PRESS
RELEASE
London December 15 2002
The Rabbinical leaders of Neturei Karta have announced
that they will be among those welcoming the Syrian President
to London on Monday.
Neturei Karta, representing Orthodox Jews worldwide
opposed to Zionism, completely reject the notion of
conflict between Jewry and the Muslim world.
Neturei Karta wish to declare as follows:
In the name of Torah Jewry we salute President Asad
as the leader of a large Arab nation. He has done nothing
to deserve the angry reception that he is being given
in some quarters. We wish to use this opportunity to
demonstrate the good will of Torah Jewry with the Islamic
world. This is especially essential today given the
animosity that Zionism and the Zionist State have generated.
Others have described the Syrian President as “defending
suicide bombers.”
Neturei Karta disagrees with this analysis. President
Assad has expressed his understanding of the pain and
suffering and the sense of utter hopelessness which
leads Palestinian youth to give up their lives with
regularity. This is the crucial and most important point.
No one welcomes the deaths of innocents of whatever
faith. The root question is, why is this happening?
In point of fact, it is a reaction to a century old
policy of illegitimate colonisation and indifference
to Palestinian national rights by the Zionist movement.
Our Torah commands us and demands of us that we behave
with justice and kindness towards all men. Zionism is
unconcerned with these demands.
Furthermore, we wish to impress upon President Assad
and the Islamic population of the United Kingdom that
there are a large number of Jews who totally disagree
with the policies and, indeed, with the very existence
of the Zionist State.
Our religion teaches us that the Jewish People were
sent into exile from the Holy Land by virtue of a divine
Decree because we did not maintain the standards expected
of us, and we are totally forbidden to use any force
of arms against any people in order to obtain political
power. Thus, the Zionist movement and the Zionist State
are in total disobedience of the fundamentals of our
religious faith.
Our religion instructs us to live in peace and harmony
with every people in every nation, and this is the complete
opposite of the shameless provocations of the Zionist
heretics.
Every Jew who is faithful to authentic Judaism knows
that Zionism is a heathenish abomination that has caused
untold suffering to both Jews and Arabs for decades.
We wish the honourable President of Syria and his entire
country to know the truth, that Zionism and Judaism
are complete opposites.
Those who protest against the President and slander
him with libellous accusations have no mandate to speak
in the name of world Jewry and are committing a grave
act of misrepresentation.
We know that peace can only be restored in historic
Palestine when the Palestinian People obtain their full
rights in their native land of Palestine, and this includes
the repatriation of the Palestinian refugees, and of
course the return of the Golan Heights to the Syrians.
So many people ignore the root cause of the hate that
has engulfed the globe today. Let us not forget the
peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs that existed
throughout the centuries. Let us not forget the Jewish
communities in Syria. All those memories vanished after
the Zionist occupation of Arab soil.
Let us not forget the solution, and the only solution,
which is a total de-Zionization of the Holy Land.
Again we greet the honourable President of Syria, his
Excellency Bashar Assad, and hope that all Muslim and
Arab peoples realize that there are many Jews who are
utterly opposed to Zionism in any form, and who only
seek justice and peace in the Holy Land through the
peaceful dismantling of the Zionist State.
NETUREI KARTA - LONDON U.K.
www.netureikarta.org
E-Mail: info@netureikarta.org
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