... who actually claims to be the true descendant of King David? And he hasn't formed a party yet?

YOU MAKE A PRAYER FOR THE REPUBLIQUE OF FRANCE,AND SO ON...AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE A PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL ! BOUSHA TO YOU !

shame on you.

Excellent! When democracy doesn't work for you, just take your ball and go home. I truly believe that the majority of Israelis will tell this so called Rabbi just what to do with his ideas. The overwheming majority of Orthodox Jews in Israel are loyal patriots who will serve in the IDF and pay their taxes with pride and dignity. Only this so called Rabbi can give groups like Neturei Karta a good name. At least they are not fly by night haters of the State of Israel.

Good riddance to bad rubbish !

Rabbi Wolpe's theology is characteristic of disillusionment and crisis of faith that follows when religious world view is confronted by reality. People react to this in different ways: dumping of faith, denial of reality, or revision of the theory. In Rabbi Wolpe's case he has done the latter. The State of Israel is simply that: A state for the Jews. Its religious significance is pragmatic-- a safe haven for the rivival and survival of Judiasm. No Messiah, no redemption.

He can voice his own opinions, but Chabbad is NOT religious Zionism.

You're from overseas, you don't know what happens here -- Fundamentalist Jews have been known to rip out the prayer for the safety of the State of Israel and for the safety army out of the prayer books at the Western Wall. So this chap's opinion isn't news to us.

You think this was a democracy? Get real. Those who disagreed he threw out. His own party voted against him. Just out of curiosity - living in NY, what do you know about the overwhelming majority of Orthodox Jews? If the Jews from America would get off the fat behinds maybe the disengagment wouldn't have happen.

Judah broke away from Israel because of taxes, but also because Judeans regarded Israelites as not true to their faith. In 200, both Judah and Israel were destroyed. Now, Kahanists and Haredi are advocating about creating a new "Kingdom of Judah" in the West Bank, while Hizbollah, Palestinians, Iran, and a host of other douchebags wanna kill us all. Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it!!!!!

Why he insists on a political issue only. As a rabbi he must insist on the sins of the jewish people who are engaged of committing sins in the eyes of God and rais His anger against them.

Its clear to me that you have no clue what is going on in Israel. Most Orthodox sont serve in the IDF and I have a feeling that a lot of "haridiem" dont feel for Israel the way we do.

the rabbis should keep to the synagogues and the generals should keep to the barracks.

The crisis started when the "State" was established, since the attitude of the "State" is anti-religious, covertly if not overtly. So, saying that Israel is "a safe haven for the rivival and survival of Judiasm", is just not right. Behold, Israel is the ONLY place in the world where a Jew cannot live where he desires. THIS is a state for the Jews ? ! Rabbi Wolpe is advocating the cessation of labeling the "State" as the beginning of the redemption process. It is not. The disengagement proved this very clearly. How can one rely on, or pray for, a Jewish government which does not openly acknowledge G-d , which expels its Jewish citizens, and which makes a mockery of the Torah. We are called a Holy People and our land is called a Holy Land. The only thing that justifies such adjectives is an adherence to, and an abiding by, the Holy Torah, given to us by the Holy One. Without the Torah we are no different from the rest of humanity - just a Nation among Nations.

Ditto!

Without the Torah we are still different from other nations, except that we become inferior to them. "It the Jew does not make Kidush, the the goy will make havdalah"

The Chabad movement has done much good throughout the world in motivating Jews to be more observant of the Jewish religion. However those members of the movement who proclaim the late Menachem Schneerson as the Messiah have stepped outside the halachic bounds of Judaism. Clearly Menachem Schneerson was not the Messiah. He did not establish world peace, build the third Temple, return all the Jews to Eretz Yisrael and defeat Israel’s enemies. The extreme adulation which members of Chabad show for their late, dead Rebbe smacks of idolatry. Contrary to what the “Rabbi” says, those of us who live in Israel are not in exile. We are living in the Holy Land and working to build a wonderful Jewish State based on Jewish values. Actually it is the “Rabbi” who is in exile because he has gone beyond the pale of conventional halachic thought.

Unfortunately for you, a clear majority of both Israelis AND US Jews supported the Hitnatqut. The hypocritical datim will NOT foist their will on the majority even if they do insanely believe that only they have the ultimate truth and right (which, in itself, is no different from the crazy mullahs of Iran or the mad fundies of Texas). As for the "rabi" who wants to disengage from the State: take along your supporters, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out and good riddance. Shalom, bye.

