http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=91788@wcbs.dayport.com lol @ "some of the rabbies who had family members lost in the holocaust agreed with AN that the holocaust didn't happen and is just a propaganda by the zionist regime!"
I once met a guy who thought his dogs were sneaking mind control devices into tapioca pudding and therefore it must be destroyed. Maybe Ahmadinejad would like to meet him too.
The Neterui Karta are not mainstram orthodox Jews. I respect their right to their views, especially when you consider that initially all Orthodox Jews were opposed to the state of Israel. Even groups like Agudat Israel serve in the Knesset, but generally don't recognize the secular charachter of the Israeli state. Let us not forget that the Zionist project at its core was post-religious. It wasn't until Jabotinsky and the Revisionist Zionists came into the fray that religious nationalism entered the Israeli political landscape. The NK don't regard any othe Orthodox groups (except for ones that are equally fervent to them, such as Satmar) to be Jewish, let alone not recognizing Reform or Conservative Jews. They have used their extreme religious position (these guys are ultra conservative) and have joined forces with political groupings that are anti-semitic. Their torah argument has some weight (even if only they espouse it). But their politics are what are distasteful and I think they get used by parties that as a whole have no respect for Jews, but just pretend to like NK to say "hey, even true Jews dislike Israel." It's a political sop, despite the sincerity of NK's hardline convictions.
Ahmadinejad's meeting with American Orthodox Jews Would the Zionist founders of Israel have been better served to establish a secular, rather than a Jewish state? Would Orthodox Jews have continued to live in Israel, or migrate there, even if it were not a country with an official religion? A separation of synagogue & state may have blocked Orthodox political parties from playing a major role in government. They could have maintained their political positions outside of the political mainstream.
Re: Ahmadinejad's meeting with American Orthodox Jews Israel is a SECULAR state. It is not ruled according to the torah. Arguably the only non-secular policies are the the lack of civil marriage (but Muslim and Christian minorities use their own religious institutions for marriage), a lack of recognition for Reformed and Conservative converts for immigration purposes, and the lack of bus service in all cities but Haifa during the sabbath (but this is not a national law). The majority of Israelis are not extremely religious. Many Orthodox Jews don't recognize Israel's government even though they live there. Which basically means that they don't vote. The two ultra-orthodox parties are very small. The Zionist founders were very secular, read Theodore Herzl's book Altneuland, it is a prophetic novel in which the antagaonist to Israel is a religious rabbi.
Re: Ahmadinejad's meeting with American Orthodox Jews If it is a secular state (and i am not arguing here that it isn't) then why do so many suppporters of Israel think that denying it has a right to exist is anti-semitic? Thanks for the book recommendation tho'. I'm not a big fan of fiction, but I'll try to find it and see what its message is.
Re: Ahmadinejad's meeting with American Orthodox Jews I believe the issue of non-Orthodox conversion was settled last year: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Return