The Jerusalem Post today gives us an insight into a man we rarely hear directly from in an Israeli newspaper. Rabbi Yisra'el Hirsch, usually doesn't give interviews directly to Israeli media, or Hebrew-language media, as he thinks they are rife with anti-Neturei Karta spin.

But he did grant an interview to the Jerusalem Post, and here are some vignettes:

Sitting at the oilcloth-covered dining room table in his Mea She'arim home, Yisrael Hirsch, leader of the Israeli branch of Natorei Karta, says he is in favor of Iran's drive to become a nuclear power. "Certainly I'm in favor of it. [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad needs nuclear weapons to create a balance of power with Israel and the other countries in the region," says Hirsch..."No, I'm only worried Israel will use something like a nuclear bomb to attack Iran's facilities, and then we'll get hit back..."

I ask him if he or any other Natorei Karta member would accept an invitation to a conference sponsored by Meretz ("no"), Likud ("no"), the National Religious Party ("no") or even United Torah Judaism ("no"). "These are all Jews who deny what a Jew is," he says, "so we cannot cooperate with them."...

But when asked if he would like to meet and talk things over with Osama bin Laden, he smiles and says, "The whole world wants to find him and nobody has yet. It's hard for me to say what his intentions are, but certainly, yes, I'd like to explain our views to him, and I believe that if I could talk to him, I could make him understand."

Mounted above the tunnel on the Slonim side is a sign that reads, "Jews are not Zionists. Zionists are not Jews, only racists. We pray to God for an immediate end of Zionism and their occupation." The sign, which Hirsch takes credit for, is painted in red, black, green and white - the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Read the rest of the interview. While he may be provocative, and even questionable according to Jewish Law, no one can ever accuse Hirsch of being a man without conviction.