A tradition.
Many rabbinic voices.

When we live scattered among the nations, we fulfill the command of the prophet, “Seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you” (Jeremiah 29:7). Other nations, when in exile in foreign lands, always make plans to throw off the yoke of their government. But we remain faithful to the local government, for our hope is not to achieve physical freedom, without the Divine Presence. Therefore, all plans are in vain, and it can only happen when G-d wills it. (Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

We mourn over that which brought about that destruction (of the Temple), we take to heart the harshness we have encountered in our years of wandering as the chastisement of a father, imposed on us for our improvement, and we mourn the lack of observance of Torah which that ruin has brought about. . . This destruction obliges us to allow our longing for the far away land to express itself only in mourning, in wishing and hoping; and only through the honest fulfilment of all Jewish duties to await the realization of this hope. But it forbids us to strive for the reunion or possession of the land by any but spiritual means. (Horeb, p. 461)

At the end of his life, he heard about the spirit of the nationalist movement that had begun among the Jewish people. And when he understood with his keen insight the danger awaiting the Jewish people that lay in this new rendition of the Haskalah and Reform movements, he called for his two of his greatest disciples, Rabbi Zorach Braverman and Rabbi Moshe Frankenthal, and said to them, “Write letters in my name to three of the greatest rabbis in Europe, asking them to call a meeting to decide how to stop this movement before it is too late. There is a fearful danger looming on the horizon of Judaism, a danger the likes of which never existed before. This movement is likely to bring destruction on the Jewish people! Write that in my opinion, the rabbis should get together and excommunicate the Zionists from the Jewish people. They should forbid their bread, their wine, and intermarriage with them, (Mara D’ara Yisroel, v. 2 p. 43)

In the city of Klausenberg there lived a very high-ranking Jewish official who did a lot to help the Jewish community, and was a close follower of the Deyzher Rebbe. He consulted with the Rebbe on every matter, and he did not do anything great or small without asking him.

Once, the Rebbe’s son Yechezkel was standing with him, and he looked out the window and saw this Jewish official coming to visit. To his surprise, he saw his father tremble at the sight of the official, and he could not understand, since he knew that the man was well-respected by his father, and his father always received him warmly.

A short time later, the man was in the Rebbe’s room, and when he greeted the Rebbe, the Rebbe replied unenthusiastically, with an angry expression. This also came as a surprise, for the Rebbe usually greeted him with a shining face and a royal welcome. The man had a big book under his arm, and it looked like a holy text. “Rebbe,” he said, “I have come to ask you…” The Rebbe interrupted, “I don’t want to hear about it.”

The man pleaded with the Rebbe to listen to his question, but the Rebbe refused. “If the Rebbe would just listen to my idea, the Rebbe knows well that if he vetoes it, I won’t ask any question or make any attempt to debate with the Rebbe. Please hear what I have to say, and I won’t ask any questions. I know that whatever the Rebbe says is holy. But if the Rebbe doesn’t listen to what I have to say, I will always think that perhaps if the Rebbe had heard it, he would have agreed to it.”

“NO!” the Rebbe declared. “The Torah says (Deut. 13:9) that if someone tries to convince you to worship idols, you shall not agree to him and you shall not listen to him.” The Gemara says (Avodah Zarah 27b) that heresy is worse than idolatry because it attracts people. So certainly if someone tries to convince you of heresy you are not even allowed to listen.”

The Rebbe concluded, “I have worked hard all my life to be a good Jew in the eyes of G-d. Should I now stumble in my old age?”

The man left. Later I learned that the book he had been carrying was none other than the book written by one of the Zionist leaders (according to one version of the story it was Jabotinsky, according to another it was Herzl), and it detailed plots of land that could be purchased from the Turks or the Arabs. The Zionists had gone to the leaders of each Jewish community asking them to raise money for this. When the Zionist representative had come to Klausenberg, they had held a meeting and decided that before taking any action they had to ask the Deyzher Rebbe, so they had sent this man to the Rebbe to present the question. The Rebbe had already understood the entire situation, and that is why he trembled when he felt the impurity as the man passed outside his window. (Rabbi Yehuda, the Deyzher Rebbe, related this story, which he heard from his father, Rabbi Yosef, the Deyzher Rebbe; printed in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

You have done a great kindness for the Jewish people by leading the battle to make the Hungarian rabbis aware of the enemy of the holy Torah, given to us at Mount Sinai: the accursed Zionism, now under a new name, Mizrachism. They have come to spread their movement to your country, to destroy Judaism, which is in any case in a very weak position now. They want to raze it down to its very foundations, Heaven forbid. Your words, which emanate from a pure heart, were not written in vain, for the Almighty has promised us that the Torah would never be forgotten from us. In response to your call, the faithful rabbis have gathered and exposed the Mizrachi for what it is, so that everyone should know and avoid all contact with them, lest they be destroyed along with their sins. Their efforts bore fruit, and the Mizrachi left Hungary in shame. This positive development is to your credit...(Tel Talpios, Mid Cheshvan 5665/1904. Ch.20)

Woe to us because of this problem, the likes of which we have not seen since the Jewish people went into exile from their land. If the greatest rabbis of the generation do not arise to put a stop to their plans, they will do more harm to us than all the false messiahs who harmed our forefathers physically and spiritually, and who made us despised by our enemies. (Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

Recently, the Lubavitcher Rebbe published an open letter to all Orthodox Jews exhorting them to oppose Zionism with all their power. This letter has the abiiity to make an awesome impression on the Jewish masses, so that they should not draw near to the Zionists.

Similarly, the Tchortkover Rebbe in Galicia, the Boyaner Rebbe and the Sadigerer Rebbe, as well as many of the most respected rabbis, whose voices are heeded by the multitudes, have published penetrating letters like this. (Al Hatzionus, published in Warsaw 1900, page 17; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 215)

One day during this period, Rabbi Taub called me over and asked me, “Are there people in your city who support Zionism?” I replied that I was new in town and was not yet familiar with the people. He then asked his attendant to bring him a copy of the Zohar. He opened it and read me a section from Tikunei Zohar dealing with the “mixed multitude” (a group of Egyptians who joined the Jewish people but later induced them to build the golden calf). He said to me, “The Zohar is talking about the Zionists. You will one day see what they will do.” He began to cry, and he cried uncontrollably for a long time. (Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

As far as the essence of this philosophy, I am completely opposed to it, for this false philosophy has brought physical and spiritual harm to the Jewish people. Physical, because it has caused the Jews to lose their rights to immigrate to the Holy Land. And spiritual – woe! This philosophy negates in all its followers all the hopes and promises made to the Jewish people, who wait for the coming of the true redeemer, the righteous redeemer, a spiritual redeemer, far from earthliness, who will bring us a miraculous, not natural, redemption. Therefore I beg of you, faithful Jews, for the sake of G-d’s holy name, and for the sake of the survival of the Jewish people, who have suffered many tragedies in many different periods: withdraw your support and your sympathy from this dangerous movement… We are bound to be loyal to the kings and the lands where we live and find shelter. (Igros Sdei Chemed, p. 215)

When a tremendous fire is raging, G-d forbid, consuming all around it, sparing nothing, we must not look at what has already been burned, but rather each person must focus on saving himself, his house and his property. The same is true here: a fire of heresy has unfortunately burst forth, carried by predators and inciters, burning right and left, spreading denial of the entire holy Torah, while pretending to be pure and good. They have made learning the Hebrew language the foundation of the whole Torah. Therefore let us forge a holy alliance to fight the battle of G-d against the wicked of the generation. (Chukas Yisroel, p. 58; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 220)

The evil group, conspiracy of the wicked, known as the “Zionists” deny the coming of the messiah, the holiness of the Holy Land and all the promises of the holy Torah and prophets who teach us that the future redemption will be supernatural and above human understanding, as it is written, “No eye but Yours, O G-d, saw what You will do for those who wait for You” (Isaiah 64:4). And they want to take away from the Jewish people their simple faith and give them instead the false contention that everything will happen naturally, G-d forbid, and we need to buy land in Palestine and learn agricultural techniques, in order to be farmers and vine keepers. To them, that is the long-awaited end, and they attempt to teach us the right way to reach it. Anyone with a G-d-fearing heart knows that all their words and lies are against G-d and His holy Torah. (Hagadah Divrei Binah)

When the first Zionist congress convened [in 1897], the Rebbe was at a health spa resort, and on the Sabbath before the New Moon of Av, when the Rebbe recited the blessing of the new month and came to the words, “He who made miracles for our ancestors and redeemed them from bondage to freedom, may He redeem us quickly,” he added in, in a loud voice, “but not through Herzl and his colleagues!” There was a storm in the synagogue, and the Rebbe was forced to run out in the middle of the prayers. (Rabbeinu Hakadosh Mitzanz, v. 2 p. 337)

Regarding the gathering of Zionists calling themselves "Mizrachists," I wish to make known to the Jewish people that I had no foreknowledge of the Mizrachists' decision to hold their gathering in Pressburg. And even the board members of my congregation did not inform me of this. And of course, it is self-understood that they did not ask me whether I approved of it. I only found out about it from the announcement that was sent to everyone, including me.

We heard that you upset the plans of the Mizrachi sect, which is actually identical to Zionism, except that the name was changed in order to entrap unsuspecting Jews who do not understand its goals, which are against the pure faith, deeply rooted in the hearts of those who believe in all the principles of Judaism, who wait for redemption by our messiah, son of David, as our colleague Rabbi ChaimSoloveitchik, chief rabbi of Brisk, pointed out. You and all the rabbis fought a battle against this and won. May the Almighty give you strength to continue fighting against them. (Ibid)

To the Jewish people, the believers, I will speak and raise my voice to warn them regarding this. Until now, our country was clean and free of the plague of the Zionist movement. But now we have heard, to the sorrow of all who fear G-d and respect His name, that this heresy has reached here as well, and they have already held a gathering in one of the communities in our country. My heart cries out, lest this poison make a path for itself, since no one realizes how far things have gone.

