Edah HaChareidis

Large ultra Orthodox Jewish communal organization based in Jerusalem

The Charedi Council of Jerusalem (, haEdah haCharedit, Ashkenazi pronunciation: ha Aideh Charaidis or ha Eido ha Chareidis; "Congregation of God Fearers") is a large Haredi Jewish communal organization based in Jerusalem, with several thousands affiliated households. It is led by an independent rabbinical court, chaired by the Gaon Convenor, acronymed Ga'avad, and operated by the Rabbi Convenor, Ra'avad. The Council provides facilities such as dietary laws supervision, ritual baths, a Sabbath enclosure, and welfare services. The Council was founded in 1921 by devout Ashkenazi residents of Jerusalem, especially of the Old Yishuv, who refused to be affiliated in any way with the new Zionist institutions. Inspired by militant anti Zionist ideology, it refuses to receive any state funding from the Israeli authorities, or to endorse voting in the elections, relying on donations from fellow anti Zionist Haredi Jews abroad and its own income. Its members often engage in demonstrations against Sabbath desecration, autopsies, or archaeological excavations of human remains, which they regard as sins, and are noted for their poverty and extreme religious strictness. The Council also sponsors a Sephardi Haredi Council.

The anti Zionist stance of the Edah HaChareidis is ideologically derived from the book Vayoel Moshe, written by its former President and Chief Rabbi, Joel Teitelbaum, which is regarded as the standard, and by which all issues relating to the modern State of Israel are determined. For example, the Congregation forbids voting in the elections for the Knesset, and forbids accepting any funding from the Israeli government (such as subsidies for schools and unemployment benefits), and also does not accept Israeli citizenship through the Law of Return. According to Ynetnews, "It [the Edah] has declared an ideological war against the 'heretic Zionist government'." In 2002, the rabbinical leadership of the Edah wrote a complementary introduction to Vayoel Moshe. The introduction mentioned: "and it is necessary to learn about this subject [of Zionism] the holy book Vayoel Moshe will open [its readers'] eyes to see [the reasons behind] all troubles and horrors of our time, and will prevent readers from being drawn after the Zionist heresy, may the Merciful One save us." In 2006, during a campaign against the participation of Haredim in the Israeli parliamentary elections, the Edah accused the Zionists of having played a role in the Holocaust. In March 2008, an article in the Edah's newspaper HaEdah blasted the "first Hasidic police officer" and the newspapers who had praised him, and called for him to be thrown out of the Haredi world. It referred to him as presenting his children to Molech. Addressing him personally, it said: "and even if you are great in your own eyes, you are worth nothing and an embarrassment to us"; and: "We will continue our continuous war, the days of which are the same as the days of the existence of the Zionist entity, against them and against everything you represent."

Followers of the movements that constitute the Edah HaChareidis mainly live in the northern areas of Jerusalem (from Har Nof to Sanhedria, and in Mea Shearim), and in Beit Shemesh. The Edah HaChareidis includes the following groups: Satmar, Dushinsky, Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Spinka, Sanz Tshokave, groups belonging to the Perushim (such as a more "moderate" wing of Neturei Karta), a faction of the Breslover Hasidim, led by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, and Mishkenos HoRoim. The Edah HaChareidis publicizes a weekly magazine called HaEdah ("The Edah"), written in Hebrew. This magazine is used to publicize the views of the leadership of the Edah HaChareidis on various issues, as well as articles on Jewish thought, including the weekly Torah portion and biographies of deceased leaders of the Yerushalmi community. In response to day long Haredi protests in Jerusalem in 2009, Israel's then President Shimon Peres described the Edah as "a radical minority".

The Edah HaChareidis is known for its high standards in rabbinical supervision of kosher food, and is considered to be one of the strictest hechsheirim in Israel. It is often simply known as the hechsher of the "Badatz", which stands for Beis Din Tzedek (literally, "Court [of] Righteous Law"), the standard term for a rabbinical appeals court. Products certified by the Edah are marked with the logo of the Edah.