New York, NY —

The withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip is being followed closely by Jewish and Arab communities here, as events in Israel often are. Conflicting surveys show different levels of support for the withdrawal. WNYC’s Fred Mogul reports on one group that is largely unified in its opposition to the move.

REPORTER: At the Wall Street Synagogue in lower Manhattan, Orthodox Jewish men gather every day during their lunch hour for a brief afternoon service. Several say the events in Israel and the Gaza Strip have been in their thoughts and prayers. Rabbi Yaakov Wasser is visiting from East Brunswick, New Jersey.

YW: I’m nervous about it. If I really felt there was going to be peace that would come of it, I would be all for it. I believe there are many sacrifices we make for peace. Unfortunately, I just see that as being viewed by the Palestinians as a retreat, and further violence that will ensue afterwards.

REPORTER: Many Jews feel Israel is their historic homeland. Many Orthodox Jews go further. They say in the Bible God explicitly promised the land to their people, and they evoke this pledge frequently in daily prayers. David Romanoff helped organize a Times Square rally last month for the “Alliance for the Land of Israel” that attracted thousands people. He says it is a betrayal of God to give away this land.

DR: The definition of an Orthodox Jew is somebody who has a relationship to God and the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. In fact it is incumbent on the Jewish people to live in the Land of Israel.

REPORTER: Of course, many choose not to. Professor Samuel Heilman, a sociologist at Queens College, thinks Orthodox American Jews hold such strong opinions about Israel not only from their religious and political beliefs, but because they feel guilty for staying behind…

SH: for not being part of the Orthodox wave of settlement that has occurred in the end of the 20th Century, and so that adds a particular passion to it. It’s as if, if we in America can support our brothers and sisters to the very last millimeter of ground in Israel, then somehow no one will notice the fact that we’re still sitting in Long Island and in Brooklyn and in Chicago.

REPORTER: Heilman spoke by phone from Israel. He thinks that both there and here, Orthodox Jews increasingly see their fellow non-Orthodox Jews as soft and getting softer – more devoted to popular culture than to God and land.

SH: They see themselves as Defenders of the Faith. And by and large the rest of American Jewry is letting them do that, because the rest of American Jewry is not so interested in Jewish matters any more, and Israel is part of that.

REPORTER: For the most part, American Jews who support the withdrawal have done so with quiet enthusiasm. They’re cautiously optimistic Israel without Gaza will be stronger, and that -- slowly, bumpily – it will improve the larger conflict with the Palestinians. At a heated discussion-debate last month, hosted by Dor Chadash, or New Generation, some participants said they would not cede the field to the more vocal opponents of withdrawal. Professor Mark Rosenblum from Americans for Peace Now said Orthodox extremists are poisoning the atmosphere in Israel.

MR: The greatest liability comes from a tiny minority, who are prepared to fight violently against the Israeli Defense Forces and the police and openly are already engaging in acts not in acts of civil disobedience that’s peaceful, but of violence of Jew against Jew, initiated by them. –That’s not true! It’s true, and we can document it. –It should be true, ‘cause you don’t give your life away!

REPORTER: Rosenblum had some backing, but his opponent, Shmuel Sacket, was much better received. Sacket is an American immigrant to Israel, a member of the Likud Party, and a settlement leader in the West Bank.

SS: If God forbid we give them Gaza, we’re giving them Jerusalem next. They want the Jews in the sea...There’s one thing Ariel Sharon taught us all, that it’s okay, it’s Democratic, it’s legal to pick people up from their homes, pay them, and against their will move them out. So I’m saying I’m all in favor for it – for the Arabs. [applause]

REPORTER: Overall, the debate had more shouting than listening. But as far as conflicts go, it was relatively civilized. In the coming days and weeks, both sides will be watching Israel from a comfortable seat at home, all of them hoping violence can be avoided.