Therefore, for the sake of Zion I will not be silent and for the sake of the holy Torah I will not cease to cry out in a loud voice, “Be careful not to get caught in this net, which is hidden to entrap the true faith we have received from Sinai!”….

Therefore, our Jewish brethren, believers in the true belief give to us by Moses and passed down as an inheritance: Do not go on their way, keep your feet away from their path, for those who join them descend to the depths of Hell; all who go to them will never return and will not achieve life in the World to Come. And whoever listens to me will dwell safely and securely. (Tel Talpios, Beginning ofAv 5664)

One Saturday night as the congregation in Alexander was preparing to go into the Rebbe’s room, bid him farewell and receive his blessings, the news suddenly spread that the Rebbe would not receive the people just now. The people decided to wait around, for no one wanted to go home without a blessing. A short time later they found out the reason for the delay: there was a Zionist rabbi, an enemy of the Torah, who had spent that Shabbos in Alexander, and after Shabbos he too wished to go into the Rebbe’s room and receive a blessing. Since the Rebbe wanted to be rid of him and not meet him at all, he ordered the door shut. When the Zionist heard that the Rebbe would not see him, he packed his bags and left town.

When several great rabbis convened in the city of Pest to discuss religious issues, the Zionist movement came up – something you have advocated in the past. And the rabbis were shocked that you signed in support of something that is opposed by most religious Jews and Torah scholars. They keep away from this movement and refuse to join it. Many of the rabbis at the gathering cried out in protest that this movement is wreaking destruction in so many Jewish communities. (From a booklet of responsa by Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer, printed in the Puksh memorial book, v. 3 p. 115; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 267)

Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Kraus, Religious Judge and Preacher of Serdehali, Hungary; author of Birkas Yaakov, Ateres Yaakov and other works

Regarding the Zionist organization, which you have undoubtedly heard about, which holds large gatherings to discuss plans to improve the Jewish people’s situation – in truth, no truly faithful Orthodox Jews join them or listen to their counsel... For G-d made the His people take three oaths: that they should not rebel against the nations, as is stated in the Midrash on Shir Hashirim; rather, we must wait for the salvation of G-d. (Shesilei Zeisim, p. 105)

There is a difference between a simple wicked man, and those who bear the banner of Zionism. For though the wicked man may commit serious sins, he does them for himself and does not cause others to sin with him; therefore it is not crucial to fight against him with all our strength. But the Zionists found “Hebrew schools” to entrap good Jewish children in the net of heresy, and we are obligated to fight against them. We must raise our voice like a ram’s horn and warn the parents to protect their children. My son, do not go on their way; keep your foot away from their path, that you might not be caught in their trap. (Toldos Shmuel, p. 61)

The root of this movement is also not acceptable to us. In my speeches, I have cited many proofs that the in the general guidance of the Jewish people, and certainly in their redemption, which is the foundation of the world, we are not to do anything on our own, only based on a command from G-d. And although in other matters, such as healing and medicine, we are permitted to make our own efforts, in a great matter such as this, it is forbidden. (Hapeles 1904, p. 139 letter 10)

I would like to explain the history of the Mizrachi movement. A few rabbis from our country joined the Zionist movement when it first started, but they soon realized that it was an anti-religious movement whose only goal was to lead Jews away from the Torah. They were not able to admit the truth and separate from them, so instead they decided to purify the impure by founding the Mizrachi movement within the Zionist movement.

Therefore, anyone who fear the word of G-d should not join them, because the rebirth that they are planning for the Jewish people spells death to all that it holy to us. In our country (Lithuania), very few Jews support then. Non-religious Jews are their backbone, and they are joined by a few small-time rabbis who want fame among the secular intellectuals, for various reasons. May G-d protect the Jewish people from benefactors like these. (Hapeles, Kislev 5665 (December 1904), p. 140, letter 12; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 280)

In his testament to his Chassidim he exhorted them to stay united, and to appoint as Rebbe whichever of his sons would “not be among the flatterers and two-faced, who distances himself from falsehood and does not belong to any evil organization, especially the Zionist and Mizrachi, but rather is a friend to those who fear G-d, and does not send his children to modern schools, even those that teach in Hebrew.” (Beis Aharon)

I have warned with a severe warning to separate from the destructive group the “Zionists” lest one be caught in their net and their evil company, G-d forbid. I warn you very strongly, my friends: no foreign influence should mingle with you, and this poisonous root should not draw near to your camp, that is, the false ideals of the aforementioned group. Throw it out like defilement; cast it away, and do not let it in. (Kol Yehuda, Kol Todah p. 54)

In the year 1921, after the First World War, there was a large gathering of the rabbis of Siebenburgen (Romania). Among them were the Deyzher Rabbi, author of Knesses Yechezkel; the Nasauder Rabbi; the Satmar Rebbe, brother of the Atzei Chaim of Sighet; Rabbi Shaul Brach, who was then rabbi of Krula; the Simlauer Rabbi, author of Lechem Shloime. Rabbi Yissachar Ber Cohen was also among the attendees and was appointed honorary president of the gathering. They submitted their resolution to him for approval, and asked him to make a speech. He spoke with great fervor against the Mizrachi movement. After he finished, one of the rabbis present asked him why he had made the Mizrachi his target. “Fighting Mizrachi has nothing to do with the agenda of this gathering,” the other rabbi argued, “and besides, their group has only a small number of members and it’s not worth dealing with them.”

Rabbi Yissachar Ber replied, “Haven’t we come here to make improvements in our Jewish communities? Fighting Mizrachi is a fundamentally important step in strengthening the foundations of Judaism, because if they grow and increase, they will become the worst destroyers of Judaism. Therefore, every rabbi must do all he can to bring an end to their movement.” (Binas Yisaschar)

Yechiel Rosenberg, a follower of the Rebbe who later lived in Acre, Palestine, related the following story: he was once in Alexander to spend Rosh Hashanah with the Rebbe, and before the blowing of the shofar, they announced, “If anyone here has connections with Mizrachi (the religious Zionist party), the shofar blower will have in mind that he should not fulfill the mitzvah of hearing shofar with his blowing. And let him leave the synagogue.” (Oros Rabboseinu, p. 17, quoted in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

People say that no one ever saw him getting heated or speaking angrily, except on the following occasion. The Zionist movement had just started, and the news went around that certain members of his congregation planned on joining it. Rabbi Katz was one of the first to recognize that the Zionist movement constituted a great danger to Judaism, and he launched a battle against them. He strictly forbade the members of his congregation from joining them. His fiery words made a deep impression, and as long as he was alive, the Zionists did not dare raise their heads in his community. (Toldos Rabbi Tovia Katz of Sharvar, printed at the beginning of Sefer Mamleches Kohanim, p. 50)

They are not to be called “builders” for they wreak terrible destruction and they damage powerfully. They plot evil against G-d, to completely wipe out all the holy institutions. And now, beloved ones of G-d, seekers of good for your people and peace for your land, whose thoughts are good and pure: Separate yourselves from them and their masses, keep away from their meeting places and take your honor away from their midst… G-d forbid for any Jew to stumble in listening to their evil counsel. (Mara D’ara Yisroel, v. 2 p. 68)

Josef’s last words to his brothers were: "G-d will surely visit you and take you up from this land, to the land that He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Josef was warning them not to go up "as a wall" until a prophet sent by the Almighty comes and says, "I have surely visited you (pakod pakadti)." And this is also a lesson for all generations, that the Jewish people may not leave exile on their own. (Meshech Chochmah on Bereishis 50:24)

The plague of Zionism has begun to spread even in our areas. This is no time for us to be silent, for they are not silent, but rather as noisy as the ocean, casting their net for the Jewish youth. Therefore we must gird ourselves with strength and stand up to them forcefully so that they cannot make their catch by trickery. In my opinion, it would be correct to forbid joining them, G-d forbid, or teaching Hebrew in the schools. In this way we will foil their plans. (Olas Hachodesh, Shvat 5741)

“Regarding your question as to whether it is proper for religious Jews to join the supporters of Mizrachi Zionism: in my opinion, even if all Mizrachi Zionists had a completely faithful religious Jewish mindset, and even if it were possible, through the power of Zionism, to influence the irreligious Jews to change their ways and start keeping Torah and mitzvos as a Jew should – even then it would not be worth joining them and being counted among their members. (??)

I was asked to express my opinion about the Zionists. My heart and the heart of all the great rabbis of our time are pained over this. We see clearly, based on the speeches they give in all the cities, that neither their actions nor their goals are worthy. Anyone who hears their speeches should be shocked! We were exhorted by the Talmudic Sages, quoted in the Gemara and the Midrash, not to force the end through any physical schemes. And thank G-d, we live under the protection of our exalted and powerful government, which defends us all the time. (Daas Harabbanim, letter 8)

There is a new group calling itself “Chovevei Tzion” or “Zionists” who entrap many people in their net, who think that their actions are for the sake of Heaven. I therefore find myself obligated to make known and warn all those who have fear of G-d in their hearts to stay as far as possible from them, and to uproot and cleanse away their actions… All the great rabbis of our time have already warned us to keep away from them, and it is a great deed for anyone who has the power to spoil their plans. (Daas Harabbanim, letter 4)

The Rabbi of Pressburg and the other rabbis wish to publish the proclamation of the Rabbi of Veitzen and the letter with the signatures of the rabbis, as they were printed in the periodical Tel Talpios, which is printed in Veitzen, containing their stated opposition to the Zionist movement and to the new group calling itself "Mizrachi". Although the words of these great rabbis, in our country and outside of it, warning the Orthodox Jews of our country to keep away from this movement, do not require any approval from me, still I cannot withhold myself from joining them in calling publicly upon all Jews to avoid the Mizrachi convention in the city of Pressburg, for we have no connection with them. We must not let the destroyer enter our homes, to harm the vineyard of the Almighty. (Ibid) ///

Regarding the recently-founded Zionist movement, whose members have publicized their plans to restore Zion and bring us to the Holy Land – it is a painful thorn to the Jewish people, because their purpose and goal is only to bring down the Torah’s foundations, upon which the world stands, and to destroy the Jewish religion, G-d forbid. My brothers and friends, look and see who their leaders are: people who are unfamiliar with the Torah and don’t keep its commandments, which we received at Mount Sinai. They say they will replant the Jewish people on their land, the Holy Land.

