The Neturei Karta: Haredi Jews who reject the State of Israel

Unpacking Israeli History

Unpacked

Judaism, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Who are the Neturei Karta? A recent Humans of New York article brought the fringe sect of ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist Jews into the spotlight. Now Noam Weissman explains the history of this tiny movement, which rejects the State of Israel and ally with its worst enemies. Noam explores why he and so many Jews are enraged by the Neturei Karta, who engage in anti-Jewish hatemongering. The Neturei Karta continue to grab outsized attention. But their story is one that touches on questions of Jewish unity, identity, and betrayal. Here are the sources used in this episode. Please get in touch at noam@unpacked.media. Check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand. ------------------- For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jewish History Nerds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soulful Jewish Living⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stars of David with Elon Gold ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wondering Jews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Norm Weissman, and you're listening to Unpacking Israeli History, the podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most intense, historically fascinating and often misunderstood events and stories linked to Israeli history.
0:12.2	This episode is sponsored in honor of Dr. Andrew and Marcy Spitzer.
0:17.5	You know I love hearing from you because you hear it every week, so shoot me a note at Noam at Unpacked. Media. And check us out on all the social media platforms. Unpacking Israeli
0:26.7	history, just search for it on Instagram, on TikTok, YouTube, you get it. Okay, yala. Let's do
0:32.7	this. We are the people of Israel.
0:43.3	We, the people of Israel, are prepared and anxious to meet the representatives of our neighbors without any preconditions.
0:53.3	Our people in Israel and elsewhere say it's impossible. of our neighbors without any preconditions.
1:00.6	There are people in Israel and elsewhere say it's impossible to make peace between the Arabs and Israel or the Jewish people. I think they're home.
1:06.4	Manhattan has always been a pretty, pretty, pretty good city for spotting Jews.
1:11.9	The Hasidim of the Diamond District, the modern Orthodox singles of the Upper West Side,
1:16.8	living out at Kosher or not that kosher, version of sex and the city, or maybe Fiddler on the roof.
1:22.8	And then, of course, there are the Jews you wouldn't necessarily know are Jewish, the ones who fly under the
1:27.6	radar until you spot their star of David necklace, or it somehow emerges that their great
1:32.9	grandfather was a kosher butcher on the Lower East Side. What I'm saying is this. On any given day,
1:38.7	there are lots of Jews in New York. But there's one day each year when we really, meaning we, the Jewish people,
1:45.1	we really show up in droves, packing Fifth Avenue with over 100,000 strong. Everyone. And I mean,
1:51.0	everyone is there, like tatted up Israeli expats, modern orthodox, reform, conservative school kids,
1:58.1	local politicians, Upper East Side Moms and Athleisure Wear, by the way,
2:02.6	also my favorite outfit to wear.
2:04.3	So shout out to Upper East Side Moms.
2:06.8	Sometimes I just want to be one of you.
2:08.8	Okay, that was hard to say aloud.
	...

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