Question:
why do Hasidic Jews not recognize Israel?
octaviakraut
2007-10-24 16:39:07 UTC
Or is it Orthodox? Are Orthodox and Hasidic the same. Yes, I am an ignorant shicksa.
Six answers:
?
2007-10-28 11:50:16 UTC
Hasidic Jews are orthodox, but not all orthodox Jews are Hasidic. And orthodox Jewish views on Israel vary pretty widely, so the statement that forms the premise of your question, that Hasidic Jews do not recognize Israel, is an overgeneralization.



Now, the most widely known fringe group of anti-Zionist Jews, Neturei Karta, is made up of Satmarer Hasidim. It's actually a really tiny group, comprised of a minuscule percentage of the Satmarers themselves, who in turn, are one of hundreds if not thousands of Hasidic sects, who in turn form but one branch of orthodoxy Jewry, who in turn are a minority among Jews in general. But they get a lot of press because they're the ones going to Holocaust denial conferences and smooching with Jew-hating despots for the cameras.



One reason many orthodox Jews are not content with the State of Israel as it is (and this does not necessarily constitute non-recognition any more than having a beef with the U.S. government over one or more of its policies means not recognizing the sovereignty of the United States), is because it is not a Torah-based state. Israel is a state created by Jews, for Jews. But its status as a Jewish state is tenuous at best.



In traditional Jewish belief, the return of Jewish sovereignty to the historic land of Israel is part and parcel of humanity's redemption, and the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. But Jewish sovereignty is supposed to be under the ultimate kingship of G-d. Which means that it should be run according to G-d's law, the Torah. Also, there are different opinions as to when the Jewish state is supposed to come into existence. Some hold that the arrival of the Messiah is a prerequisite for this, and as such, we Jews are wrongfully trying to force G-d's hand, as it were, by creating the state before the Messiah shows up.



Even the suicidally anti-Zionist orthodox Jews (I say suicidally because these are people who embrace people who would want them dead for the crime of being Jewish except that THEY serve the anti-Semite's propaganda purposes -- there are reports that show Neturei Karta to have been on the payroll of the PLO, at least in Arafat's time), even they support the existence of a Jewish state. They simply want it to be a Torah-based state, after the Messiah's arrival. Anything else, in their view, is an affront to the Creator.



For most of the rest of us (orthodox Jews), the Jewish state has its flaws, some kinks to be ironed out, but its existence, despite these flaws, is nothing short of miraculous. We see it as a step in the right direction, and, for the religious Zionists (orthodox Jews for whom Zionism constitutes a core part of their ideology - religious Zionism is like classical secular Zionism only with its roots in Torah, and without all the socialist nonsense), the re-creation of a Jewish state indeed represents the "first flowering of our redemption".



I hope you find this information helpful.
Melanie Mue
2007-10-27 19:30:06 UTC
The best definition of Orthodoxy that I can offer is that, while Reform and Conservative Jews try to adapt the Law to fit the times, Orthodoxy tries to change the times to fit the Law. In other words, Orthodox Jews don't believe that Judaism ever becomes outdated or needs to be changed.



Within Orthodoxy, there are a number of groups. One such group is the Hassids/Chassidim. (To learn about Chasidus from the Chassidim, go to http://www.chabad.org ) In general, they are very religiously conservative, have a distinct dress code, and are devoted to one holy rabbi (rebbe).



There are about a fijillion different Chassidic groups, each with its own rebbe. Some are quite Zionist; the Lubavitcher Rebbe, for instance, was a fervent supporter of Israel. Others, such as the Satmar Chassidim, are less than enthusiastic.



As far as I understand, there are two main objections:



-Most Zionists/Israelis/Knesset members are not religious. Quite the opposite, in fact.

- According to some opinions, the Jews are not supposed to forcibly come out of exile and form a government in Israel until the Messiah comes.



Interestingly, a lot of the anti-Zionists Chassidim live in Israel itself. They have no problem with the land, just the goverment.



I have to end off my answer with a word of warning: there is reasonable debate about Israel, and then there are nutcases. There is a group that has been in the news a lot, called Neturei Karta, and they are absolutely, 100% meshuga. Whereas, say, Satmar Chassidim will politely agree to disagree, the Neturei Karta associate with terrorists and spead anti-Zionist conspiracy theories. Even the anti-Zionist Chassidim want nothing to do with them.
וואלה
2007-10-25 22:38:23 UTC
Actually, it so happens that I BELIEVE (not 100% sure) that Israel is the home to the majority of Hasidic Jews in the world; how awesome is that!



Orthadox Jews are Jews who keep the Jewish laws and commandments (etc.) more strictly then anyone else, such as the laws of Kosher and Shabbat/Sabbath, while Hasidic Jews are (again, I BELIEVE) more "extremists". They are a lot more extreme in the all of the laws and follow closely by the teachings of their generation's most recent great Rebbe/Rabbi. Again, I'm not 100% sure if that's really that accurate of an explanation for Hasidic Jews, so compare it to other answers first.
2007-10-24 16:43:14 UTC
Hasidic is not the same as Orthodox, and most Hasidic Jews do recognise Israel. It is only a very small minority who don't. They think that Jews should not return from exile until the Messiah arrives.
2007-10-24 17:06:13 UTC
Only one small Haredi--non-Hasidic group does not recognize Israel. 99.99% of Jews (Orthodox, Hasidic, etc) do recognize Israel.

They think we (Jews) are forbidden from having our homeland back until the arrival of the (Jewish) Messiah.

For more info about this group:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neturei_karta
2007-10-24 16:43:10 UTC
Because Zionism is a political movement, not religious.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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