Israel Matzav

Huh? Satmar going Zionist

The Satmar Hassidic sect is infamous for its anti-Zionist creed, but according to a weekend exposé by Zvika Klein of Makor Rishon & NRG, a small group of the hassidim in New York City is secretly planning to make aliyah and establish a Zionist agricultural community.

The organization is named “Zoreah – Hassidim for Settling the Land of Israel” and includes mostly Satmar hassidim, as well as some hassidim from other dynasties. They were all raised to hate Zionism and the state of Israel, and some of them even attend anti-Israel protests to this day. But they all decided, after deep study, that making aliyah should be their main goal in life.

"There is great hatred for Zionism in the community I live in,” one of them told Klein. “Anything I say that can be understood as support for Zionism, will haunt me and my family. There is a real mafia out there that can threaten to throw my children out of the educational institutes, and since we do not have an alternative at the moment, I and the rest of my friends cannot expose our identities yet.”

Instead, the hassid said – they are opting for an approach to their dream that is gradual – “like everything having to do with the Redemption.”

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The plans to make aliyah are very real. Members of the group have already visited Israel in search of a suitable location for their agricultural community. Aaron visited Givat Ze'ev, became enamored with the scenic view and the proximity to Jerusalem, and told the other members – “this is the spot.”

The members' wives and children speak Yiddish and some English. However, Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Bet Shemesh and other haredi concentrations are “irrelevant for us,” Aaron said, because the haredim in Israel “are not in love with the Land they live on, like we are.” Finding the right place is not easy, he conceded: “finding a Yiddish-speaking congregation that is not anti-Zionist is very hard. If you are a nationalist, you do not speak Yiddish.”

The first group of Zoreah olim will take a few years before it makes aliyah, according to Aaron, but he does not intend to wait. He plans to make aliyah this summer, with his family.

Labels: aliya, Haredim, Satmar Hasidim

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:36 AM