A small group of radical anti-Israel rabbis, made famous for their alliance with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been attacked by Arabs during a regional anti-Israel protest, the Times of Israel reports.
The fringe group, known as Neturei Karta (Keepers of the City), believes that the present-day State of Israel is apostasy, because according to Jewish traditional texts the Messiah is supposed to rebuild the Holy Land.
Though they are not the only group among the minority of religious Jews that rejects Zionism, Neturei Karta takes its opposition to such an extreme that it routinely cooperates with radical Islamic organizations.
International media are routinely dazzled by the traditional black garb and long beards of the rabbis, who are often positioned in the front of marches to maximize the impact of their message that Israel is illegitimate.
Their latest effort was part of a multi-national “Land Day” protest, staged across several Arab countries and with Iranian support. The Neturei Karta rabbis were present at the Jordanian branch of the anti-Israel protest.
Members of the demonstration, whipped into a frenzy, evidently targeted the rabbis on the basis of their appearance, and had to be rescued by other demonstrators, after enduring beatings and verbal abuse.
Among other Jews, the members of Neturei Karta are routinely ostracized and isolated, particularly in the wake of their participation in Ahmadinejad’s conference on Holocaust denial in Tehran in December 2006.
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