Chief Haredi Rabbi: Zionism brought disasters upon Jews

Occupied Jerusalem – Agencies: The recording of a closed session by Rabbi Dov Landau, one of the most prominent rabbis of Israel’s Litvish Haredi stream, sparked a political storm after he launched a sharp attack on Zionism and Religious Zionism, arguing that the establishment of the state did not save Jews but instead brought “material and spiritual disasters” upon them. In the clip that circulated recently, Landau said that the Zionists sought to save the Jewish people, but they “brought disasters upon the people of Israel,” adding that Jews could have lived under United Nations administration or even under Arab rule, considering the situation would have been “excellent,” and that it was Zionism that made Arabs hate them. He also attacked soldiers of Religious Zionism, stating that those wearing “knitted kippot” go to war not only for salvation, adding that they are killed because of what he described as a “distorted Torah” taught to them by their rabbis. Speaking about the state and the army, he said that Haredim live among “thieves,” before describing the established state as a “state of apostasy.” The remarks triggered sharp political reactions. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Landau’s comments “a disgrace and a scandal,” saying they were “antisemitic, anti-Zionist, and hostile to the Israel Defense Forces,” while criticizing the support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and Itamar Ben-Gvir for Landau. Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot also condemned Landau’s remarks, describing them as “the embodiment of anti-Zionism.” Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, Yair Golan, and Knesset members also condemned the rabbi’s statements, calling them “a disgrace to every Jew.”