The wrong kind of Jews
JVL Introduction
Torah Jews – traditionally orthodox Charedi Jews – are the fastest growing section of religious Jewry in Britain today.
But most institutions which claim to speak for “the” Jewish community in Britain today pay them no heed. They are not members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews for instance (nor, indeed are the very large number of secular Jews) – so the latter’s claim to speak for all rings hollow indeed.
Whatever disagreements others might have with the Charedi, it is an outrage not to recognise them fully as Jews, and not to allow their voices to be heard and taken into account.
And that includes what they feel about Israel and its provocations.
This article was originally published by Torah Jews @TorahJews on Tue 25 May 2021. Read the original here.
Open Letter Signed by traditionally Charedi Orthodox Jews of London
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Solidarity with peace loving Charedi people.
A chat with a young haredi Jew on a demo at Downing Street suggests to me that they have been co-opted by PSC on a false prospectus. It is well known that they repudiate the idea of a State. As such they are indeed anti-Zionists. It has been assumed that they support the right of Palestinians to live in that land. – but do they? I would suggest that all that would change once the messiah arrives. At that time the Jews will take possession of the land from the river to the sea. And the Palestinians will vacate the land willingly as they will know that the time has come for all Jews to live in their rightful land…
They are not on the side of Palestinian rights.
There is an error in the translation of the first sentence in this Open Letter. It should be “… provocations against the non-Jewish nations.”
It would be interesting to hear a view from Rabbi Herschl Gluck, who seems to have managed to make a place of respect between Muslims and Jews, his own Haredi community and the mainstream BoD/JLC ‘leadership’ which never dares attack him – he is an OBE after all! The first time an honour has been useful… I knew him first for his community’s work with the Roma in eastern Slovakia, carried on here with Roma refugees. I know he is highly critical of Israel and works hard to separate foreign policy issues from the fight against antisemitism. When the first furore arose in the Labour party he was one of the first people to make a statement: while his community is the main target of racist attacks , its opinions about Israel are repeatedly ignored.
A good question to those who claim to speak for us
What is your part in the Peace Process ?
As a secular Jew, I can’t claim to be an expert on the Torah or indeed, on the Charedis. However, I’ve always operated on the basis that “I’ll work with anyone who’ll work with me”, so I’m happy to accept the support of our cousins in this struggle for justice for the Palestinian people.
We can’t know what will happen in the future, but I’ve spoken alongside them at demos in the past and it would be uncharitable at the very least to shun them because we disagree on other issues which aren’t currently relevant.
Riva, surely if the messiah were to arrive, he would want for ALL peoples of the world to live together in peace and harmony.
Is there a peace process? Was it Oslo? If so, is any or every peace process good for Palestinians or indeed for Jews? Indeed which Palestinians and which Jews?
Tacitus translates Calgacus, undefeated Pict, on the (Roman) imperialists: ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant (where they make a desert, they call it peace).
The grave too is peaceful.
My point? Leverage goes badly wrong, even ‘backfires’, if the fulcrum is misplaced.