the Eidah Condemns The Crazies

If anybody can be considered "crazy" from the religious community (as if we all can't be considered crazy to a certain extent), by agreement of just about everybody, Neturei Karta definitely qualifies as crazy. People don't even bother condemning their actions anymore, they have so jumped the shark.

However, in their latest stunt, they have joined the enemies of Israel and those who hate Jews and participated in a march on Israel. They joined the losing team again, and what was expected to be a million man march to the borders of Israel with the hope of inciting a violent Israeli response, fizzled out into a few towel-head rallies, in which one of them even saw some of these Neturei Karta guys get beaten up by their Arab friends. Ironically, their march to Israel was exactly what they say is not allowed to be done nowadays as part of the three oaths the Talmud says the Jews accepted.

Despite there being practically no need to condemn these folks anymore, as everyone sees just how crazy they are, the Eida decided to condemn them once again. The Eida has condemned them in the past, as their antics have increasingly brought embarrassment to the Jews, and has now done so again. The Eida feels a special tie to these people, as the Nk have sprung forth from the ranks of the Eida, is very much a product of Eida education, and have many similarities - both in appearance and in approach of being anti-Zionist (rather than the passive non-Zionist approach of most of haredi Jewry).

Their actions now made the Eida feel it necessary to condemn them once again. An Eida leader speaking to Kikar said "Our problem is that people identify them as being part of the Eida. The Badatz panel has condemned them with an official letter, how can anyone say they are the flesh of our flesh? True, we oppose the ways of the Zionists. But from there until going to meet with terrorists who kill children? Who allowed them to do that? This is not our way, not the way of the Torah. They go to these ridiculous meetings dressed as haredim and the media calls them members of the Eida."

In response, a senior leader in the NK said that the Eida only said that out of financial concerns. Implying, the Eida is worried that if they don't condemn the latest Neturei Karta stunt, people will stop donating to the Eida and, even more alarming, stop relying on the Eida hechsher.

Sometimes even the crazies need to be condemned, and it cannot be left to be understood as automatic.

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