The Torah says many times (e.g. Lev. 25:18), “You shall keep My laws, and keep My ordinances and do them, and you shall live on the land securely.” So living on the land depends solely on keeping the Torah. We do not hope for the redemption in order to eat good food and fat meat, or to drink fine wine out of golden cups. Rather, our hopes are to achieve a life of closeness to G-d. How then could we say that people who left behind the source of pure waters are those who will bring us to our land? Do not listen to the calls of those who pursue vanity, for they do not seek Zion or its peace; they have come to destroy the foundations of our faith, G-d forbid.

The Zionist preachers who go from town to town giving deceptive speeches are trying only to ensnare the hearts of the poor flock of G-d’s people, to convince them to abandon their Father in heaven.

Therefore, be careful not to follow in their footsteps. Have mercy on your souls and do not taste their words, for there is poison in the dish they serve, as bitter as wormwood and snake venom. Do not walk in their paths or join their company. Keep far from the new movement these wicked ones have created, and listen to the advice of the wise, who walk in the Torah of G-d. (Daas Harabbanim, siman 44)

I am sending you my thoughts in opposition to the Zionist movement. I am not a preacher, but in this case I could not hold myself back from speaking out, because they wish to bring a catastrophe upon the Jewish people. May G-d have mercy on us and annul the counsel of those who rise up against us, again G-d and against His Torah. May He send us the true redemption, when we will all join in serving Him.

Regarding Zionism I say, G-d forbid for us to believe that our salvation depends on human effort. Our sages say that G-d made us swear three oaths (Kesubos 111a), one of which is not to force the end. (Daas Harabbanim, letter 12)

The exile has lasted so long, and we have borne its yoke, including many expulsions and religious persecutions, yet it never occurred to any of our holy ancestors to take this path. Was it because they were too weak to save themselves? It is well-known that among the Jews of Spain were wealthy noblemen, fluent in many languages, well-educated in secular studies, influential in the royal courts. Still they suffered the same fate as their brothers, as is known from the story of our teacher the Abarbanel. Who is foolish enough to think that they were not smart enough to come up with the idea that the Zionists came up with, to do such a small thing to heal the wounds of the Jewish people? (Mashmia Shalom, paragraphs 33-34)

“And now I bewail what has recently taken place, with pain in my heart, that unfortunately irreligious people, Zionists and others similar to them, have come to the Holy Land, desecrated and debased it, and now we see once again the fulfillment of the verse (Lamentations 5:18), “Mount Zion is desolate; foxes walk upon it.” This is no time to keep silent. (Har Tzvi, letter printed after the introduction, signed on Sunday of Parshas Vayeira 5687 / 1926)

He was strongly opposed to the Zionist philosophy and its offshoots. In his speeches, he would warn Jews to keep away from the ideas of these wicked men and to stay far from them in order not to get drawn into their ideas. When the Zionists tried to recite a prayer in the synagogue in honor of someone donating to the JNF (the Zionist fund for land purchase), he was as strong as a lion and would not let them do it. (??)

Once, when he was a child, my grandfather accompanied his father to a speech by his uncle, Rabbi Menachem Fischer, rabbi of Sharvar. He delivered a fiery discourse against Zionism, in his famous beautiful style. When they came home, my grandfather asked his father, "What is Zionism?" His father placed his hand over his mouth and said, "That is a foul word! It is forbidden to say it." (Peduyas Toviah, p. 13)

When the members of the synagogue in Krashnik complained to him that many of the youths in their community had begun to join the Zionists and the Mizrachists, yet stubbornly continued to pray in the synagogue, he ordered that they be expelled, and added, "If these young people have the nerve to refuse to be expelled, it is better to close down the synagogue entirely than to continue praying with them."

When one of the leaders of Mizrachi asked to deliver a speech in the synagogue of Krashnik, the Rebbe expressed his strong opposition, saying that in his opinion, Mizrachi was worse than the Zionists, because the Zionists sinfulness is open to all, so people know to avoid them, whereas the Mizrachi straddles both sides of the fence. They pride themselves on building the bridge that unites all sections of the Jewish people, but this bridge unfortunately serves only as a path to assimilation and disregard for the fundamentals of Torah and Jewish belief. (Related by Rabbi A. Zuntag, Alef Lamed (??) v. 2 p. 49, Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

The Rabbi was sharply opposed to Zionism and to joining the Zionists, following the lead of his mentor, the Belzer Rebbe.

A Jew from Probizna told me that when it become known in town that a certain young lady was preparing to go to Palestine with one of the Zionist parties, with the encouragement of her father, the Rabbi ordered the sexton of the man’s synagogue not to allow the man to enter the synagogue anymore. (Nefesh Nechemiah, p. 62)

He fought against Zionism and Zionists, standing guard over Judaism like a fortified wall. When the Zionists of Podvalchisk tried to establish a Tarbuth school there, the rabbi came out against them and undermined their plans. Once, the Zionists held a public gathering in the synagogue, at which one of the Zionist leaders, a famous doctor, was to speak. As soon as the rabbi found out that this guest had arrived, he ordered the sexton to lock the synagogue, he put the key in his own pocket, and the gathering never took place.

In the early 20th century Zionism began to spread. The Rabbis and Chassidic leaders foresaw the danger to the Jewish Torah and the Jewish people. Just as the epidemic of the Haskalah movement had wreaked destruction, so this new epidemic, this poison of Zionism, threatened to do. The Rabbis joined the ranks of the fighters against Zionism.

In the year 5688 (1928) before the elections to the Polish Sejm (parliament), the Zionist leader Itzhak Gruenbaum (who famously said years later, during the debate over whether to use Zionist funds to save European Jewry, “One cow on a kibbutz in Palestine is worth more than the six million Jews in Europe”) held a discussion with some of the Orthodox Jews who were not members of Agudah about having them join his party. He promised to let them send a representative to the Sejm as part of his party. A special emissary was dispatched to Podvalchisk to ask Rabbi Babad about question, and to ask if the rabbi would agree to be a candidate for the Polish Sejm. Of course, the rabbi answered in the negative, for he was a strong opponent of the Zionists and a fighter for Judaism. (Beis Babad, quoted in Sefer Imrei Tava, and reprinted at the end of the new (5661/2001) edition of Responsa Chavatzeles Hasharon)

When he found out that one of his friends had a JNF (the Zionist land purchase fund) collection box in his home, he went to him to convince him to remove this defiled object. He paid the man sixty rubles for the box, on condition that he would never again have in his house a JNF collection box, or support them in any way. (Raboseinu Meorei Hagolah, Admorei Biala, p. 340)

I hereby make known that it is forbidden for any Jew whose forefathers stood at Mount Sinai and has a portion in the G-d of Israel and His Torah, to remain a member in the Nationalist Council, which has lifted up its hand against the Torah of Moses and desecrates the laws of the Torah brazenly. G-d forbid for any good Jew to be in their company, let alone to aid and abet these sinners in any way, shape or form.

And since the honourable [British Mandate] government has given permission to opt out of the Nationalist Council, it is a holy obligation upon all observant Jews to go as soon as possible and to opt out from the Nationalist Council while it is still possible. (Responsa Saba Kadisha 1:32)

The redemption time has been planned by Hashem since before creation, and we have no way of knowing it. Many Jews throughout history have made the mistake of searching for ways to bring the redemption prematurely - each generation in its own style. In the earlier generations attempts were made to use spiritual methods, such as Kabbalah, and in the later generations attempts were made to use natural means. But all these did not succeed and cannot ever succeed, for the redemption cannot come about through human effort. It can only come when we take our attention off these efforts in the realization that they are futile…

We have witnessed this many times in history: those who sought ways to bring the redemption ended up even further from the truth and the true emunah. And we see this today as well: that because they desired to bring the redemption with their own power, the people of our generation have become distanced from Torah and emunah. This has caused many tragedies, and thanks to them we have taken many steps backward, away from the redemption - may Hashem have mercy. (Shiurei Daas, Volume 1, Chelek 2, Shiur 5 - Dor Haflaga, p. 271)

G-d forbid to show the children even one letter of an anti-religious book, especially if it is written in Hebrew. If they learn Hebrew, it should be only the Holy Tongue used by the Talmudic Sages, not the rotten language of today, which is really the defiled tongue, not the holy tongue. Comparing it to our true Holy Tongue is like comparing a monkey to a person. (From the testament of Rabbi Rabinowitz, printed in Raboseinu Meorei Hagolah Leveis Biala)

The insults and slander against him increased after he launched an all-out war against the Zionists, who had begun to gather in Slovakia. In the town of Fishtian there was an old rule that no other town in the country had: if the rabbi of the town saw that one of the congregants was not following the Torah, he could take away his right to vote for the community board, and needless to say, he lost the right to be elected to any official role in the community.

