Moshe Hirsch (; 1927 – 2 May 2010) was a Jewish activist and Palestinian politician who headed

Neturei Karta Neturei Karta () is a List of Jewish anti-Zionist organizations, Jewish anti-Zionist organization that advocates Palestinian nationalism. Founded by and for Haredim and Zionism, Haredi Jews opposed to Zionism, it is primarily active in parts o ...

and served as the "Minister of Jewish Affairs" within the

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

-led

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

. He was the son-in-law of Neturei Karta's founder Aharon Katzenelbogen and his first wife. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he later moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and maintained a close relationship with Palestinian president

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

. Hirsch requested Arafat to grant Neturei Karta members the opportunity to obtain Palestinian Authority passports once they were created. He expressed his refusal to carry an Israeli passport and hold Israeli citizenship. Following the death of Arafat in 2004 and the victory of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election elections, Hirsch pledged allegiance to the new leadership. He then visited the Legislative Council's headquarters in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

to demonstrate his support.

Family and personal life

He was the father of three children. His oldest is Meir Hirsch. Meir had taken over a lot of his fathers duties when he was reportedly suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Hirsch had one

glass eye An ocular prosthesis, artificial eye or glass eye is a type of craniofacial prosthesis that replaces an absent natural eye following an enucleation, evisceration, or orbital exenteration. Someone with an ocular prosthesis is altogether blind ...

due to an injury sustained when someone threw acid in his face. According to his cousin, journalist

Abraham Rabinovich Abraham Rabinovich (Hebrew: ) is a historian and journalist who has published several books on recent Jewish history. As a reporter, his work has appeared in ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', the ''International Herald Tribune' ...

, the incident had no link with Hirsch's political activities but was connected to a real estate dispute.

Death

Following Hirsch's death, ''shiva'' visitors included senior

members, including Adnan al-Husayni (who brought a personal letter of consolation from

Abbas Abbas may refer to: People * Abbas (name), list of people with the name, including: **Abbas ibn Ali (645–680), popularly known as ''Hazrat-e-Abbas'', the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first imam in Shia Islam) **Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (567 ...

), Hatem Abdel Kader and Bilial A-Natsha.

References

External links

Neturei Karta International
1923 births 2010 deaths American Ashkenazi Jews Haredi rabbis in Israel American emigrants to Mandatory Palestine American Haredi rabbis Clergy from Jerusalem Acid attack victims Anti-Zionist Haredi rabbis Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives 21st-century American rabbis Yiddish-speaking people {{Israel-rabbi-stub Rabbis of the Land of Israel Neturei Karta Palestinian activists Palestinian Jews Palestinian Arab nationalists Judaism-related controversies Orthodox Judaism