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Honorable
friends, peers and colleagues. We are gathered here to discuss and
consider from many angles a tremendously prominent issue from among the
tragic events of the 2nd World War. The issue which has become known as
the ‘Holocaust’. As is known this issue revolves around the policy and
actions adopted by Nazi Germany against the Jewish People. This is of
course in the context of their much wider murderous activities at that
time. My aim is to try and give you the Orthodox Jewish approach to this
matter.
Firstly let me express my gratitude to the illustrious organizers of
this valuable event for granting my colleagues and myself the
opportunity to express our views on this matter and we consider this
opportunity a very great privilege.
I
and my colleagues are what is known as Orthodox Jews, that is Jews who
endeavour to live their lives entirely according to the age old Jewish
religion and way of life known as Judaism. We are here under the banner
of the group known as Neturei Karta which is not a separate movement or
organization but propagators of the philosophy expressing the opposition
by Orthodox Jewry to the idea known as Zionism – the secular
nationalistic movement to form a sectarian State in Palestine. As is
well known, Zionism and the Holocaust have become very much intertwined
over the years and the Zionists make a great issue of the Holocaust in
order to further their illegitimate philosophy and aims. I wish to talk
briefly about both of these topics and their connection.
We
put effort into attending occasions such as this because we feel that we
have both a religious and religion based humanitarian duty to spread our
message as much as possible. Consequently I pray that our discussions
and conclusions at this conference will be correct and true in every
aspect.
I
would like firstly to recap briefly for everyone present, because of its
relevance to the subject of the Holocaust, the fact that Judaism and
Zionism are totally different and diametrically opposed concepts.
Judaism is an age old G-dly way of life going back thousands of years
full of moral, ethical and religious content. Zionism is a comparatively
new – little over one hundred years – secular nationalistic concept
completely devoid of ethics and morals. Although, it must be said that
sadly there are religious groups among the Jewish People who have been
affected and infected by the Zionist nationalistic philosophy and have
‘bolted’ Zionism onto Judaism, incorrectly and falsely against the
teachings of Judaism as handed down through the generations.
Judaism teaches that although the Jewish People were promised the Holy
Land, now known as Palestine, this was only subject to certain
conditions, basically that we had to maintain the highest of moral,
ethical and religious standards. Our religious teachings and literature
– our Torah – are replete with warnings that if these conditions were
not fulfilled then the Jewish People would be dispersed in a divinely
decreed exile.
This is what took place. The conditions were not fulfilled to the
required degree and the Jewish People were dispersed to the four corners
of the globe, as history confirms. Right up to the present day the
Jewish People are in a divinely decreed exile in which we are required
to be loyal citizens of the countries in which we find ourselves and we
are prohibited under oath from trying to force our way out of the exile
by the efforts of our own hands. We are also prohibited under oath from
trying to form a State of our own in Palestine. To contravene these
prohibitions would constitute a rebellion against the wishes of the
Almighty and we are warned of dire consequences of making any such
attempt.
The
philosophy of the secular movement of Zionism totally ignores and
transgresses the clear Jewish teachings outlined and because of this,
Zionism was condemned right from its inception by the great Jewish
Religious authorities.
Furthermore, Zionism right from its inception completely ignored the
fact that there was an indigenous population in Palestine comprising
mostly Palestinians, and the Zionists have followed a policy of
depriving the Palestinians of their hope for self determination on the
land they had occupied for centuries. Depriving the Palestinians of
their homes, livelihoods and lives. So committing a shocking
contravention of religion based humanitarian justice.
Judaism however, preaches compassion and consideration for the property
and certainly the lives of every fellow man.
It
will of course be clear from the above firstly that the Zionists do not
represent the Jewish People as a whole, and furthermore that
anti-Zionism is to be applauded and not to be confused with the ancient
bigotry of anti-Semitism. Something which we know is very well
appreciated here in the Islamic Republic of Iran where the Jewish
community lives peacefully with full civil rights and has done so for
thousands of years. .