This rule had been on the books of the Fishtian Jewish community from time immemorial, but no rabbi had ever used it. But now Rabbi Kalman decided that since all the greatest rabbis forbade any Jew to join the Mizrachi movement, anyone who joined forfeited his right to vote in communal elections. Such a step had not been taken even in the big cities whose rabbis were famous fighters against Mizrachi, like Pressburg, Veitzen, Satmar, Munkacz and Kashau. Rabbi Kalman threw them out of the camp, and they were forced to join other modernizing groups in founding a separate community called “Kehal Adas Yeshurun.”

Rabbi Kalman used other methods as well to weaken the Zionists. When the Zionists of Slovakia established the “Jewish Party,” Rabbi Kalman fought them full-force. With his wisdom he prevented the Zionists from sending representatives to the Czechoslovakian parliament.

Rabbi Kalman stood staunchly by the side of the Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, in all his activities, including his battle against the nationalist heretics who tried to take control over religious life and community matters in the Holy Land.

As is well-known, Rabbi Yosef Chaim actively kept in contact with leaders of the Arab world to call for peace and inform them of the fact that most residents of the Holy Land wanted peace and had no desire to fight with the Arabs. For this purpose, he even led a delegation that went to meet with the kings of Arab countries (King Hussein of the Hejaz and his son Emir Abdullah of Transjordan). Rabbi Kalman stood by Rabbi Sonnenfeld’s side and they conferred before every activity. He was in constant contact with the well-known professor, Dr. Yaakov Yisrael DeHaan, may G-d avenge his blood, and he supported his work for the Orthodox Jewish community in the Holy Land.

As is known, the Zionists established the National Council in order to force all Jews to submit to their control. Using this council, they established the chief rabbinate, and crowned the wicked Kook as their leader, first as rabbi of Jerusalem and later as chief rabbi of Palestine. That is how the Zionists tried to gain control over religious life in the Holy Land.

But the residents of the Old Yishuv united against them and resolved to fight this insidious plot. They established the Ashkenazic City Council and the Eidah Chareidis. However, the British government did not agree to recognize any official community besides the National Council. Every Jewish resident of the Holy Land was expected to pay a tax to the National Council. It was Rabbi Kalman who convinced the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Benes, to ask the League of Nations to exert pressure on the British government to give permission for Jews to opt out of the National Council and found their own community organization in the Holy Land. Thanks to his efforts, the British government gave permission for anyone who wished to separate from the National Council. But every year one had to renew this request. There was one month (Iyar) during which one could make the request, and after the month passed one lost his right. So every Iyar, the Eidah Chareidis made great efforts to enlist all Orthodox Jews on the opt-out list.

When the Zionists took over the Jewish community leadership, the Orthodox were obligated to separate from the community, just as they separated from the Neologists in the 1860s, based on the ruling of the greatest rabbis of that time. And it is known that the Zionists are even worse than the Neologists, because they deny the Torah openly, in public. Therefore, the Orthodox Jews acted properly in every town… Their schools, which are called Tarbuth, are forbidden. (Mishpat Tzedek, p. 13)

The Torah commands us, “I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel” (Leviticus 22:32): Jews must come together and sanctify the name of the Almighty, unlike the Zionist heretics and their supporters, who want to bring about the desecration of the name of the Almighty. We see this from the fact that whoever they succeed in recruiting to their movement becomes a heretic, may G-d spare us. So you understand the danger of such leaders. (Mishkenos Haro’im, v. 6)

"The Jews do not want to take in any way that which is not theirs. And they certainly do not want to contest the rights of the other inhabitants to the places held by them which they regard withhonor and consider holy. And in particular, there is no foundation to the rumor that the Jews want to acquire the Temple Mount. On the contrary, ever since the time that, because of our sins, we lost the purity required by the Torah, it is forbidden for any Jew to set foot upon the grounds of the Temple Mount.” (Letter of Truth and Peace, 1929- Al Choimoisecho 5736 Issue 2)

*

The Torah teaches us not to resist the nations even when they fight against us. We must follow in the footsteps of the patriarch Jacob in his encounter with his brother Esau… All that happened between Jacob and Esau happens to us constantly with Esau's children. We must adopt the methods of the righteous Jacob, to make the three preparations that he made: prayer, a gift, and escape through war, that is, to flee to safety. As long as we walked on that well-tread path, G-d saved us from their hands. But since we have strayed from the path and new leaders have arisen who chose new methods, leaving behind our ancestors' weapons and adopting the methods of our enemies, we have fared worse and worse, and great travails have befallen us. (Chofetz Chaim Al Hatorah, Devarim)

He fought staunchly against the plague of Zionism. Zalman Lehrer of Antwerp, in his book "The Vanished City of Tzanz," writes that when Zionism was founded, the new movement wrought spiritual destruction in many cities and ruined many households. Although it had not yet spread to Tzanz, Rabbi Halberstam held that the people must be warned.

In the year 5660 (1900), when Rabbi Halberstam was in his old age, the Zionist leaders in Lemberg send M. D. Berl to Tzanz to spread the Zionist philosophy there. Berl writes in his memoirs that when he arrived in Tzanz, there was not a single Modern Hebrew book or newspaper available in the town, even a medical manual.

He came to Tzanz wearing his Star of David, the Zionist symbol. The Tzanzer Chassidim held that the Zionists' adoption of the symbol defiled it, and they had demonstrated their opposition to it by tearing the Stars of David off the curtain in front of the ark in the synagogue and from their tefillin bags. As revenge for this, one Zionist came in the middle of the night and scratched a Star of David on the Rabbi's lectern. In the morning, when the Rabbi saw it, he ordered the lectern removed from the synagogue. (Kedushas Aharon)

It is true that the religious Jews have distanced themselves from the Zionists in every possible way. They have acted correctly, for not only do the Zionists desecrate the Holy Land – they even threatens its physical wellbeing, for they arose the jealousy of the nations, so that the fire of anti-Semitism has flared up even in Turkey. (Responsa Hadar Hakarmel, in the biographical sketch of the author, p. 30; Mishkenos Haro’im p. 510)

Letter from Rabbi Gavriel Zev Margulies, Rabbi of Horodna

The prophet Isaiah (49:17) said, "Your children hastened; your destroyers and demolishers came from among yourselves." Rashi explains: "Your children hastened to return." This refers to our time, when the wicked Jews hasten (before the coming of the messiah) to build a city and a state in the Land of Israel with their power and their strength, but such building is only destruction, G-d forbid, as is hinted in the verse. (Yagel Yaakov on the Torah, end of Sefer Shemos)

It once happened that the Zionists wanted to open a club in Hodhoz. It was a day when there was a Torah reading, and Rabbi Rosenberg, who was then blind, went over to the people in the synagogue and asked them, “Is the holy ark open?” They said yes. He said, “I wish to say a few words. It is written in the Song of Songs (2:15), Grab for us foxes, small foxes that destroy vineyards. Little foxes are coming brazenly and acting as if they own this place. Whoever goes in there, let the roof fall in on him!” (Related by Rabbi Dovid Leib Schwartz, who was studying in the yeshiva of Hodhoz at that time; quoted in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

Such is the way of the accursed group of the Zionists, to disguise all their lusts and abominations in our holy language, sinning in it and causing the masses to sin. They trap unsuspecting Jews in their evil net. Woe to us that this has happened in our time! The efforts of Satan have been successful and they have spread around the Holy Land. They have come and defiled the Holy Land with foreign abominations that our forefathers could never have imagined. Both of the ears of whoever hears about it will ring, and the hair of his flesh will stand on end. But we strongly hope that, with G-d’s help, they will not last too long in the Holy Land. (Toldos Shmuel, v. 3 p. 142)

Rabbisduring

World War II and after

The educational system of the town was under his control, and he carefully oversaw the appointment of teachers, making sure that they would not deviate from the traditions of previous generations. He girded himself in battle against those who would destroy the old system, and he found it necessary to fight a battle against Zionism and its influence. They were forced to admit that if Rabbi Babad had not stood in their way, they would have had much more success. (Responsa Chavatzeles Hasharon, end of the new edition printed in 5761 (2001))

On Shavuos, before the recital of Akdamus, the Rebbe spoke about the various new organizations who were preaching Zionism, thus drawing Jews into the net of heresy and causing them to stop keeping the commandments of the Torah. “Today,” he continued, “as we prepare ourselves to accept the Torah anew, each one of us must resolve to keep the Torah and raise his family with fear of G-d and the ways of our holy ancestors, not deviating from Torah even a hair’s breadth. All the members of those organizations are deviating, little by little, and eventually they will, G-d forbid, abandon the entire Torah. Therefore, now is the time to truly resolve not to join them at all. (Divrei Sholom, p. 171; quoted in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

After the First World War, chaos reigned in Eastern European Jewish towns. Entire communities fell into the hands of the irreligious. Throughout Poland and Lithuania, Yeshivas were destroyed and religious elementary schools were closed down. Instead, modern Hebrew schools opened. Rabbi Chaim Ozer described these schools in a letter, "They have built their entire educational system on a language; their connection with Judaism is just lip-service." Not only did they not study Talmud; they tore even the Bible to shreds and turned it into a history book. Several times the rabbis assembled to discuss what to do the fight this trend, but many of them threw up their hands and said, "What can we say? It is forbidden to speak falsehood, but it is dangerous to speak the truth." And for this reason, many rabbis kept silent. (Kol Yaakov, p. 137)

