Rabbi Ahron Cohen addresses the New Right on Judaism v Zionism

The 39^th meeting of the New Right in Central London was something of a bitter sweet affair because it was a memorial for Jonathan Bowden, whose premature death at the age of just 49 has left a void which in one sense can never be filled.

The meeting was organised as ever by theology graduate Troy Southgate, and featured three speakers including Rabbi Ahron Cohen of Neturei Karta who spoke on an issue that has come increasingly to the fore in recent years, Judaism v Zionism.

It fell to me to introduce the Rabbi, before he spoke I asked him how old he was; he said there are two questions he never answers: how old is he and how many children does he have. He is certainly older than the Queen though, who was about that time sailing up the Thames as the high point of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

New Right, Jonathan Bowden Memorial, June 3, 2012:
Alexander Baron with guest speaker Rabbi Ahron Cohen
of Neturei Karta.

Rabbi Cohen spoke of what he called the Zionist heresy, a phrase that was once in fairly common use by both Torah-true and secular Jews. From its inception by Theodor Herzl, Zionism was a nationalist movement that had no religious affiliations at all, although later it would attract a religious following, including of Christian fundamentalists.

These facts are indisputable, but when he said all the troubles in the Middle East have been caused by Zionism, in view of the Arab Spring and the ongoing massacres by the Syrian Government, that statement appears something of an exaggeration. It is true nevertheless that what he called the inexplicable and at times unconditional support of the West - Britain and America in particular - for the Zionist entity has done a great deal more harm than good.

Along with Troy Southgate and probably everyone else in that room, Rabbi Cohen and his organisation have been subjected to calumny and vilification; here is the ADL's take on Neturei Karta.

According to Planet Foxman, Neturei Karta is minuscule, and of course they have met with the man who called for the destruction of Israel. No Abe, President Ahmadinejad called for no such thing, and however many times you parrot that lie, Obama ain't gonna bomb Iran.

The Neturei Karta position is one that is derived from the Torah itself; namely that Jews were scattered among the nations by the Almighty, and that they will not return from the Diaspora until the end of the world. As a corollary of this, they should be loyal citizens of the countries in which they live, which is where they come into conflict most of all with the ADL.

While the Zionists use anti-Semitism as a big club to batter the goyim over their heads, for the devout Torah-true Jews it is a sign that they are doing something wrong. The Rabbi differentiated what he said was the ancient bigotry of anti-Semitism with the response particularly in the Moslem world to Zionist atrocities, and said the actions of the Zionists endanger Jews everywhere.

This is of course a classic reaction of unsophisticated minds, and indeed of some highly intelligent ones. Most of the Islamist terrorism directed against the US, Britain and other Western countries is a direct result of the foreign policies pursued by our governments, often in the face of overwhelming public condemnation. To the fanatics, we are simply heathens who deserve to die; to understand this is not to condone it, ditto the reaction of some extremists to Jews rather than simply Zionists.

The Rabbi said he was in favour of a one-state solution, even an Islamic state, but that the Zionist state must come to an end, pointing to the end of Apartheid in South Africa and the fizzling out of the Soviet Union, both of which entailed little actual bloodshed, although problems remain for both.

After his speech, the Rabbi took some questions, including from someone who alluded to Jewish financial hegemony over the world, in particular by the Rothschilds. Obviously he didn't realise the Rabbi had come down from Manchester by train rather than private jet; in any case, this was the New Right, not spot the Rothschild Zionist with David Icke, and as Alessio Rastani said, it is Goldman Sachs that rules the world.

New Right, Jonathan Bowden Memorial, June 3, 2012: your intrepid correspondent
poses with Troy Southgate and Rabbi Ahron Cohen of Neturei Karta.

The Jonathan Bowden Memorial meeting attracted attendees from afar; here,
Manuel from Spain poses for the camera with Troy Southgate.

[The above article was first published June 5, 2012.]