Why these ultra-Orthodox Jews support the Palestinian cause
The ultra-Orthodox Neturei Karta faction would rather live under Palestinian rule, while the mainstream ultra-Orthodox community believes that the Zionist state is essential for the Jewish people’s survival.
The recent wave of terrorist attacks in Israel over the right of Jews to go up to the Temple Mount has sharpened a bitter ideological argument that goes back decades. The debate pits the mainstream ultra-Orthodox society with a small fringe movement within that community, collectively identified as Neturei Karta (“Guardians of the City” in Aramaic). Neturei Karta is an ideological group within the ultra-Orthodox community, numbering just a few hundred families in Israel and elsewhere. It opposes Zionism and the very existence of the State of Israel. Adherents to this ideology believe that the establishment of a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah was illegitimate and continues to be the cause of wars and terrorist attacks.
As a whole, the ultra-Orthodox community opposes visiting the Temple Mount on religious grounds. It has a complicated attitude toward Zionism, too. Nevertheless, it finds the blatant pro-Palestinian activities of Neturei Karta repugnant.
