Guess Who’s Part of Palestinian Delegation--a Jerusalem Rabbi
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MADRID — He’s an ultra-Orthodox Jew, a rabbi--and a Palestinian adviser.
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Freimann, who considers himself a Jewish Palestinian, came from Jerusalem to take part in the Middle East peace talks as a member of the advisory council to the Palestinian delegation.
Wearing a wide-brim black hat, a long black coat and the traditional curled sideburns, Freimann is a member of Neturei Karta, a small sect that believes a Jewish state can only be established after the Messiah returns. They believe the secular State of Israel defiles the Holy Land.
“The U.N. in 1948 forced on us Jewish Palestinians a sacrilegious sovereignty,” said a statement Freimann handed to reporters.
Members of Neturei Karta do not recognize the State of Israel and have defied Israeli law by meeting with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Freimann said his organization seeks creation of an independent Palestinian state.
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