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Several orthodox groups, most notably Neturei Karta and Satmar, are opposed to the State of Israel on religious grounds. According to them, since the messiah has not yet arrived, the Jewish people have yet to earn the spiritual merit to establish a country in Israel.

It's clear that this strict position is not universally shared in the orthodox world. Considering that to be the case, I was wondering what theological justification other groups may use in order to take a more lenient approach.

Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ultra-orthodox-anti-zionist/

robev
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user27343
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To explain the lenient theological explanation, it is first important to understand what the basis of the opposition towards the state of Israel is. In extremely short: The medrash on shir hashirim cites 3 oaths that were made, 2 by the jewish people and one by the nations of the world: Jewish people: 1. not to ascend to Eretz Yisrael as a wall before the coming of moshiach 2. not to rebel against the nations and force the end of the exile Nations: not to overly oppress the jewish people.

The fact that the creation of the state of Israel, using warfare, went against one or both of these oaths is the main ideological reason why people are opposed to it. As I said this is extremely simplified and summarised. I'm happy to expand if you want to know more.

I will try to list some of the ideological justifications of the other groups as I can remember them, I am sure there are more: (please note that for every one of these justifications, the opposition has plenty explanations). 1. The three oaths are aggadeta and not halacha, proof being that the rambam doesn't cite them in his codification of halacha. 2. there are prophecies which allude to a jewish state before the coming of moshiach 3. Due to Balfour declaration and UN decision, the establishment of the state does not constitute a rebellion against the nations etc. etc.

I will probably get down votes from both sides of the fence but I have tried to be bipartisan. If you are interested in this topic, there are many books on the subject which go through the issue in detail.

nosh
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  • Thank you. If you have any further reading to recommend, I'm open to it. – user27343 Jan 17 '20 at 18:04
  • I would personally recommend a book called ''achake lo'' - I will await Him by Yirmiyahu Cohen. It focuses on analysis of sources and gives you a very good understanding of the issues. – nosh Jan 18 '20 at 10:58
  • @user27343 https://thelehrhaus.com/culture/a-controversial-halakhic-case-against-the-state-of-israel/ – Double AA Jan 19 '20 at 23:20