Anyone who believes in the Torah of Moses should keep very far from the Zionists and Mizrachists. He should avoid eating and drinking together with them. It would really be proper to expel them from the Jewish people, as our forefathers did to the Sadducees and the Karaites. Every person should guard his soul and avoid intermarriage with them. They have sent heretics and rebels to the Holy Land to anger G-d in His palace. It is especially important to keep away from them in our country, where all the greatest rabbis have unanimously forbade joining them. One should not debate with them, but rather keep as far as possible from them. (Avos Al Banim, introduction p. 24)

Before the war broke out, all the synagogues in town were closed, with the exception of the main synagogue, so they held the Simchas Torah dancing there. In the middle of the dancing, a group of youths from the Mizrachi came in and began to sing Mizrachi songs. Rabbi Dovid stood up to them with fiery zeal: holding the Torah scroll in his hands, he shouted at them to leave the synagogue. It almost seemed as if he pushed them out with the Torah scroll itself. (Related by an eyewitness, Rabbi Moshe Amram Grad of Pressburg; printed in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

One student asked the rabbi’s opinion as to whether a Zionist state would arise in the Land of Israel. The rabbi replied that even if it would arise, such a state would never last. Another student asked, “Would such a state, a new phenomenon in this long exile, be a salvation for the Jewish people?” The rabbi replied in a strong voice, “Even if they pave the entire Land of Israel with asphalt, it has no connection with Jews, G-d forbid.” (Naharei Eish, Likutim 121)

To our sorrow, we hereby make known that so-and-so has gone over to the Zionist camp, may their name be erased. I hereby request that you, our friends, and anyone for whom the honor of Torah and Judaism is dear, should not vote for column 17 in the upcoming Polish Sejm and Senate elections, where so-and-so's name appears. Rather you should vote for the Orthodox party, column 18. Also, ask your wives, children and friends to follow your example and vote for column 18, not column 17. (Oros Rabbeinu, p. 280)

G-d forbid to accept the position of the Zionist heretics, who want to take the Holy Land by force and rebel against the government, for it will be bitter for them in the end. They hate the Torah and it is like a thorn in their eye. G-d forbid to support them with money, for they are not Jews. Without Torah, one is neither a Jew nor a gentile, and they have no right to speak in the name of the Jewish people. Who appointed them for this mission? We have no portion with them. (Lechem Shlomo, Drasha 120, Shavuos 5699)

In your pleasant writing style, you demonstrate the mistake of many in our generation who consider themselves religious Jews, yet join with sinners who have thrown the words of our Sages behind their backs, built altars and burned incense to the idol of nationalism… You did well by writing in your book that in this generation we have to work hard to strengthen our faith, and keep far from the tents of these reformers who pursue vanity. (From his letter of approbation to the book Tov Yigal)

He attended the Third Knessia Gedolah held by the Agudah in 1937, at which they discussed the subject of a Jewish state. When his turn came to speak, he began a sharp diatribe against the idea of a state. How bitter it was, he said, that Jews should agree to a state. But those in charge of the Knessia saw to it that someone disconnected the microphone, so his speech could not be heard. (??)

His custom was to deliver a sermon in the main synagogue in town on the night of Yom Kippur after Kol Nidrei, and then he would continue the prayers in his own private synagogue. One Yom Kippur, as Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi was coming out of the main synagogue following his sermon, he met his son-in-law, the rabbi of Tisa Salka, standing by the door; and he showed Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi a poster made by the Zionists (by Jabotinsky’s party). It was already after nightfall, and the restrictions of the holiday (which include tearing) were in effect, yet Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi gestured to his son-in-law to tear the sign down right away. The danger to Jewish souls took precedence even over the laws of the holiest day of the year. (Mishkenos Haro’iim, p. 635)

How can we go on the same path as them, when it is dangerous to the soul? We are obligated to follow the counsel of our sages, all the Orthodox rabbis, all the greatest and most righteous, who are crying out that we must not join them. We must listen, or else we will be cursed, as the Torah says, “Cursed is he who does not uphold all the words of this Torah” (Deut. 27:26). My brothers and friends, hear my humble words in the name of all the Orthodox rabbis, follow the path of the Orthodox and stay away from the path of the Zionists.” (Speech for Shabbos Shuvah, 5625 / 1925)

We must separate completely from the Nationalist Council, from the Zionists and from their organizations and institutions. We must not join forces with them in any way, for then we would be destroying the holy Torah, G-d forbid.

Fight hard and be strong in the battle against the Zionists and the Nationalist Council, which has risen up against us and against the holy Torah. We must especially fight their latest sins, in which they take precious souls, refugee children from Poland or Yemen, orphaned of both father and mother, and force them to abandon their faith. Wage a bold war with them, and G-d forbid to come to an agreement with them. (Hachomah, 1 Sivan 5704)

A festive meal was held to celebrate the completion of a Torah scroll in memory of the Jews killed in the Holocaust. All the Chassidic rebbes and heads of yeshivas attended, including the Rebbe. He sat down at the table opposite the Zionist chief rabbi [Herzog]. He asked others who this man was, and they replied that it was the Zionist chief rabbi. The Rebbe immediately stood up from his place and left the hall. On the way home, he said, “I did not want to sit at the meal together with him.” One of the Chassidim commented that this chief rabbi was somewhat better than his predecessor, but the Rebbe said angrily, “I don’t want to hear any praises of him. If he is with them, it is forbidden to speak positively of him.” (Mishkenos Haro'im, p. 739)

When I walked in the streets of Jerusalem, in places where Arabs with their camels walked about, in almost every place I came they cleared the way for me respectfully. If only we were treated half as well by the gentiles in all the lands where Jews live! It is my opinion that we can remain on good terms with them and live there peacefully and safely. (Letter written in 1921)

On May 28, 1948, during the Zionist war of independence, as the battle in and around Jerusalem raged, the two rabbis of the Old City, Ashkenazic Rabbi Velvel Mintzberg and Sephardic Rabbi Ben Zion Chazan boldly went out to the Jordanian army carrying the white flag, showing that the true Jewish people were surrendering to them. When the Zionists saw this act, which they saw as treachery and denial of their doctrine of fighting their way out of exile, they wanted to kill the rabbis, and they fired at them with their guns. Thank G-d, they missed. Later they considered putting the rabbis on trial, but seeing that such a trial would bring no honor to Zionism, they abandoned the idea. (Kol Demei Achicha Tzoakim, issue 6 p. 4)

After the declaration of the state, a number of the greatest rabbis met to discuss the situation. In his speech, the Rebbe told everyone: Whoever is on G-d’s side, come to us! Whoever does not want to be killed physically and spiritually, whoever does not want to be drawn after heresy, whoever recognizes and knows that the state itself is a fundamental uprooting of the Torah, besides the laws and decrees they pass against Torah law – let him be inscribed in the list of those who refuse to recognize their state. By registering everyone in a list, the power of G-d and His Torah will be strengthened. People of faith will be gathered, one by one, and they will with G-d’s help become a strong force. (Teshuo Be’Yisroel p.32).

Someone came to him with what he thought was happy news: the following day, the U.N. was expected to vote in favor of a Jewish state. The Stropkover Rebbe yelled at him and said, “The state would be a terrible misfortune for the Jewish people. G-d forbid to be happy over it. Whoever talks this way must have stumbled into heresy. I don’t want to hear anyone talk this way in my synagogue ever again!” (Yeasher Baaretz, p. 594)

When news of the destruction of European Jewry arrived, and it seemed that it might be possible to save some Jews by working together with the Zionist Agency, the foremost religious rescue workers asked the Chazon Ish what to do. He responded, “The reason we save lives is because that is G-d’s command. If we neglect an opportunity to save lives, we will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment. But in this case, if they ask you on the Day of Judgment why you did not save lives and you reply that it would not have been possible except by working together with the Zionists, and one may not work together with the Zionists – I am certain that they will accept your answer!” (Om Ani Chomah, 23 Menachem Av 5723)

The blood of our father [Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch] flows in our arteries – blood that he spilled for all of his life for the sake of his battle against the idol of Zionism… The Torah position and the clear law is that we must not support Zionism or recognize the idolatry… No yeshiva has yet produced students who were truly G-d-fearing unless its leaders were sharply and staunchly opposed to recognizing the wicked and the wickedness of the Zionists. Thank G-d, among all the staff of the yeshivos of Poland and Lithuania, there was not even one rabbi who supported the Mizrachi.

We must also remember this: that the Yeshiva, wherever it may be, is the life work of my father of righteous memory. If any influential person here disagrees with my father’s ruling that “Zionism is a disease, and anyone who is drawn after it will not escape punishment” (Shiurei Daas) then it is an insult to my father’s honor. In the place where that righteous man dedicated his life to battle against Zionism, we will not allow anyone of a foreign spirit who disagrees with him to draw near. (Mishkenos Haro’im p. 798)

The only solution is: a) to raise a public call to unseat the [Zionist] statesmen from their positions of leadership and b) to give up on the demand for a Jewish state…

We must pray to G-d to remove the bitter Zionist heresy from the world…

Let it be clearly understood that never in Jewish history (even in the time of Jeroboam or Achav) have such hostile atheists stood at the helm of the Jewish people as today.

