In fact, Neturei Karta (which translates roughly as “Zealous Guardians of the City”) is a negligible minority among the enormous ultra-Orthodox majority comprised of Sephardic and Middle Eastern Jews, as well as Lithuanian (non-Hassidic) Ashkenazi Jews and Hassidic courts. Neturei Karta, in contrast, consists of just a few hundred families or even fewer crowded into the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem. But their relative size is disproportionate to the buzz they generate in the media, which has a dramatic impact on the image of all ultra-Orthodox Jews.

But despite all the noise and propaganda, hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews do not buy into the slogans that have been recycled again and again for the past 60 decades. The pashkevils distributed on the eve of “their festivals” (Neturei Karta members like to refer to the Israeli Independence Day with a term from the Talmud for the holidays of the gentiles), are greeted with apathy at best. The average ultra-Orthodox Jew generally disapproves of this incitement campaign. He is fed up with the provocative style of the Neturei Karta demonstrations in the name of their “holy war” against Zionism and its leaders. The greatest proof of this is the recent protest against the IDF’s plans to draft the ultra-Orthodox . In contrast to the Neturei Karta demonstrations, the gathering of hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox culminated in a quiet, yet incredibly powerful prayer.

"On Tuesday, we will don sackcloth and cry out loudly and bitterly, declaring to the entire world that the Jewish people are loyal to God and His Torah, and that we have neither part nor parcel in the heretics’ government!”

“The Jewish people in the Holy Land and the Diaspora mourn bitterly over the 66 years of existence of the Zionist state, rebelling against God and his Torah. They pray for its speedy end, Amen!"

It is the same every year. "Pashkevils," (polemical posters) devised by the extremist Neturei Karta group leadership are distributed throughout ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods on the eve of Israel's Independence Day. Their text calls on “God-fearing Jews” to take to the streets and demonstrate throughout the city.

A visit to the Meah Shearim neighborhood where these zealots live reveals an extremist enclave in the heart of Israel’s capital. Time has stopped in this closed ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, which is a kingdom unto itself for the zealots of Jerusalem.

Around sunset, a sleeping cat jolts awake with the shrill creak of an old iron gate, dating from the Ottoman period, and ancient Jerusalemites in striped coats walk heavily across the picturesque cobbled alleyways, which they consider a kind of nature reserve in the urban heart of Jerusalem.

The shops and convenience stores are all sealed shut. Huge mourning posters cover their locked shutters. Tall letters, blacker than black, mark the 66th anniversary of the "wicked Zionist state."

Handsome young Jerusalemite children return from their studies, their long sidelocks curling down their cheeks, the traditional white Jerusalemite yarmulke perched atop their heads. They greet us with a quick smile and a wave before disappearing into the large, immaculate courtyards, paved with cobblestones. The old clock in the Meah Shearim market indicates that the time for evening prayers is approaching.

As soon as the sign is given, the alleys of Meah Shearim awake all at once, blackened by masses of people. The anonymous crier raises his voice, calling upon the residents of the neighborhood to come out to the street to mourn and recite dirges over the exile of the Divine Presence. Exhausted by the “Fast of the Day of Destruction” that they have decreed, the members of Neturei Karta emerge from their modest homes and hurry to the main square. Their wide-brimmed Jerusalem hats blend remarkably well with the people dressed in sackcloth and carrying black flags. In the background, cries of “Gevalt!” (Woe is me!) mingle with Biblical verses and somber deprecations. The procession starts to move. It passes the empty market on its way to Sabbath Square in the center of the adjacent Geula neighborhood, a major intersection in Jerusalem known for its ultra-Orthodox demonstrations.

Enormous black flags wave in the background. The marchers sob bitterly along the entire route. “We do not recognize the rule of the heretics,” reads a huge sign borne aloft by two teenagers. “Zionism is a Holocaust” screams another enormous sign. “The day the enemy overcame us,” shouts one of the community’s elders in a raspy voice. The procession advances and the heartbroken cries grow louder and louder, until they can be heard from far away. The final stop is Sabbath Square, where they will hold the traditional burning of the flags and conclude the ceremonies mourning Independence Day.

The colorful figure of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Hirsch stands out among the leaders of the procession. Hirsch takes pride in his family lineage, being the son of Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, the former Neturei Karta leader who was a confidante of late PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Moshe Hirsch served as the Minister for Jewish Affairs in the Palestinian cabinet.

Moshe passed away four years ago. Senior members of the Palestinian Authority came to pay condolence calls at his house in the Meah Shearim neighborhood throughout the week of mourning. Now his son is carrying on his legacy with zeal. A black flag with the inscription, “Remember, do not forget, what the Amalekite Zionists did to you in the 65 years of their dictatorship,” hangs permanently over one of the windows of his home. Hirsch makes a point of updating the number of years every Independence Day, while continuing his struggle to raise the awareness of the rest of the ultra-Orthodox community. The majority of the ultra-Orthodox may not identify with the State of Israel and its holidays, but they have certainly accepted the rules of the game since 1948.

“According to the teachings of Neturei Karta, Independence Day marks the greatest tragedy in the history of the Jewish people, a tragedy even greater than the Holocaust. The Germans killed our bodies; the Zionists kill our souls,” Hirsch tells Al-Monitor. “Zionism does not represent the Jewish people, so we take to the streets dressed in sackcloth and make a loud noise, declaring that the very existence of the State of Israel is an act of heresy against God and the coming of the messiah.” Hirsch goes on to explain that Neturei Karta will continue to oppose the State of Israel “even if it will be settled entirely by observant Jews.”

On May 15, the Arabs of the occupied territories will mark Nakba Day. Hirsch is a welcomed guest in the main processions that will take place in Ramallah and Nablus. In his talks with Palestinians, he clarifies the position of Neturei Karta, which rejects a two-state solution. “We reject the idea of a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah. The Talmud says that before they were sent into exile, the Jewish people were made to swear that they would not expedite the End of Days, that they would not rebel against the nations of the world, and that they would not immigrate [to the Holy Land] en masse. When we left for exile, the Land of Israel was handed over to the Ishmaelites. That is why, as long as we have not experienced the Redemption, the land belongs to the Arabs. We cannot use force to bring about the Redemption. I even told my good friend [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas that negotiations with the Zionists are a waste of time. There is no logic to two states for two peoples, when we believe that the Zionists have no right to the slightest foothold in the Holy Land. They have desecrated the land.”

Hirsch describes himself as a citizen of Palestine, as do the other members of his community. On the other hand, even the most extreme circles of the Edah Hareidit ultra-Orthodox faction, which is vehemently opposed to any physical attacks on the State of Israel, have misgivings about his position.

While Hirsch hopes for the state to come to an end, he wants it to disappear through peaceful means. He says, “The Meah Shearim neighborhood was built long before the State of Israel, and on the day that the Palestinian state is created, we will declare Meah Shearim to be an enclave of the State of Palestine.”