Source: www.TrueTorahJews.org
As traditional Jews observe the political maneuvers of Israel's purported "religious" right-wing parties in recent elections, there is growing concern that these groups are gravely misleading the international community in its perception of Judaism and the Torah. Claiming to represent Judaism, these "religious" parties manipulate the Torah's values to suit their own political goals, giving the uninformed individual the impression that the Torah is politically extreme and against peace.
The uncontestable truth is that the Torah strongly advocates for peace. The Torah absolutely forbids Jews from waging war against non-Jews; in fact, Jews were avowed by God not to revolt against any nation or people. The Jewish set of laws commands that Jews be law-abiding citizens in whichever country they choose to take up residence. And for close to two thousand years - ever since the destruction of the holy Temple in Jerusalem - this has been a basic principle for all observant Jews.
Millennia ago, Jews were instructed by the biblical prophet Jeremiah to "Seek out the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray for it to the Almighty, for through its welfare will you have welfare." (29:7). Indeed, observant Jews have abided by this fundamental teaching for thousands of years.
In blatant contrast, Zionist ideology is directly opposed to the Torah. Zionism was deviously designed by its founders to replace the Torah and its holy, God-given commandments with nationalistic, power-driven ideals that are devoid of holiness, godliness, or spirituality. Zionism and the Israeli state have consistently endeavored, via persuasion and coercion, to replace the Divine and Torah-inspired understanding of our people with one of armed materialism.
At the time of its founding by Theodor Herzl, Zionism was rejected by every God-fearing Jew. Respected Jewish authorities everywhere consistently warned their constituents against associating with the Zionist movement in any manner. It was clear to every observant Jew that the Zionist movement was deviant sect designed to steer Jews away from the Torah, no different from the other heretical sects that existed for brief periods of time throughout Jewish history.
Tragically, with the passing of time, the Zionist movement succeeded in ensnaring certain religious rabbis into their trap. Perhaps these individuals were shortsighted and did not comprehend the true motives of the Zionist founders, or maybe they were motivated by the perceived rewards of ultimate power, wealth, or fame. In any event, as they spiraled downward into and under the Zionist quicksand, a brand-new and strange concept was formed: the "Nationalistic Religious Movement."
These rabbis - better yet, these politicians- convinced the uninformed Jewish masses to support and join this new-fangled movement. "To combine the greatest of contradictions - the Jewish faith and the holy Torah with nationalistic ideals that are devoid of holiness and designed to replace the Torah - is the epitome of hypocrisy and confusion. Imagine if a Jew would make sure that his pork [forbidden meat] was slaughtered, and koshered - this is Religious Nationalism," said Rabbi Hersh Lowenthal.
These politicians are exploiting the Torah for the sake of nationalism. For example, they continually misinterpret Biblical verses to "prove" that the Torah forbids the relinquishing of territory. How deceitful to use verses that apply to the times of the holy Temple to our current age, when Jews are in exile by decree of God, and are in fact avowed by God not to create a Jewish government with a Jewish identity prior to the Divine Redemption. How devious - in particular - to apply Biblical verses to a secular country whose leaders are non-believers and outspoken enemies of the true Jewish faith.
Our message to these rabbi-politicians is, to quote the Bible: "How much longer will you be positioned on two doorsteps? If you believe in God, follow Him. If you believe in the idol, follow it" (I Kings 18:21). If you wish to follow God and His holy Torah, then follow Him! And if your goal is to pursue hollow, secular, nationalistic values - pursue them. Don't attempt to combine these inherently contradicting ideals and, as a result, confuse the public with blatant lies and falsities.
True Torah Jews (a.k.a. Natruna) is investing tremendous effort to expose the falsehoods of this new movement to the Jewish community at large. With God's help, the results are positive and reassuring as the truth is welcomed by Jews all over the world. In a massive explanatory campaign in Israel, we implored the public not to heed the politicians' campaigns; instead, we asked voters to boycott the elections and thereby demonstrate their staunch separation from any form of Zionism.
The results of this campaign were overwhelming and far exceeded the organizers' expectations. One would expect that with the recent increase in eligible voters, there would be a far greater turnout of religious voters than in the past; with this reasoning, the acquisition of more seats in Parliament for religious politicians was taken for granted. Instead, the final tallies showed that the national religious parties had in fact lost several seats.
Obviously, the religious community is now more open-minded as more and more individuals begin to perceive the insincerity of the politicians: this is "politics as usual" and has absolutely no association with either the Torah or Judaism. The hope is that before long every single Torah-observant Jew will abandon this movement and the entire world will clearly understand that:
The government of the State of Israel is not associated with either Jews or Judaism. It is a Zionist state, not a Jewish State.
In conclusion, True Torah Jews would like to make it perfectly clear that the "religious parties" that participate in the government of the State of Israel do not represent traditional Torah-based Judaism. The true Torah position can be heard and accepted only from honest rabbinical authorities who are bound only to the Torah and harbor absolutely no ulterior motives. Every single such authority is completely opposed to the concept of Zionism in any form or shade, from the moment it was conceived until the present date.
We hope this clarifies the difference between Torah based Judaism and the nationalistic so-called Judaism. We pray that Jews everywhere will come to understand that ultimate salvation does not originate from the acts of humans, and will trust in the Divine Redemption which will bring peace for the entire world. May we merit that great day soon, Amen.
Additional information on the secular "religion" of Zionism and the Jews opposed to it can be found at www.truetorahjews.org.
About True Torah Jews
True Torah Jews is dedicated to informing the world and, in particular, the American public and politicians that not all Jews support the ideology of the Zionist state called "Israel" which is diametrically opposite to the teachings of traditional Judaism. We are concerned that the widespread misconception that all Jews support the Zionist state and its actions is endangering Jews worldwide.
