Neturei Karta - Guardians of the City

by Mike James

At the height of the protests of Israel's actions in Gaza, I noticed an interesting sight on the streets of New York. There seemed to be what looked like Orthodox Jews holding signs against the nation of Israel in the midst of other protesters who were holding Palestinian flags. I decided to look into this, and here is what I discovered.

Yes, believe it or not, there is a very small group (possibly numbering in the low thousands) of Orthodox Jews known as Neturei Karta (Aramaic term meaning "Guardians of the City") who oppose the creation of the modern state of Israel. The basis for their opposition to the nation of Israel is their belief that the Jewish exile must continue until the Messiah comes to return the exiles to their land.

The Neturei Karta is a very small branch of Haredi Jews, which is a very strict branch of Orthodox Judaism. So yes, there are even divisions within Orthodox Judaism. The Neturei Karta was founded in Jerusalem in 1938, and they are considered an anti-Zionist organization. Zionism is a Jewish nationalist movement that originated in Europe in the 19th century with the goal of creating and supporting a Jewish national state in Palestine, which includes land originally promised to Israel in the Bible.

The Haredi movement opposed Zionism because of their secular orientation and concern that Zionism was a threat to the Haredi way of life. This tension between secular Jews and the extreme Orthodox is alive and well to this day.

The primary argument the Neturei Karta make against Israel is that the nation of Israel is in opposition to God because they opposed God's exile of the Jews by forcing a secular return to Israel rather than waiting on God to bring it about through the coming of the Messiah. The Neturei Karta also opposes the modern nation of Israel because they do not govern by God's law.

What is interesting about this small, very conservative group is that they have some ideas in concert with ideas the traditional Church of God movement has espoused over the years. Remember, these Jews know their Hebrew Scriptures, and they teach and preach what the Church of God has had to say about the return of the Messiah. The Neturei Karta, of course, are waiting for the first coming while we await the second coming of the Messiah.

But the important point to stress here is how this group interprets certain Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah's return as the key event to bring back Israel and Judah into their promised land.

Let's look at an example of this and determine if the nation of modern Israel is a fulfillment of these prophecies, as many evangelical Christians believe.

There are numerous scriptures we can turn to on this matter, but in a short blog I am only going to focus on one. Let's take a look at Deuteronomy 30:1-3.

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. (NIV)

A couple of points to comment on here. Moses is talking to the nation of Israel here, right before they are to enter the land of Canaan. This is about 40 years after the exodus from Egypt. And Moses is prophesying to the nation here in what seems to be a negative way about what will be happening to them in the future. There will be blessings and there will be curses. Israel will be driven into other nations. But only when they obey God completely with all their heart and soul will God allow them to return to their land and gather them from the nations. Notice those two important points: 1) They must fully repent, and 2) God will then bring them back. Since Israel and Judah were destroyed as nations, they have never fully repented and followed God heart and soul. That is why the Church of God's ideas on this scripture echo the Netureri Karta. But don't take my word for it. Even conservative commentaries provide a similar take. Note this from the Expositor's Bible Commentary:

Now in 30:1, there appears a mixture of hesitant and contingent prediction relative to Israel's return to the land in blessing after a period of dispersion and captivity throughout the world. In v. 1, Moses looked beyond the period when Israel had a time of blessing and after a subsequent time when Israel would be under the curse of the Lord while dispersed among the nations.

It is not clear whether the destruction by a nation whose language they would not understand (Deut. 28:36, 49) is the same experience as the scattering among the nations in Deut. 28:64; 29:22; and 30:1. Neither is it clear that there would be two basic dispersions as later Scriptures and history have shown – one after the destruction of the kingdom(s) culminating in 586 B.C. and another after A.D. 70, a dispersion that is still in effect even though an Israeli national state is in control of part of the Promised Land.

When the people who are dispersed among the nations return to the Lord in obedience to all the commands of the covenant with all their heart and soul (v. 2), then the Lord, having compassion on them, will restore their fortunes after regathering them from the nations (v. 3). (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 3 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992], p. 187).

Another prophecy in Jeremiah 30 makes it clear (Jeremiah 30:3) that both Israel and Judah will return to the Promised Land at the time of Christ's second coming. Finally, Ezekiel 37 informs us that Israel and Judah will be put back together in some way at this time. The context in these scriptures and many others appears to be at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ.

Should we expect a future calamity for the present-day nation of Israel? Are they the future Judah? What about the United States and the United Kingdom? Are they a type of Israel? We can't know for sure at this point in history, but one thing is sure—God's will is going to be done.

We can't know all the details about future prophecy, so it is important that we not get dogmatic about it. Let us keep our minds open to various possible scenarios that could help non-believers find validity in God's Word should our ideas or perspectives pan out.

Sources: "Neturei Karta," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neturei_Karta

"Haredi Judaism," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism

"'Humans of New York' posts Jewish anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta—comments erupt." By Ben Sales, The Jerusalem Post, May 31, 2025, https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-856131