I saw a TV report about an extreme Jewish movement called 'Neturei Karta' (city guardians), and the word Natoor is mentioned with the same pronunciation in Hebrew. The similarity between the Arab and Hebrew pronunciations in the word 'natoor' leads me to remembering a short period in which I studied Hebrew and found a similarity in some vocabulary between it and Arabic. I still remember little Hebrew, as much of what I learned nearly 40 years ago has been lost with time. I am not here to speak about the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew, but I wanted to focus on that Jewish movement which I started my article speaking about it: 'Neturei Korta.'

This movement or organization is very strange. It is a thorny plant in Israel as it acts against Zionism, and does not recognize Israel. Rather, it opposes the establishment of the state of Israel because it sees Judaism as a religion, not a state, and that it is not right to establish a political entity based on religious Jewish justifications. This movement believes that the Jewish religion should be kept away from the political mud, and that is why it has more animosity towards Zionism and Israel than the Palestinians themselves and the entire Arabs and Muslims. Why? Because they see that Israel stabbed them in the back and harmed their religion.

Yet, the Israeli government considers them as traitors, and that is why it suppresses them worse than it does the Palestinians. Despite their continued clashes with the Israeli force, they do not let any occasion go without anti-Israel demonstrations; during which they carry the Palestinian flag and desecrate the Israeli flag. They are friends of Muslims and Christians and do not consider the Zionists as Jews, but they consider them intruders on Judaism. They look at themselves as Palestinian Jews and are demanding a Palestinian ruling of Israel. Some of them spoke about what they face in the form of Israeli oppression, but despite that, they are holding on their ideology and principles. - Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa

By Dr Saleh Al-Shayji