Foreign Relations: The Jewish Diaspora as Reflected in the Neturei Karta Weekly, Mishmeret Homatenu

Founded in the late 1930s, Neturei Karta emerged in 1948 as a small but well-known group, based in Jerusalem, which challenged the religious and political legitimacy of the State of Israel. In the early years of the State of Israel it emerged as an activist militant force opposed to its perception of the public desecration of the laws and customs of Orthodox Judaism in Jerusalem and elsewhere on the part of the Zionist State of Israel. The group published a weekly newsletter, Mishmeret Homatenu, in order to gain further public attention for its religious and political positions.

In order to fulfill its goals, Neturei Karta required both moral and monetary support from outside Israel. This paper will address the issue of Neturei Karta’s relationship with diaspora Jewry as reflected in the pages of Mishmeret Homatenu for the years 1956-1960.

Questions to be examined in this paper include:

1. What was the image of the Jewish diaspora in the eyes of the Neturei Karta leadership?
2. What sort of moral and financial support did Neturei Karta expect and receive from the diaspora and from which individuals and groups?
3. What were the personal relations between Neturei Karta activists and diaspora communities?