Now
one of the pillars of justification for Zionism is the event of the
Holocaust, with the Zionists claiming that the Jews must have a State of
their own in order to prevent (as they claim) the events of the
Holocaust ever being repeated. ‘Never again’ is their slogan. So I would
like to set out the Orthodox Jewish view on the Holocaust.
Firstly, the facts. There is no doubt what so ever, that during World
War 2 there developed a terrible and catastrophic policy and action of
genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany against the Jewish People,
confirmed by innumerable eye witness survivors and fully documented
again and again. I personally was spared the worst effects of the War
because I was living in England which thankfully was not occupied by
Nazi Germany. However, I and many many others lost countless friends and
relatives who perished under the Nazi rule by intentional murder and
genocide. Three million Jews in Poland, more than half a million in
Hungary, many tens or hundreds of thousands in Russia, Slovakia, France,
Belgium, Holland and more. The figure of six million is regularly
quoted. One may wish to dispute this actual figure, but the crime was
just as dreadful whether the millions (and there were millions) of
victims numbered six million, five million or four million. The method
of murder is also irrelevant, whether it was by gas chamber (and there
were eye witnesses to this), firing squads or whatever. The evil was the
same. It would be a terrible affront to the memory of those who perished
to belittle the guilt of the crime in any way.
However, the Orthodox Jewish teaching and attitude is that the
perpetrators of a crime, although fully guilty and responsible for their
actions, would never have succeeded in their evil unless the Almighty
wished it. So, to that extent the victim or victims have of course to
attempt to avoid the evil, but if this proves impossible, then they have
to accept the will of the Almighty. Our teaching is that part of the
decree of exile divinely imposed upon us, is that it is not the task of
the Jewish People to bring our persecutors to justice. That is the task
of the Almighty. Our task is to accept the will of the Almighty and to
strive to improve ourselves, removing from our behavior the deeds that
may have been the cause of our suffering. That has been the Jewish
attitude during all the long history of Jewish suffering.
In
no way can we have the audacity to, as it were, try to prevent the will
of the Almighty and assume that we are capable of preventing such a
thing from happening again. That would be heresy.
The
Zionists, with their secular pompous approach behave in complete
opposition to this philosophy and dare to say ‘Never Again’. They have
the audacity to think that they can prevent the Almighty from repeating
a ‘Holocaust’. This is heresy.
Furthermore, as we all know, they compound the wrong of this policy by
imposing themselves in a most cruel and harsh manner on the Palestinian
People.
I
must add that the use by the Zionists of the Holocaust to further their
aim of a sectarian State is the height of hypocrisy when one bears in
mind that the Zionists turned each stage of Nazi oppression to their own
advantage, to further the aim of forming a State. In the thirties when
the Nazi policy was to expel the Jews from Germany, it is well
documented how the Zionists cooperated by working together – yes
together - with the Nazi authorities to evacuate ‘suitable’ Jews i.e.
young healthy pioneer material, from Germany to Palestine. Then during
the war when the killing was proceeding, it is again well documented how
their attitude was one of callousness, not helping when they could even
though they were able to. They needed the suffering and the deaths in
order to be able to push for their State when the war would end.
Finally, after the war they turned the whole issue of the Holocaust and
the pity and sympathy it evoked into almost an article of faith in order
to ensure as much as possible the acquisition of their State. Claiming
that Zionism was there in order to prevent another Holocaust, when in
fact Zionism predated the Holocaust by decades. They then proceeded to
justify their atrocities against the Palestinians in order to further
their cause.
To
sum up, the Orthodox Jewish view is that yes there was a Holocaust to a
terribly significant degree whatever that was. But in no way can it be
used to justify the illegitimate and criminal cause and actions of
Zionism.
My
friends I wish to end with the prayer that the underlying cause of
strife and bloodshed in the Middle East, namely, the State known as
‘Israel’, be totally and peacefully dissolved. To be replaced by a
regime fully in accordance with the aspirations of the Palestinians.
When Arab and Jew will be able to live peacefully together as they did
for centuries.
May
we then merit the time when the glory of the Almighty will be revealed
to all and all mankind will be at peace with each other.
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