Warning of “annihilation” of religion in a Jewish state, the extreme orthodox and non-Zionist Agudath Israel came out today against the partition of Palestine, reputedly under consideration by the British Royal Commission.
The organization’s official organ, Israel, declared:
“The Torah (Law) and the Jewish religion will be annihilated in Palestine if left to the will of the Jewish agnostics. Unfortunately, the last refuge of orthodox religion is the Palestine Government, which is the only safeguard to prevent Jewish irreligious bodies from maintaining ascendance over
orthodox Jewry. But in a Jewish state, where agnostics would be the rulers, orthodox Jewry faces the danger of annihilation.”
Orthodox Jewry regards the “agnostic” leaders of the Palestine Jews as its real enemies, the paper asserted.
The organization also opposed the proposed partition, which would create separate Jewish and Arab states, on the ground that Jerusalem would be excluded from the Jewish state.
“From the point of view of orthodox Jewry, no partition is permissable, particularly since it is intended to exclude Jerusalem from the Jewish state,” the paper said. “Without Jerusalem, a Jewish state would be like a body without a head, without a soul.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
