Rabbi Moshe Hirsch is an anti-Zionist figure in Jerusalem.

Hirsch is the son-in-law of the now deceased Neturei Karta founder Rabbi Aharon Katzenellenbogen and his first wife, and is the leader of one of the movement's factions. He is originally from New York City, and studied in the Lakewood Yeshiva. He lives above the shuk (market) in Meah Shearim, an old Haredi Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Hirsch was somewhat close to Yasser Arafat and was one of the most frequent visitors to his besieged compound in Ramallah. He was an honorary member of Yassir Arafat's cabinet as Minister for Jewish Affairs, having been declared a member of the cabinet in 1988, when the Palestinian State was declared from the PLO's stronghold in Algeria. In this capacity he was instrumental in receiving an official document from Chairman Arafat asserting that only the political movement of Zionism and not Jews or the religion of Judaism were to blame for the actions of Israel.

Hirsch has one glass eye due to an injury sustained when he was leaving prayers at the Ohel Sarah synagogue. An as yet uncaught attacker who “was dressed in a manner common to settlers from the religious Zionist movement,” threw acid in his face, blinding him. Recently, he is reportedly suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

External links

• Neturei Karta International

References