New York, (August 22, 2001)
Neturei Karta International stands together with all men of good
will around the world in viewing the past century of events in the
Middle East with horror and dismay.
Popular mythology would have it that what we are witnessing is
a conflict between two worlds, the Jewish and the Islamic. This
a blatant lie as we will soon explain.
The results of this conflict in terms of human suffering are extraordinary.
Innocents, young boys, women and children are daily added to the
toll of the dead and maimed.
We all wish that with one prayer, one cry to God all the agony
would end and the past pain be erased.
Alas, matters are not quite that simple. God did not so will it.
*
After centuries in which nations ruled over others, often brutally,
we have arrived in the twenty first century with a general consensus
that all peoples deserve self determination and autonomy in their
own lands.
This is in keeping with the Creator’s vision for the world;
a world of diversity and, ideally of harmony.
In the case of the Holy Land , international Zionism has actively
attempted to displace the Palestinian people or, at very least,
deprive them of the basic human right of autonomous nationhood.
In order to maintain this unnatural and immoral state of affairs,
the Zionist state has engaged in a host of vile activities.
Of course, all actions produce reactions. The inhuman nature of
the conflict has brought about a situation where methods have been
employed that step way beyond the morally acceptable. However, we
must always keep in mind that the root of the problem is the one
hundred years of Zionism’s refusal to recognize the existence
of the land’s indigenous population.
*
As Orthodox Jews we believe the Holy Land to be a sacred place.
Throughout the centuries, while the main body of the Jewish people
peacefully lived in the diaspora, a remnant community of pious Jews
lived in Jerusalem , Safed and a few other cities, primarily devoting
themselves to sacred study and prayer. This remnant lived at peace
with its Arabic neighbors.
*
Traditional Jews never desired political sovereignty over the
Holy Land . They held true to their faith which prohibited it to
them. It was only in the twentieth century that wave upon wave of
non religious Jewish immigrants descended upon the land. They were
intent upon securing political power and dominance. It was only
at that point that the Palestinian population reacted negatively.
*
Believing Jews envision a Messianic era, of universal peace, brotherhood
and service of God which will involve all mankind and be centered
in Jerusalem . But this is for the future. At present, in terms
of the simple ethics of the situation, political sovereignty belongs
to those who have lived there for centuries, namely, the Palestinians.
*
There is no war between Jewry and the Arab/Islamic world. It is
a Zionist created myth, caused and perpetuated by the Israeli state.
*
It is time that we all realize that far too many people have died.
The path to peace lies in a return by the self appointed leaders
world Jewry to the basics of their own faith including its time
honored tradition of non – aggression towards any people.
Our task as Jews is to serve God in piety and humility, not to
wage brutal wars against other nations. May God grant that the day
come when the Zionist state is speedily and peacefully dismantled
and no more lives need be lost.
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