I do not attach any blame to him but to his shortsighted teachers and rebbes.

People like that are willing to take all the benefits and privileges of living in Israel - but take on none of the duties of being a citizen or being a member of Klal Yisroel.

How different it was in 1948 when yeshiva boys fought side by side with not-so-Orthodox members of the Irgun and Haganah in the defence of Jerusalem and other areas.

They emulated the ideas of the great chassidic rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher and other leading rabbonim of 150 years ago who, while praying and waiting eagerly each day for Moshiach, believed that they could "observe the mitzvos which can be observed in our day, make the Land bear fruit and resettle our people there as this is an indispensable foundation for complete redemption". Mr Lebovitz mentions that the reason charedim go to Israel today is because of its great yeshivas and spiritual study centres.

Do his mentors not realise that if the present "Zionist State of Israel" which they so despise did not exist, there would not be the level of Torah learning, of which they are so proud.

There are now more people learning Torah in Israel than at the height of the yeshiva world's golden days in Europe.

If there was no Israel, there certainly would not be charedi towns like Ramat Beth Shemesh, Telse Stone, Kiryat Sefer or Betar Illit.

In a non-Zionist state, even the city of Bnai Brak would only be a shadow of itself.

This week marks the anniversary of the massacre in Hebron in 1929 when charedi yeshiva students were among those murdered by Arabs during the Mandate period.

Maybe they did not call them themselves Zionists, but they died at the hands of Arabs just the same.

Present-day charedim would meet the same fate if they did not have the "Zionist State of Israel" to look after them.

Frank Baigel,
25 Ravensway,
Prestwich,
Manchester.

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