Danny, with respect, you are wrong in saying that most Orthodox Jews don't serve in the Defense forces. Most Charadim don't serve, however the majority of Jews who consider themselves orthodox do serve.

"A clear majority of Israeli and U.S. Jews support the disengagement"....not quite so...."A clear majority of Jews in the U.S. polled by left wing media groups support the disengagement"...the truth is that the disengagement...really the destruction of Jewish communities in the Land of Israel has fundamentally changed the view of Israel in the eyes of many (and a growing number) of Jews everywhere both secular and non-secular. The book published by this Rabbi is simply one manifestation of this in one corner of the Jewish world. I am a secular Jew who used to support Israel. I now see it in much the same terms (apparently) as this Rabbi. Namely, Israel has ceased to have any special Jewish meaning. The Land of Israel retains its special place...but the State of Israel is simply a corrupt and unimportant footnote in history. It is unfortunate that a large Jewish community lives in Israel today since this simply complicates the process of dismantling this entity and hopefully (maybe in another 2000 years) establishing a state based on Jewish values (not necessarily on strictly religious values) but on values and ideals that are not those of the European west...from whom the acceptability of destroying Jewish communities was learned. At any rate...the wheels have been set in motion...soon Sharon will have arab cabinent ministers and the last pretense of the special place of the Israeli state will have gone. If you think I'm wrong...do a little thought experiment. "When the Arab Minister of the Interior, say, goes to the U.S. to collect funding from the Jewish community here...how succesful do you think he is likely to be? Beyond the few leftist Jews I mean." Have a nice day.

Just two comments: this rabbi is an embarassment because he is displaying contempt for his fellow Jews which plays right into the hands of the barbaric paleo-stinians, who will use his words for their godless political purposes. My second point is, there are many Jews like myself who, although we don't live in Israel, tried to do everything we could to prevent the disengagment - or what I referred to as the deportation. No democracy removes 8,000 of its own law-abiding citizens from their homes, in order to appease their enemy. To some of you who think we just sit on our fat behinds here in America, I ask you to visit http://smoothstone.blogspot.com, a pro-Israel blog and witness first-hand the effort put into that website as well as the effort of the growing community of Jewish and pro-Israel bloggers who are trying our hardest to re-educate a misinformed world about the Big Lie perpetrated by Arafat and his murderous henchmen which is that "palestinians" are a distinct nationality and that "Palestine" is their ancestral homeland, which as you already know, is absolutely untrue. Jews should not alienate other Jews; whether they live in Gush Katif or New York City, or whether they are Americans or Israelis.

WWW.QEREN.NET (Royalist Movement of Israel)

Nonsense... He never wrote to stop praying for the soldiers or the jewish people. He merely wrote to stop praying for a government that is favoring arabs over its jewish citizens. People who are productive and your own brothers who serve in the army who are working paying taxes who were not afraid of the kasams and formed the fron lines have been made homeless and unemployed and .... if this is not exile what is ???? I totally agree with Rabbi Wolpe that we should stop praying for this Anti Torah Gvernment and pray Es tzemach Dovid Avdecho Mehairo Tatzmiach For Moshiach and Bais Hamikdosh and yerushalaim as we pray every day in our shmoneh Esrai. As far as the Lubavitcher Rebbe is moshiach I will certainly not look for advice from thist forum I will rather listen to what Rabbi solovaithchik has written That those people who believe that the rebbe is moshiach are certainly within the realm of Halocho. Just look at what the Lubavithers have accomplished in the past ten years all over the world In bringing back lost souls to Yiddishkeit.

The false puppet Sharon follows the road map of the false messiah which brings false peace. Israel has tied it's fate to the phony American peace plan and will recieve the rottten fruit of this covenant with death and hell. Sharon is just a reflection of much of faithless Israel which has made Bush their messiah.

#23: So, do you have opinion polls to the contrary or are you just whining in the typical loser fashion that it was all a conspiracy? Anyway, so you're basically saying you want an ethnically pure Israel. And your claim that you're secular while in the same breath bemoaning the Hitnatqut and "loss" of part of eretz Yisrael shows your real colors. Sorry to have to put it this way but take a hike. #24: And you think that by trying to portray five million people as nonexistent you're doing Israel a favor!!? What are you: retarded??? If crack website stating that five million Palestinians in fact do not exist is the best you can do for Israel, then PLEASE don't try to help at all.

pervert religious fanatics except in: ISRAEL and IRAN