Rabbi David Rosenberg, director of Camp Rav Tov, spoke to the demonstrators in Yiddish. Below is a rough translation of his remarks:

We have sat on the floor on Tisha B'av now for almost 1940 years, because, as we say in the prayers, "due to our sins we have been exiled from our land." The exile is a divine decree, not because we had no military, not for lack of soldiers, but because G-d sent us into exile because of our sins. The wicked established a state to free themselves and throw off the yoke of exile that G-d put on the Jewish people. Who established the state? Heretics, apikorsim, wicked people, murderers!

Since the establishment of the state, these past 60 years have been a long chain of rebellion against G-d. Unfortunately, of the 5 million Jews who live in the Holy Land today, how many millions keep Shabbos? How many millions keep Yom Kippur? How many millions put on tefillin? Millions do not put on tefillin. Millions of Jewish children go to public schools where they are taught, G-d forbid, that the world has no Creator. Where in the world does this take place? In the Holy Land, in the King's palace, in Jerusalem and other cities. There the wicked profane the honor of Heaven. Let us express our voice of protest against this rebellion! Yes, we believe that the world has a Creator! We believe in the Torah! We do not take our redemption before its time! We do not join the wicked who uproot the Torah!

The wicked want to suppress our outcry. But King David said in Tehillim (33:16-21), "The mighty man is not saved with his great strength, the horse is useless for victory, with all its strength it does not rescue." They have an army, they have police, they come and beat and kill young and old, without mercy. But all their strength does not give them victory. Why? "Behold, the eye of Hashem is on those who fear Him, those who wait for His kindness." Jews who wait for Hashem's kindness, Jews who wait for moshiach to come, Jews who don't take the redemption themselves, Jews who don't take a state before moshiach comes. Through this, may they be privileged "to save their souls from death." May all those Jews who go out and take beatings for the honor of Heaven survive and live. "For in Him our heart rejoices, for in His great name we trusted." We accepted the decree of exile, we accepted the yoke of Heaven, and we know that G-d sent the Jewish people to all four corners of the earth. And we wait for moshiach to come. We hope that all our prayers today will be accepted and that great day will soon come.

The Gemora says, "Anyone who denies idolatry is considered a believer in the entire Torah." The Rebbe in the introduction to Vayoel Moshe says, "Whoever believes in the Zionist state or gives honor to the state is contradicting the belief in the Creator." Privileged are we who follow what he and other tzaddikim said, that we may not have any connection with the state. In the merit that thousands of Jews came out today on this Tisha B'av in Eretz Yisroel and in Manhattan, may we see the fulfillment of the words we received in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, "When You will cause the wicked government to pass from the earth."