How can we plead to the Almighty for mercy while we tolerate these vile, wicked leaders as spokesmen! Beloved brothers - let us cleanse our ranks and cleanse our midst. Let us cast out any Zionist influence from our heads. Let us entreat the Almighty through prayer, repentance, and fulfillment of mitzvos that He alone redeem us, immediately. (Toras Chemed, p. 350)

All his life he was an enemy of the Zionists. While he was rabbi in the city of Brisk, he persecuted the Zionists forcefully, and at times he suffered from their hatred of him. When he crossed the border into Palestine and the officials handed him some papers to sign, he noticed at the top of one of the papers the heading, “The Jewish Agency”. He refused to sign that paper. This was at the height of World War II, and he had come to Palestine to save his life. Normally people are not so particular about what they do at such times, as long as their life is secure – but the rabbi of Brisk refused to sign. (Om Ani Chomah 5719, p. 331)

Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi would always repeat the clear words of his teacher, Rabbi Tzadka Hutzin: the Zionist state and everything pertaining to it are the power of the “mixed multitude” (a term used in Torah literature for the group of Egyptians who joined the Jewish people during the Exodus but were never completely faithful to G-d). Those words entered his heart and never left his mouth and lips; they were his guiding principle. (Sefer Hazikaron Knesses Ezra v. 2, p. 9)

On the last Rosh Hashanah before the deportation to the concentration camp, the Rebbe heard that on the first day of Rosh Hashanah the Zionists in Budapest had sent letters to all the communities of Hungary asking them to collect money for the JNF (the Zionist land purchase fund) during the reading of the Torah, and to recite the Mi Shebeirach prayer for anyone who donated. They didn’t ask the Rebbe, knowing that he would certainly not allow it. Using trickery or force, they got the shochet (ritual slaughterer) to recite the prayer.

On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, when the shochet came to the Rebbe’s table, the Rebbe yelled at him, “Low-down creature! Sinful Jew! Get out of here!” (I must stress that the Rebbe was a good-hearted, quiet man, and it was only for such matters that he changed his approach and came out with his sword drawn.) The shochet began to apologize, saying, “What was I supposed to do? Leave the Torah scroll on the table and walk away?” “Yes!” replied the Rebbe in an uncharacteristically loud tone. “You should have left the Torah scroll on the table and come to me to ask what to do.” The Rebbe allowed him to remain at his table, since he had done the thing unwillingly and had not been prepared in advance for this surprise, so did not know what to do.

A few days later, at his Shabbos Shuva sermon, the Rebbe cried out and warned, “It is forbidden to give even one penny to the JNF. Whoever does not give will be privileged to survive the war. Who knows if next year we will be here? But I can say with certainty that I will survive.”

He once said, “Those wicked ones caused the entire Holocaust and all of our troubles, because were it not for them, we would already have been redeemed.”

After the U.N. resolution on a Zionist state in November 1947, the Rebbe cried out, “Woe is to us! There is no way this can be good. It goes against the traditions we have received from our teachers and righteous men. It goes against the Torah that sinners could bring about any salvation.”

Later they showed the Rebbe a newspaper saying that the Zionists had not captured the site of the Temple; it was under Jordanian rule and they had no access to it. He was a little relieved that at least this they would not be able to defile, and they would not be able to use it as a weapon to confuse people. (Related by his son, Rabbi Shmuel Yehuda Paneth)

Rabbi Chaim Hersh was opposed to the Zionist heretics in general, and to their Modern Hebrew language in particular. He was extremely particular that no one should speak the Modern Hebrew created by the Zionist heretics, and his heart was very pained if he heard one of his children or grandchildren speaking the language.

Once, one of his grandchildren had just left his house, when they heard a loud car crash outside. They were horrified at the thought that perhaps something had happened to the boy. Rabbi Chaim Hersh remarked, “When I hear one of my grandchildren speaking Modern Hebrew, I am more afraid than when I hear a car crash.” That was how much speaking Modern Hebrew pained the soul of G-d-fearing Jews. (Hatzvi Yisroel, printed in Otzar Yisroel v. 2, p. 50)

Before the War, the rabbi once had to spend Simchas Torah in a town in which the custom was that every person who was called up to say the blessing over the Torah donated money to the Zionist “Jewish National Fund”. So he did not go to the synagogue at all. He prayed privately and did not dance with the Torah, so that he should have no partnership with Satan. (Gilyon Ho’emunah Menachem Av 5777, issue 16)

In every battle fought by Orthodox Jewry, he participated, standing in the breach against the Zionist leaders. Many times he organized demonstrations himself against those who led the public to sin, although it sometimes brought him into danger, since the Zionist police never hesitated to beat and wound whoever came their way.

He also fought by disseminating the books and pamphlets that he wrote, and by travelling around and warning new immigrants against the government absorption officials who would try to pull them away from keeping the Torah. He encouraged them to stand their ground, continue in their ways and never give in to the Satan’s emissaries. (Chochom Menachem Menashe, chapter 12)

The custom of religious Jews to burn the Zionist flag on Purim in the streets of Williamsburg (and, more recently, in other cities and countries) began at the Kviashader Rebbe’s Purim table, where they used to auction off the privilege of burning the flag at the table. Later it became the practice to burn it in the streets.

On Shabbos Parshas Zachor (when the Torah portion about Amalek is read) they announced that whoever does not have in mind the Zionists during this Torah reading has not fulfilled the mitzvah. (Mishkenos Haro’im, v. 6)

When he sent a letter to the Holy Land, he would write the address himself, and he would write it using the gentile alphabet, not the Hebrew alphabet. Once in his later years, when he did not have the strength, he wrote a letter and asked his attendant to address it for him. The attendant wrote it using Hebrew letters. When the Rebbe saw this, he said, “Jewish?! Are they Jews?! Is it a Jewish state?!” He took the envelope and tore it up, and he took another envelope and wrote the address himself with the gentile alphabet. (Mishkenos Haro’im p. 946)

With the help of G-d. On the subject of the elections for the Knesset and the municipality, we hereby declare our Torah view that it is completely and severely prohibited for any man or woman, young or old, to participate in these elections. This is in keeping with what the great and righteous rabbis of the Sephardim and Ashkenazim have declared in the past and the present, that it is forbidden to enter a building where words of heresy and denial of our faith are spoken, and so too it is forbidden to send representatives there, for a person's representative is like the person himself. The merit of separation from the wicked will surely stand by us to protect us from all evil decrees, so that these wicked people should not rule over us, and not destroy G-d's Holy Land. May we merit to see the revelation of G-d's kingdom and the cutting down of the pride of the wicked, when the earth will be filled with knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea, with the coming of the messiah, soon in our days, amen.

For his whole life he suffered pains and sicknesses. At the end of his life he was asked what he held about voting in the Zionist elections. He replied, “If all the suffering that I went through from my youth till today – I’m blind, my hands and feet are paralyzed, I have cancer and the list goes on – if all this happened just so that I would not be able to get up and go out to vote, it would have been justified. (??)

When people asked him if there was any room for leniency to accept national insurance and other money from the Zionist government, his clear-cut answer was that it was forbidden. “One may not derive any benefit from the government of the mixed multitude (a term used in Torah literature for the group of Egyptians who joined the Jewish people during the Exodus but were never completely faithful to G-d).” (Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

In the year 5708 (1948), when the Zionist state was founded in the Holy Land, and many inmates of the DP camp who belonged to Mizrachi came out dancing in the streets, Rabbi Henig called out to them, “What is this wild party? What are you so happy about?” Of course at that time, opening one’s mouth to them in the midst of their drunken celebration meant risking one’s life. (Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

With the help of G-d, Wednesday, the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar Alef, 5725 (1965), Jerusalem. I hereby join the great rabbis of the Sephardic Eidah Chareidis in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in support of their Torah ruling that it is forbidden to participate in the governmental elections, because it is against our holy Torah. May our religious brethren who continue to walk in the path of our holy forebears be blessed.

Unfortunately, in our time, heretics rule in the Holy Land over the Jewish people, and we are not free men… Also in the Holy Land, the verse “in the place of righteousness, there is wickedness” (Ecclesiastes 3:16) has been fulfilled. For the group calling itself “Zionists” has become powerful, a group against which our rabbis of blessed memory warned us and told us to keep as far as possible from, since they are rooted in heresy. (Vayaged Yaakov, Bereishis, Introduction)

About eighty years ago, this rebellious movement arose among the Jewish people. This is the hardest and last trial that the Jewish people must undergo. At first the Zionist movement sought to pull the wool over the Jewish people’s eyes, claiming that they had come to save the Jews from physical danger. That’s how they got into the Jewish mainstream, because Jews were really suffering a lot. And certainly we have been suffering for many centuries. This week it will be exactly 1907 years since the destruction of the Temple. This is not only a destruction that happened 1907 years ago; it is a destruction that continues every day, without letting up.

That is why this gathering was called: to raise the public’s attention so that all the Jews in Europe should know about this problem, and realize that there are today Jews threatened by a spiritual holocaust; an Auschwitz-style spiritual danger threatens them. It is not only imaginary; this danger really is at its height right now, and many Jews have already been burnt in it. This is like the time, which many still remember, when Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl, the famous rescue activist, implored the Allies to bomb Auschwitz, or the tracks leading to it, but those wicked Zionists themselves didn’t allow them to do it. And when Rabbi Weissmandl pleaded for money to save Jewish lives, those wicked ones themselves replied at the time, “Only through blood will the land be ours” – other people’s blood, of course. Now they themselves have set up spiritual Auschwitzes and Treblinkas.

Actually, they already set up the Treblinkas and Majdaneks eighty years ago, only today they have become more prominent. Now you can touch what is going on with your hands; you don’t even need to use your eyes.

Therefore, we are doubly obligated to help these Jews, and it will be a double rescue. We are obligated to save every Jewish life, to save every Jew from falling into those Auschwitzes and Treblinkas. But besides that, when we turn on this light it will expel another type of darkness: the unfortunate misconception that those who spread darkness are the rescuers, when we know that in reality they are the cause of the danger to the entire Jewish people, both spiritual and physical. Yet people still look at them as rescuers.

