The major aim of the trip was to distribute $5 million to approximately 150 Satmar institutions in Israel, which do not receive funding from the state due to their anti-Zionist ideology.
By JPOST EDITORIALGrand Rabbi of the Satmar hassidic dynasty Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum pictured bottom row, fifth from the right(photo credit: Courtesy)
Last week, amid great fanfare and a festive atmosphere, the grand rabbi of the Satmar Hassidic dynasty, Rebbe Zalman Teitelbaum, arrived in Israel.The major aim of the trip was to distribute $5 million to approximately 150 Satmar institutions in Israel, which do not receive funding from the state due to their anti-Zionist ideology.These institutions belong to hassidic sects that form the Eda Haredit, better known as Neturei Karta. These people are against Zionism and against the establishment of the State of Israel (which they consider a dangerous offence against other nations), and therefore, they do not accept any money from the government. In order to show them his support, the grand rabbi of Satmar came to bring money and encourage them.The visit caused an uproar. Teitelbaum is a staunch anti-Zionist and he boycotts the official government in Jerusalem. He, for example, did not visit the Western Wall during his week here. Instead, he went to Mount Scopus to look at the Temple Mount but he went nowhere near the Old City since it is a government-supported iconic site. Visiting it would be seen as recognizing the state and its institutions.While this is obviously absurd, people are entitled to hold the opinions that they want. Israel cannot force an opinion on anyone. Nevertheless, this visit and allowing the rabbi into Israel raised questions why Teitelbaum was permitted to enter the country and other Jews or Americans who call to boycott the country are not allowed in.MK Elazar Stern wrote on Facebook about the hypocrisy in allowing Teitelbaum into Israel but banning American Jews who openly support BDS or congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in August.“The truth is that the majority of Jews in America do not interest the prime minister of Israel,” Stern wrote. “He seems to have given up on them a long time ago and is working in different ways against them.”There is some truth to what Stern wrote. Israel is playing a two-faced game. When convenient it applies the controversial law it passed in 2017 to bar people who support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state. On the one hand, Omar, Tlaib and others are not allowed in. On the other, someone like Teitelbaum is.This situation underscores the problems with that legislation that should never have been passed. Israel has nothing to hide. There is no reason why Teitelbaum can come in and visit the country but other people, who call to boycott the Zionist movement, cannot.The best way to influence Israel’s critics is to let them into the country. Let them walk the streets of Jerusalem and see the diverse people who live here – the Arabs, the ultra-Orthodox and the secular. Let them go to the West Bank, visit the security barrier and the joint industrial zones where Palestinians work alongside Israelis. Let them tour Gush Etzion junction and the supermarket there where Palestinians from Hebron shop alongside residents of settlements like Efrat and Alon Shvut.This applies to Omar, Tlaib, to Jewish students who support BDS and to rabbis like Teitelbaum who are opposed to the Jewish state of Israel and believe that Jews should live in the Diaspora under foreign rule and without national independence.They all have the right to think what they want. We might believe they are wrong but that shouldn’t keep them from being allowed into the country. Israel is a democracy and an open society. Let them come and see it for themselves. What is the worst that could happen? That they continue to hold the same anti-Israel positions they already had?If the law remains in effect though, it should be applied across the board and not selectively. We have no problem having Teitelbaum visit Israel but then the next BDS supporter will also need to be allowed into the country. Selective barring is wrong.
Related Tagseditor notesZionist
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
