| The Israel-Palestine conflict could be solved if Jews accept that the notion that Zionism is contrary to Judaism, says a controversial American rabbi.
Rabbi Yisroel Weiss, part of the orthodox Neturei Karta International, or Jews Against Zionism International, was speaking as part of an event organized the University of Calgary’s Palestinian-Canadian Student Society on January 28.
Weiss says he knows his views are controversial to most Jews, but he believes the state of Israel goes against the teachings of Judaism and Jewish law.
"Zionism is a factory for anti-Semitism," he says, adding that Jews should reject the notion of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East that wasn’t created by God.
"I’m not trying to be antagonistic. We’re not turning on the Jewish nation, we’re trying to save the Jewish nation. Zionism is diametrically opposite to Judaism….
"Wherever Jewish blood is shed, whenever anybody dies (in the Israel-Palestine conflict), we say the root cause is Zionism."
Weiss’s views have long been controversial within the Jewish community.
Ken Goodman, a Calgary Jew who attended the event, says he supports Weiss’s right to speak his mind, but there are flaws in his thinking.
"The majority of Jewish people believe in the Jewish state, support it and pray for it," Goodman says. "For him to say Zionism is the cause of anti-Semitism… I would equate that with self-deprecation. His statements are hurtful."
Reyad Abusalim, the vice president of public relations for the Palestinian-Canadian Student Society, says he heard from some members of Calgary’s Jewish community who questioned its decision to hold the event, but the group says its goal is to encourage discussion on all aspects of the contentious issue.
"We are not bringing in somebody who doesn’t represent Judaism," Abusalim says. "We are bringing in somebody who doesn’t represent Zionism." |