Rabbi Dr. [Solomon] Schonfeld mentioned here earlier that today the danger is not from the yellow stars on German uniforms, but rather the red stars on Communist uniforms. However, he forgot that there is another danger: the blue star. We must not forget this. We must keep reminding ourselves that the blue and white established spiritual Auschwitzes! (From his speech at Rav-Tuv’s world gathering for Russian Jewry in London, 1 Adar II 5736 / March 3, 1976)

I want to correct an important error, a terrible error that Jews make. Jews think that the Arabs in Hebron [in 1929] were murderers, and they attacks the Jews for the purpose of murder, because they were evil. But if we study the facts, this is incorrect… The Arabs were very friendly people, and the Jewish people in Hebron lived together with them and had very friendly relations with them. They worked for Jews, and everybody got along just fine.

Today’s wicked Zionists are just like their predecessors, who were responsible for causing terrible suffering in Palestine with their wars with the Arabs, may G-d have mercy. At that time in 1929, the Zionists had a slogan arguing that the Western Wall in Jerusalem was a Jewish “national symbol.” Of course, the Arabs disagreed with this idea, considering that they had control of the location for over 1,100 years. However, the Zionist mobs were yelling that “The Wall is ours!” It’s hard to understand why they felt that way considering they have no connection to the Jewish holy places whatsoever. An argument erupted in the Jewish newspapers about establishing a permanent prayer area for Jews at the Wall. This provoked the Arabs, and the rabbi of Jerusalem at the time, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld begged them to stop and to be appreciative to the Arabs for allowing Jews to pray at the Wall for so many centuries undisturbed. However, the Zionists wanted a permanent setup under their control.

Everyone must know that the anger of the Arabs against us is only caused by the Zionists! The Arabs were a friendly people to us, and I am a witness to it. We lived very well with them in Hebron. Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter attested to this as well, and it is the accursed Zionists who caused them to hate us. The Zionists dare to use their power to expel the Arabs, and even today in Lebanon, they kill and butcher the Arabs; they wipe out whole villages with the airplanes they get from the United States.

Everyone should know who the murderers are – the Zionists are the biggest murderers in the world, who refuse to let the Jewish people live in peace either physically or spiritually! (Traditional Torah Opposition to Zionism, p. 45)

Whoever votes in the election has a portion in the defiled regime. By going out to vote, they give strength to the defiled regime, a regime of heretics whose entire goal is to leave behind the holy Torah, may G-d spare us. Anyone who goes out to vote has a share in all the sins that are committed there in the heretical Knesset. By voting, one professes belief in the defiled idol, and becomes a partner in it, via his representatives who sit there in that defiled place, committing severe sins equivalent to all the other sins in the Torah. (Speech given prior to elections.)

When the United Nations General Assembly decided that the Zionist movement had the right to establish their heretical state, the Zionist chief rabbinate sent a letter to Jews around the world saying that they should celebrate this event by reciting the Hallel (a prayer said only on holidays; on weekdays Tachanun is said instead, and there is a middle ground of partially festive days when neither prayer is said). Rabbi Zilber, who was then in a DP camp in Germany, was afraid someone would actually do this, so he himself made sure to lead the prayers on that day, and when he came to that point, he said Tachanun.

The Zionists who were present in the synagogue that day shouted at Rabbi Zilber for not listening to the ruling of the “chief rabbis.” The offense was compounded by the fact that he had not only failed to say Hallel; he had even said Tachanun. Rabbi Zilber was not intimidated by their voices, and he announced loudly, “Let it be known that anyone who says Hallel today is blaspheming the name of G-d!” His sharp words were well-publicized in all the Jewish newspapers in Germany, both in Yiddish and German. They heaped angry words and scorn upon Rabbi Zilber for standing up to the Zionist idol when so many others had succumbed to it. He had protested in public without fear because the zeal of G-d burned in his heart. (Erez Balevanon, p. 70)

“The battle and the path of Neturei Karta, although it is not attractive to many Jews, is the true path of Torah: to come out openly against the Zionist heresy… For as long as the fundamental Zionist heresy continues to exist, we are in great danger. The right way is to get to the source of the problem and get rid of it.

“The true battle is the battle against the fundamental Zionist heresy, as Neturei Karta continues to fight it. That is the true path of Torah. The battle of Neturei Karta is the right one. It’s like our Sages say in many places: “Come and see.” You have to get to the root of the matter and shoot the arrows in that direction, to shine a light into the deep darkness that emanates from the depths, and not to continue in the darkness that covers the earth. That is the path of Torah: to teach people in all cases to penetrate to the root of the matter, and to take action there. We must think deeply, for that is the path to life. (From a speech, printed in Mishkenos Haro’im v. 6)

It is very important for everyone to know that it is forbidden for us to force the end and come out of exile using our own power… This book also documents the opposition of all great rabbis to Zionism, both Chassidic rebbes and great rabbinic scholars of all communities. And the book documents the prohibition to join them even for the purpose of a mitzvah, as it is written in Avos Derabbi Nosson, and certainly when the joining is not for a mitzvah. Whoever reads this book will see that the entire existence of the heretical state is a tragedy for us and the entire Jewish people. All of the above points are crucial for everyone to know clearly. (From his letter of approbation on Mishkenos Haro’im)

The State of Israel solves nothing. All “problems” remain the same, and new ones are created: 1) The Arabian lands have been rendered uninhabitable for Jews; 2) constant wars with neighbors must be waged, incurring huge military expenditures and loss of many lives, in addition to constant peril; 3) it has exacerbated Jew-hatred in the nations, due to Arab influence and also to embroilment with the foreign policy of the nations; 4) and the proponents of the State of Israel attempt to kindle a fire under the Jews in all lands in order to make their position untenable so that they emigrate to augment the population of the new State. (Sing You Righteous, p. 25)

568 Can a Jew expel a gentile who possesses land in the Land of Israel? Certainly not, because the land is not ours right now. (Tape # 35 (1973) Question 6)

It has been some time since the greatest rabbis, leaders of the fight against Zionism, have passed away. They have left our generation, unfortunately, without a window to let in the light of truth. Therefore we must strengthen ourselves, not weaken in our battle, and not sit with folded hands and laziness; but rather raise our voices constantly against all the sins of the Zionists. Whenever the leaders of the Zionist state commit terrible desecrations of G-d’s name, speaking heretical and insulting words in the name of the Jewish people, we are obligated to come out against them with constant protests and demonstrations. We must not limit our protest to speaking behind closed doors where nobody sees or hears. The protests must not be against one specific sin or the other, but rather to let the voice of the Torah be heard: that the very existence of the state is like a bonfire, burning, G-d forbid, the parchment and the letters of the Torah. It is not enough just to say that a certain problem needs to be rectified. Rather, the main stress should be that the entire state is forbidden according to the holy Torah. It is entirely founded on uprooting the Torah, and it is poison for everything holy to us. We must announce in the streets before the eyes of all the gentile nations that the Zionists are not the leaders of the Jewish people, that they have no right whatsoever to speak in the name of the Jewish people, and that there are still Jews left who are faithful to G-d and His Torah. We must let all this be heard with a powerful voice, not a weak voice. (Ketzei Hashomayim, p. 56)

We have to protest against Zionism in the streets as much as we can. The Satmar Rebbe taught that to us; he said it, he wrote it, he printed it: that we have to tell the nations of the world that we have no connection with the Zionist State. It’s a tremendous sanctification of G-d’s name to show the gentiles that there are still Jews who are on G-d’s side, who hold that whoever does not believe in the Torah is a heretic, is not a Jew. He may have a state, he may have a parliament - whatever it’s called in their defiled language – and people may sit there with beards and sidelocks and whatever kind of hats, and they may have Hasidic prayer belts and black silk robes, but we have nothing to do with them. This is especially important in view of the past two years, when the Zionist rebellion against the gentile nations has gotten worse, and the nations have the impression that the so-called religious, or hareidim or whatever name they go by, are the most militant of the rebels. (Kovetz Drashos pp. 31-32)

...The Zionist penetration into the Middle East, which eroded the majestic relationship which prevailed amongst the ethnic groups of the area, was not motivated by religion, nor by an orchestrated concern for fellow Jews. It was an opportunity for a small clique of Jews to exploit age-old Jewish values, in order to emancipate the Jewish nation from their bondage to G-d and His way of life. They took advantage of the Palestinian indigenous inhabitants' simplicity, who were politically non-oriented, and gained the grasp of the helm of the country, through trickery and treachery. (Letter to King Hassan II of Morocco, May 23, 1989)

In August 1980, the Tosher Rebbe called an assembly of his entire town and gave the following speech to clarify his views on Zionism, in reaction to someone who had misrepresented him:

"I want to say a few words. It is very important that everyone listen well. Since I have heard various rumors about what was said in my name, I would like to state that on the subject of Zionism, I follow the old approach, the way I heard and saw our fathers and teachers react to the Zionist philosophy. They were strongly opposed to it, and fought against it with the greatest dedication. They stood by their views uncompromisingly, and they were the strongest, most dedicated fighters of their time against Zionism. At that time I was still a young boy. As soon as I came to America, I understood that I was to continue in the path forged by my parents and teachers in Europe. The holy Satmar Rebbe, who was the leader of his generation, was the greatest fighter against Zionism. He fought with all his strength and shook up the world. He wrote books to explain it. Without any hesitation, I joined the Satmar Rebbe's battle. To every proclamation against Zionism, I added my signature. I didn't even need to read it. If the holy Satmar Rebbe said so, there could be no doubts. There was no one like him even in his time, no one who put so much effort into writing books that explained all sides of the issue. Therefore, I warn all of you that even if someone interprets some action of mine to mean that I subscribe to a particular position, no one should say that that is my position, since I did not say so explicitly."

We are religious Jews who cling to the old, original Jewish faith and Torah. Our purpose in appearing here today is to make known to the world something that not everyone knows: that the authentic Jewish people is not identical with the Zionist idea and the Zionist state, but rather they are antithetical, like day and night.

