The Yom Haatzmaut Debate and the American Yeshiva World's Declaration of Independence

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The article examines the opposition to Yom Haatzmaut, Israel, Independence Day, among an influential sector of America's Orthodox Jews. The so-called Yeshiva World, or Orthodox Right, flouted observance of Yom Haatzmaut rituals, and issued strong critiques of the Religious Zionists in the Diaspora who did celebrate it. However, the opposition was not articulated as a reproach to Religious Zionism. On the contrary, the Orthodox Right's disapproval was primarily framed as a condemnation of Jewish nationalism and the denial of rabbinical sovereignty to the religious leaders of the Diaspora. Utilizing understudied responsa and rabbinical sources, this research complicates our understanding of tensions between religious leaders in Israel and the Diaspora and the factors that contributed to anti-Zionism within certain American Jewish religious quarters.