NEW YORK (VINnews) — In the wake of the Chareidi Eretz Hakodesh party’s running in the World Zionist election and the possibility that it will be participating in a broad coalition with secular parties, the Agudath Yisrael of America issued a strong statement stressing that a Chareidi party cannot accept the Zionist Movement’s Jerusalem program which declares Zionism to be “the national liberation movement of the Jewish people” and avers to “the centrality of the State of Israel . . . in the life of the nation.”
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The Agudath Yisrael statement added that “the Jewish people is a nation based on the belief in One Hashem and the Torah He gave us, and nothing else. By omitting this truth, the Jerusalem Program – and the Zionist ideology it embodies – attempt to redefine the essence of the Jewish people as a political entity similar to all other nations of the world. This redefinition goes against the essence of our emunah and mesorah.
“Among the foundational principles upon which the Torah giants of the past century established the Agudas Yisroel movement was the firm rejection of the Zionist redefinition of Jewish peoplehood. Throughout its history Agudas Yisroel has remained faithful to that essential principle, and it will continue to do so. We therefore reiterate: Any suggestion that the ideology of Zionism is compatible with Chareidi Jewry’s fundamental beliefs has no basis and must be rejected.”
The Agudah also criticized Eretz Hakodesh (which is affiliated with the Degel Hatorah faction of the party) for joining a coalition with secular parties in the Zionist organization, stating that “Chareidi Jewry has long abided by the halachic ruling of the most revered Torah leaders of a generation ago that it is forbidden to join Jewish organizations whose purpose is to bring Orthodox Jewry together with non-Orthodox under one organizational umbrella. What happened last week at the World Zionist Congress transgresses the spirit of that ruling, and represents a departure from accepted Chareidi norms.”
The Agudah added that “Whatever financial benefits may accrue to worthy institutions as a result of this coalition agreement, they do not justify the abandonment of principle.”
The statement follows a compromise reached last week in which the Orthodox and right-wing majority agreed to sit with left-wing, reform and conservative elements in the congress and the chairmanship of the Keren Kayemet’s education committee will be shared between the Eretz Hakodesh and Kachol Lavan parties.
some of them publicly support Biden and said so in the Mishpacha magazine
This evil farce “Eretz HaKodesh” is not “Chareidi”. It is “Religious Zionist” (heresy) that pretends to be “Chareidi”.
B”H, the Agudah has finally spoken out, though it would have been better had they done so before 20,000+ Jews were fooled by “Eretz HaKodesh” into literally becoming Zionists and accepting the WZO’s heretical “Jerusalem Program” and voting in the recent WZO elections.
The prohibition by all gedolim against joining the WZO actually goes all the way back, over a century, not just a generation ago.
Interestingly (as per NBC), the day that WZO voting opened here, was the day the first Corona case was discovered in this country. The day WZO voting closed, 20,000+ “Eretz HaKodesh” votes later, was the day that Corona was declared a pandemic. R”L.
Why didn’t one of their people sign this misstatement? Who wrote this ?
Putrid delaration . The Vesechezenu Amida prayer is paramount , not agooda poster
Agudah does’nt believe in centrality of Jerusalem ? This is in contradiction of Judaism , zionist or not. As always, they only speak for themselves.
Millions of orthodox love Jerusalem and live there. The Bet Hamikdash will be built there , not in New York.Great shame this statement.
Supermachers of press releases galore. Washed up nonelected smug bureaucrats
They just threw our Holy Land under the bus. This is a disturbing hutzpah against the Almighty and Jewish people
Did Rabbi Zeibel who endorsed Biden have any input here ?
Shove your “strong” bapple, This is a political attempt which has nothing to do with religion.
Shameful political harangue.
Stick to school vouchers and alternate street suspensions on yomim tovim. Don’t stick your noses into the anti Israel mob pool. Millions of Yidden who love Eretz are shocked by your unendorsed drivel..
This has to be some typo, cuz how can anybody seperate eretz hakdosha from the Torah ? What happened here?
For some reason the agudha is always late to the game, after tens of thousands already voted now you come out? Oh you got a problem cuz rav brudny the self-proclaimed daas torah and falsely advertises himself as rosh yshivas Mir, encouraged it, well you should have spoken up right away he is a nobody that had the chutzpa and went against all the gedolim from all generations.
Nobody cares what Agudah declares.
No difference from the Agudah to Satmar / neturi karta. Both stick their heads in the sand and don’t want to face reality. We are crying for 2,000 years we want to be liberated, – when it comes full rejection