G-d sent the Jewish people into exile due to their sins. Through His true prophets, He warned us not to organize ourselves and arise on our own from exile. G-d alone, without help from any creature and without any organization, will redeem us. The Jewish people’s entire life and existence is faith and Torah. They have been waiting in exile for almost two thousand years, with loyalty to the warnings and promises of G-d.

About 150 years ago, non-believing individuals arose who incorrectly understood the essence of the Jewish people. They saw the Jewish people as fundamentally not spiritual but material, and they proposed a modern solution to the “problem of exile”. Mocking the old tradition of faith and hope, they introduced the concept of self-organization, which the Torah forbids. It is from this concept that the Zionist state was born.

One sin leads to another: they unjustly pulled out the ground from under the feet of the Palestinian people, robbed them of their houses and property, and expelled them cruelly and murderously. This would have been a massive criminal act for an individual Jew – all the more so for a large group of Jews, both according to Torah law and international law.

We are here to proclaim that the original Jewish people has no connection to the Zionist idea, their state or their actions. (Judaism and its opposition to Zionism)

An open letter published on November 29, 2012, protesting the visit of some Israeli politicians to a religious school

It is well known that our fathers and teachers, the great rabbinic leaders of the previous generation, including the Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yissachar Dov of Belz and Rabbi Sholom Ber of Lubavitch, taught us that the group that has unfortunately appointed itself the caretaker of the Jewish people poses a great danger. They taught us that this group is one of the worst groups from among the mixed multitude that has attached itself to the Jewish people, deriving their power from the poisonous root of Esau’s guardian angel who fought with our forefather Jacob. This is what the holy books say, despite the fact that these people were born in Jewish homes. We have no connection with them whatsoever, and we must educate our children to know this.

With this in mind, we were shocked and pained to hear that a certain activist, on his own initiative, brought officials from this group to our city to visit the holy classrooms of a Torah school, where innocent children learn. The boys and girls watched these people being treated honorably – what a scandal!

Therefore we have come with this open letter to protest against this in the strongest terms. Let such a thing never happen again in our city, where the Torah school was founded by the previous great rabbis of this city with their great dedication and hard work, with the sole purpose of raising up future generations of Jews in the old-time Jewish way. Let the boys and girls see only faithful, G-d-fearing Torah leaders, whose example they should follow.

My Friends, we are here today to protest against the terrible wrongs which have been perpetrated and continue to be perpetrated against the Palestinian People by the Zionist illegitimate regime (known as Israel) in Palestine. My colleagues and I here today come under the banner of Neturei Karta which is the name of the opposition philosophy to Zionism held by Orthodox Jews.

You may well ask: how come we Jews are here protesting in support of Palestinians - who many would think of as enemies of the Jews? The answer, my friends, is that the Palestinian dispute is with the Zionists and not with the Jews. Zionism and Judaism are two completely different and opposing ideas. Orthodox Jews sympathise entirely with the Palestinian cause. Jewish Orthodox teaching is totally opposed to Zionism on grounds of religious belief and on grounds of Jewish religious values of humanitarianism.

Our belief, going back thousands of years, teaches us that the Jewish People are and have been for the last two thousand years or so in a state of exile decreed by the Almighty because they did not maintain certain high standards expected of them. We have been dispersed around the world and our duty is to live as loyal subjects of which ever country we are in. Furthermore, we are forbidden to attempt to form our own regime in Palestine. And we are warned of dire consequences if we attempt to override this prohibition. To do so is considered a rebellion against the A-lmighty. So, on grounds of religious belief we have no right today to form a regime in Palestine.

The Zionist philosophy, formed about 100 years ago by irreligious non-believers, is that the Jewish People have to fight their own way out of exile . They do not accept in any way the religious prohibition of this action and their approach to the matter of exile is diametrically opposite to the religious passive approach.

But perhaps what is more understandable to the non-Jewish world in the opposition of Judaism to Zionism is the fact that the Zionist ideology was to take over a country with an existing indigenous population and to form a sectarian State irrespective of the consequences to that indigenous people, depriving them of their homes and country. This was a shocking contravention of humanitarian justice. Humanitarian justice is also a tremendously important element in Jewish Religious values. The Zionists have thrown this completely overboard in their nationalistic quest for a State of their own. On these grounds too Orthodox Judaism opposes them entirely.

Because of the above the whole idea of a Zionist State is a flawed concept and is the underlying cause of the strife in the Middle East. As Jews, we are ashamed of our brethren who have followed the Zionist path and we wish to state that Zionists do not in any way represent the Jewish People as they would like to have the world believe. (Approximate Transcript of speech given in Trafalgar Square, London, in connection with the Al Quds demonstration march in support of the Palestinian cause, October 30, 2005)

The cause of the past, current and, G-d forbid, future suffering is the aforementioned rebellion against G-d. The tragic and seemingly intractable conflict in the Middle East is directly attributable to the wicked actions of the Zionist regime against the indigenous population of Palestine, against whom the Zionists have been waging war for more than a century. Thus, the only solution to bring about peace and harmony is not more war and strife, but rather regime change in historic Palestine! The Torah’s solution to this dilemma would be for the world community to actively work towards the dismantling of the illicit Zionist regime and the restoration of full Palestinian sovereignty over the whole of Palestine. We firmly believe that such a solution would not result in Jews being slaughtered indiscriminately by the Palestinians. In fact, the very existence of the Zionist state endangers Jewish lives because it constitutes an open rebellion against G-d. Only when the Palestinian people return to their homeland as a sovereign nation and only when the scourge of the racist Zionist occupation has been removed from the sacred soil of Palestine will Jews and Arabs once again live in peace and harmony, as they have done for so many centuries, prior to the inception of Zionism some 100 years ago. Only when the Palestinian refugees are allowed to return to their native soil will there be peace in the Holy Land!

It is a hollow mockery and a desecration of everything sacred to Judaism that the Zionist heretics base their specious claims to the Holy Land on the Bible, justifying their mass invasion, colonization, expropriation and displacement of the native inhabitants of Palestine, who, according to the Torah, are entitled to sovereignty over the whole of their native homeland.

By establishing the “state of Israel”, the Zionists have openly rebelled against the will of G-d and the laws of the Torah and thereby have caused immense pain and immeasurable suffering to both Jews and non-Jews. At occasions like this where people celebrate the establishment of the state of “Israel”, Torah true Jews lament the invidious attempts by the Zionists to transform Judaism from a religion into a secular, hypernationalistic and fundamentally racist creed and their sinister efforts to uproot the Torah’s teachings from the Jewish people. (from a speech July 2006).

We proclaim that the tremendous upsurge of anti-Semitism throughout the world is a direct result of Zionism, and that is exactly what the Zionists want, so that the Jewish people will feel forced to run to them for their supposed protection. We point a finger at Zionism and its state as the core reason for the colossal tragedy that has been perpetrated in the holy land, against Arab and Jew alike, from the inception of Zionism until today.

We want to stress our pain and embarrassment in regard to the last tragedies and deaths which have accured in Jenin, Nablus, Bais Lechem, the list goes on and on.

But you should know that Zionism is a greater tragedy for Jews than for the Palestinians. From the Palestinians, Zionism and its state, took their land and their bodies, but from the Jews the Zionists and its State took their souls, their belief in God and in fact they have transformed the hole concept of Judaism. (Speech at the Manhattan rally of the Metropolitan Muslim Coalition on April 12, 2002)

There are those who ask us why we march with the Palestinians. Why do we raise the Palestinian flag? Why do we support the Palestinian cause?

“You are Jews!” they tell us. What are you doing?

And our response, which I’d like to share with you this afternoon, is very simple.

It is precisely because we are Jews that we demand that the march with the Palestinians and raise their flag!

It is precisely because we are Jews that we demand that the Palestinian people be returned to their homes and properties!

In our Torah we are taught that we are forbidden to have our own State, even if all the nations, including the Palestinian people, would agree to give it to us. Yes, in our Torah we are taught that G-D sent the Jewish people into exile around two thousand years ago. He then expressly forbade us to attempt to end this GDly decreed exile. The Talmud clearly states that G-D foreswore us with three oaths: one, that we are not to go up en masse to the Land of Israel. Two, that we are forbidden to take up arms against any nation. Three, we should not attempt to bring about the redemption before its proper time. We are to wait patiently in exile until the time when G-D Himself will see fit to end the exile. At that time, He Himself, without any human intervention, will bring about the redemption. At that time all the nations will recognize the one G-D and will serve Him together peacefully.

Secondly, we are commanded to be good and compassionate. Of course we are forbidden to steal, kill, etc. Yes, in our Torah we are commanded to be fair. We are called upon to pursue justice. And, what could be more unjust then the century-old attempt of the Zionist movement to invade another people’s land, to drive them out and steal their property?

(Speech delivered under the auspices of the Palestine Right of Return Coalition (Al-Awda NY/NJ), at the march in front of the “Israeli” Consulate, on Friday July 26, 2002.)

Raabi Yosef Goldstein,London England

The true Torah concept is to relinquish the notions of Zionism and abandon, in a peaceful fashion, the current Zionist sovereignty over the land. This need not sadden any Jew. It is far better to relinquish political power than fail in our religious/moral task as the Torah nation. It is far better to practice kindness and fairness to all men as dictated by the Torah, than it is to be drawn into a never ending battle with the Palestinians, the Islamic world, the entire Third World and increasingly the nations and peoples of Europe and North America. We Jews have a task, but it is not to be dispossessors or aggressors. (Speech at UN conference against Racism, August 28, 2001, in Durban, South Africa)