, this will lessen anti - Jewish feelings
around the world.
You may reject this belief but it is motivated
by care for Jews and all people, not G-d forbid, the reverse.
You may wonder about doing this at conference
which featured Holocaust “revisionists.” You may
think that their being there lent credibility to the deniers’ arguments.
In point of fact, all the Rabbis who spoke at the conference
affirmed the Holocaust and one of the Rabbis actually said that
he was there to tell the story of his own relatives who were
killed in the Holocaust; to give, their now silenced, testimony.
One may say that this participation was wrong.
But it was motivated by a desire to tell the truth about the
Holocaust precisely where it was being doubted.
You may disagree. You may think that Zionism
has been good for the Jewish people. But once again it is worth
asking the following – How many Jews have been killed
because of the state of Israel and how many Jews have suffered
because of this trip to Iran?
It is always good to think out of the box.
Truth is not the monopoly of those who dominate public discussion.
We have before us two paths as Jews in the
world. - The traditional Torah path, to be subservient and to
placate, which was dictated to us throughout the two thousand
years of exile. - Or the new Zionist approach, of being militant
and confrontational.
Being that you are people who believe in the
Almighty and His Torah, we therefore hope and pray that you
will recognize the truth; That Zionism is heresy and a catastrophe
for the Jewish nation ר"ל G-d
forbid; That the Torah way is of patiently remaining in exile,
subservient to the nations, praying and yearning for the redemption
by the Almighty Himself, without any human intervention.
At that time all nations will recognize the
One G-d and serve him in harmony. At that time the Almighty’s
glory will be exalted throughout the world.
May this happen speedily and peacefully in
our days! AMEN
Once again, welcome to Monsey and while you
are here let’s try and think together, with respect for
all who love our people.
The Welcome Committee.
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