I’m not a Jew, Orthodox or otherwise, but I always believed that Orthodox Jews were required by their religion to support the modern State of Israel, because they believe the land was given to them by God and they alone have the right to live there - anyone else living there is only there on sufferance.
But somebody recently told me that there were Jewish sects that opposed Israel’s existence because the Temple of Solomon hadn’t been rebuilt yet and that was some kind of religious precondition for re-establishing a Jewish state.
So, my question is: Are there really Jews, Orthodox or otherwise, that are opposed to the modern state of Israel on religious grounds? If so, does their opposition go so far as to support the likes of Hizbollah? Or are they just indifferent to the modern State of Israel’s fate, since it isn’t the *real *Jewish state?
Is there anything in Judaism that ever required Jews to work towards the re-establishment of a Jewish state, or to support it once it was established?
I’m posting this in GQ since I want factual answers. Anyone who wishes to post a polemic about modern Middle Eastern affairs is welcome to do so… SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Yes, there are Orthodox Jews who don’t support Israel. Modern Israel was created by secular Jewish socialists, who set up a (mostly) secular, democratic state. There are some Orthodox Jews who believe that the only legitimate state of Israel will be established after the Messiah comes, at which point, it will be a theocratic monarchy, and they’re opposed to the existance of the current Jewish state.
There are of course, other Orthodox Jews who support the state of Israel.
But it certainly isn’t the case that any Jews are religiously obligated to support the state of Israel, or work to re-establish or preserve the state of Israel.
No, it isn’t. Even in synagogues where the leadership does support Israel, they don’t go around questioning individual members and asking if they support Israel (at least the ones I’ve been in don’t). You’re encouraged to financially support Israel by buying bonds, buying Israeli products, or visiting there, but none of that is required to be a good Jew or synagogue member (though if you’re paying synagogue dues, some of that money is going to Israel in some way).
An Orthodox Jew is not required to support the modern state of Israel or its government.
That said, an Orthodox Jew is certainly required to not do anything that will endanger the lives of other Jews, and to lend moral or political support to Hamas or Hezbollah or their ilk would be wrong from that standpoint.