Neturei Karta: Opposing Zionism

Al Jazeera World

Inside Neturei Karta, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish group that rejects Zionism and the modern state of Israel while supporting the Palestinians fighting occupation.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, Neturei Karta, rejects Zionism and refuses to recognise the State of Israel while marching under the Palestinian flag. This documentary traces its story from early 20th-century Jewish opposition to Zionism to today’s street protests in Jerusalem and New York. Told through Neturei Karta’s own voices and critical historians, the film revisits the Balfour Declaration, the assassination of Jacob Israel de Haan, the Holocaust-era split that gave birth to the movement, and the group’s marginal but defiant stance after Israel’s creation in 1948. Facing police crackdowns, death threats and isolation from mainstream Jewry, Neturei Karta has deepened its ties with Palestinians – from the streets of Mea She’arim in West Jerusalem to Yasser Arafat’s inner circle and solidarity with Gaza under blockade. Its story challenges assumptions about Judaism, Zionism and resistance in a region locked in conflict.