True Torah Jews is a religious-political movement and non-profit organization. It argues by the use of quotes from the Torah, and the history of Zionism, that the ideology of Zionism is in total opposition to the teachings of traditional Judaism. The organization was founded in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York by several members of the Satmar Chassidic sect. The organization is also known within the Jew
ish community by the name Natruna. Natruna is an Aramaic word meaning “waiting” and is intended as a reference to a Midrashic commentary, Pesikta Derav Kahana, on Exodus 12:6, which states that the Jewish people will be redeemed from their final exile in the merit of their waiting patiently for the redemption. History
The idea of establishing a public relations office to spread the views of anti-Zionist Jewry and to counter Zionist propaganda originated with Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe (1887-1979). On February 20, 1955, Rabbi Teitelbaum called a gathering of activists from 37 different Jewish groups in the Viener Synagogue in Williamsburg, at which he established an organization called Ichud Olami Lemaan Chizuk Hadas the World Federation for the Furtherance of Torah. On June 27, 1957, Rabbi Teitelbaum called a second gathering in his house, at which he exhorted his students to make sure the World Federation continued to exist and publicize the views of anti-Zionist Jewry. He recognized that many official Jewish organizations might not want to join the Federation; nevertheless, he said, there were surely individuals in every group and community who would want to join. He asked his activists to recruit 1000 members from all communities, each member paying $10 annually. As late as 1967, the World Federation still existed and was mentioned by Rabbi Teitelbaum in a speech in connection with the battle over forced autopsies in the State of Israel. However, no mention of it was made for the next 34 years, although the Satmar community continued to hold periodic demonstrations against Zionism. In 2001 the organization was re-established under the name True Torah Jews Against Zionism. The organization’s website was launched in 2002 in response to a widespread demand from the public for more information about the subject of religious Jewish opposition to Zionism. In the spirit of the Satmar Rebbe’s plan to establish a Jewish organization with members from every circle, not only Satmar, True Torah Jews enjoys broad-based support and incorporates the activities of people in all the major Jewish communities of the world. Over the years, True Torah Jews has spread the views of anti-Zionist Jewry through the media, including many radio and newspaper ads, books and pamphlets. Some of this material is aimed at the non-Jewish world, and some at the Jewish world. We publish a weekly Yiddish newsletter analyzing current events, as well as English material on the Torah. Realizing that it is only the Jews themselves who can bring an end to Zionism, we aim to reach out to our Jewish brethren who have never studied the subject from a Torah perspective, and have only been taught the Zionist side of the story. It is our hope that all of our fellow Jews will soon open their eyes, return to Torah and reject this ideology that replaces the Jew's age-old hope for G-d's redemption with a false redemption and a human-initiated state.
