Haredim and Zionism

When the dangers facing European Jewry became clear, the Haredi Agudath Israel organization decided to co-operate with Zionist leaders to an extent, in order to allow religious Jews the possibility of seeking refuge in Palestine.

[6] In the hope of winning over the Hasidic masses to the Zionist Organization, Theodor Herzl endeavoured to garner support from one of the most prominent rabbis in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, David Moshe Friedman (d. 1903), the Rebbe of Chortkov.

Although Ahavath Zion was successful in attracting thousands of members and numerous rabbis from smaller communities, it could not stem the rising anti-Zionist sentiment among the majority of Orthodox leaders.

[10] In 1889, Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveichik proclaimed that early Zionist initiatives resembled the 17th-century false messianic sect which was headed by Sabbatai Zevi.

[14] In 1912, Haredi leaders in Europe founded the Agudath Israel organisation which hoped to find a "solution to all the problems facing the Jewish people in the Spirit of the Torah."

[21][22] At the 1937 Agudath Israel Great Assembly in Marienbad, most discussions were devoted to the question of the Jewish State and the Nazi rise to power in Germany, and increasing anti-Semitism in Poland and Lithuania.

While the majority of attendees rejected the establishment of a secular Jewish State on principle as well as on practical grounds, a minority, which was influenced by the dire situation, was in favour of it.

[23] As Zionist settlement was underway during the 19th and 20th centuries, they were alarmed by the influx of predominantly non-religious Jews who wished to establish a secular state in the Holy Land[24] and threatened the peaceful relations the Orthodox community had enjoyed with their Arab neighbors until this point.

[21]The Agudah in Europe grudgingly began to cooperate with the Jewish Agency and other Zionist bodies in an effort to alleviate the situation facing European Jews.

[33] One rabbi, Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal, hiding in Budapest in 1942 and witnessing the persecution of the Jews, renounced his previous hostility to the Zionist movement, and instead strongly criticized the Orthodox establishment for not taking the lead in re-establishing the Jewish homeland.

[citation needed] Lithuanian religious Jews oppose the state not because of the three oaths midrash but because they feel that Zionism epitomizes secularity and Jewish desire to be void of Torah.

Many Lithuanian religious Jews, such as Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, have been involved with Zionist politics[clarification needed] as Israel progressively becomes more Jewish-oriented.

[51] Generally speaking, most Sephardi Haredi authorities have never shared the anti-Zionism of their Ashkenazi counterparts, and some (such as the late Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu) are strongly affiliated with Religious Zionism, taking a similar stance to the Hardal movements.

The group's position was crystallized by their charismatic leader, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, who authored comprehensive and polemic tracts detailing his opposition to Zionism.

He encouraged his followers who live in the "Holy Land" to form self-sufficient communities, rejecting social state benefits, and not to vote in general elections.

[58] A number of Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) leaders, like the Chazon Ish (1878–1953), Rav Shach (1898–2001), and Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv (1910-2012), have expressed strongly anti-Zionist views.

Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus, quoted in the book of his speeches about Purim, explains that in each generation, the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) appears in different forms.

"[62] Anti-Zionism does not translate to personal antagonism, and Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the Mirrer rosh yeshiva, openly displayed thanks to soldiers of the Israeli army.

Agudat's position evolved into one generally co-operative with the State of Israel, with an emphasis on supporting religious activities within its borders and the maintenance of Haredi institutions.

[63] The fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (1860–1920), also known as the RaShaB, published Kuntres Uma'ayan, the beginning of which contains a strong polemic against secular Zionism.

These include the Edah HaCharedit HaSefaradit and Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, who draw their ideology from the writings of Iraqi sage Ben Ish Chai.

"[76] The party's former spiritual leader, the late Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef, forbade the flying of the Israeli flag in synagogues, calling it "a reminder of the acts of the evil-doers".

[78] Chardal Jews usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Charedi ideology (whether in terms of outlook on the secular world, or is their stringent (machmir) approach to Halacha); however, it is sometimes used to refer to the portion of the Charedi Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Religious Zionist (Dati-Leumi) ideology.

The main Haredi newspapers, Hamodia, HaMachane HaHaredi, and Yated Ne'eman, occasionally publish articles strongly criticizing Zionism, naming it a "heretical movement".

The physical product of that introspection is the book, Eim HaBanim Semeicha, in which he specifically retracts his previous viewpoints, and argues that the true redemption can only come if the Jewish people unite and rebuild the land of Israel.

Published in 1967 also by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, this small book consists of inspirational polemics against Zionism as a rebuttal to those who said that the Six-Day War was a divine miracle that showed God's support for the State of Israel.

[91] However, for those who insist that the Israeli victory was a supernatural event, it should be viewed as a test from God to see whether the Jewish people would follow the Torah or be led astray by miracles which seemed to support Zionism in the eyes of the masses.

Being so, their goal is not their own benefit, rather to spite God and disgrace His honor.”[92] In the book Rabbi Wasserman details various facets of nationalism/Zionism that run counter to the fundamentals of Jewish Hashkafah (religious philosophy).

He was the son-in-law of the venerated rabbinic leader Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz and an active member of the Agudas Yisroel organization in Europe and America.

[95] I Will Await Him, published in 2018 by Yirmiyahu Cohen, argues that the establishment of the State of Israel violates Halakhah, claims it is illegitimate, and calls on religious Jews to disassociate from it.