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Neturei Karta denies anti-Shalit statements

October 21, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A fervently Orthodox anti-Zionist group denied that it was against the release of a captured Israeli soldier.

A message sent out on the Neturei Karta e-mail list was sent by a young man on the fringe of the movement, a leading Neturei Karta spokesman told Vos Is Neias, an Orthodox news service.

JTA reported Wednesday that the Orthodox Union decried the statements in the message, which said that Gilad Shalit was not worth saving because he is not religiously observant. In condemning the statements, O.U. did not name Neturei Karta.

Neturei Karta spokesman Yisroel Meir Hirsh also told the Hebrew-language Web site Bechadrei Charedim that he was “directly involved in activities to secure Gilad Shalit’s release,” according to Vos Is Neias. 

"We’re in favor of 'pidyon shevu’im' [redeeming captives], and therefore we firmly deny everything that was published in our name,” Hirsh said.

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