Zionism contradicts traditional Jewish teachings, said Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a prominent member of Neturei Karta International, is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi known for his vocal anti-Zionist stance. He actively participates in Al-Quds Day events, where he articulates his opposition to Zionism and expresses solidarity with the Palestinian cause. As a spokesman for Neturei Karta, he emphasizes that Zionism contradicts traditional Jewish teachings and advocates for Jewish-Muslim coexistence. Rabbi Weiss opposes the State of Israel’s policies, asserting they do not represent true Judaism, and calls for justice for Palestinians and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

1-What do you think about Israel’s war against the people of Gaza?

With the help of the Almighty Assalamualaikum. My name is Rabbi Yisroel David Weiss of Natur Ekarta International Jews United Against Zionism. I’m praying to Thee, Almighty, that He should bestow upon me his truth, his wisdom, that I may be worthy of conveying his message and so sanctify his name and bring peace to the world.

Now God should give me concise words. It’s not what I think. Obviously I’m representing people who are true to the Torah, to Judaism. And the view of Judaism is that this whole occupation, 76 years of the Zionist state of Israel and well over that when they started coming from Europe, this group of people called Zionists, to create their state, these were people who decided to take the identity of my holy religion, which is a religion of well over 3,000 years Judaism, where we made a covenant with God to be subservient to God and to uphold the words of the Torah.

Around 140, 150 years ago, a group of people who threw away the yoke of Torah, this covenant that we made with God, they decided to form a nationalist homeland and they decided to pick Palestine for the area where to make their nationalist homeland. Why? Because they’ll be able to tell the world that it’s given to them by God, that the children of Israel, Israel is Jacob in the Bible. So they’re using the identity of this holy religion of Judaism, which is the religion is to be subservient to God, to accept the laws of the Torah, not to kill, not to steal and to be just. And that we’re forbidden since 2000 years ago, since the destruction of the temple, King Solomon’s temple. We’re forbidden to create our own sovereignty even in an uninhabited land.

We’re forbidden to have a Jewish state since the destruction of the temple till ultimately one day, we believe God will make a metaphysical change in the world where all humanity will serve God in harmony and the Almighty himself will build a temple and all the world will serve him in peace. But we are stringently forbidden to take any actions, to do anything to preempt that, to go and create our own sovereignty, even if it would be truly Jewish. We do not. We’re forbidden to do such a thing. And we haven’t done such a thing in 2000 years of our exile, where we lived throughout the world, spread out throughout the world. Now, this group of heretics, the Zionists, led by Theodore Herzl.

We have pictures you can see by the decoration of independence. David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister reading the Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall. Their most historic moments. And they’re sitting there, none of them. You can see that. You can see covering the head. If anybody is it, you can’t see it. And this is a group of people who are supposedly representing, using the star of David. The picture on the wall is of Theodor Herzl, who’s not covering his head either. These are guys who are claiming to create a Jewish state.

Judaism requires the Jews to cover the heads to show that we have yarmulke, we covering after that we fear God, that we have a God above us. You can see the duplicity, the falseness, what these people are. They were nationalists. They hated the religion. And they decided to. To transform Judaism from religion to nationalism. They decided to make a state and use the religion, the star of David, and to use the name Israel, which is Jacob in the Torah, in order to create a state and to get the backing that they need, massive backing to create a state.

They needed the support of the world. And they decided they will make it in Palestine because then they’ll be able to tell the world that we’re the children of Israel and God is giving us the land that he promised us. So they really were ready to make their country in Uganda and Patagonia because they detested God and the religion. But they realized for practical purposes they need to make it in Palestine in order to be able to get the massive support of the Christians, of evangelists, the Christians, and on and on millions of people who will support them.

So they conned and fooled the world and decided to make a state. And this is expressly forbidden, as I say, Jews are forbidden, since the destruction of the Temple, to even have 1cm of a Jewish homeland, even if it’s an uninhabited land. And certainly we. And we are forbidden, of course, to steal and kill. And so therefore, to create the state by stealing and killing is a double rebellion against God. And therefore our rabbis from day one have been opposing this creation of the Zionist state of Israel.

Around the world, the major, the all the voices of the leading authorities of Judaism have been in total opposition, have been screaming, crying, protesting in the most vociferous way. And they’re being brutally beaten in the streets of Jerusalem for 76 years, arrested, assassinated, all because we are standing up and pleading with the world and saying that this is a false Judaism. As the Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Rabbi Dushinsky, stated when he pleaded when he met with the delegation of the United nations in 1947, a year before the United nations ratified the state.

This is in the documents of the United Nations. He said, we furthermore wish to express our definite opposition to a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. When he passed on, you can see the tens of thousands of Jews in the streets of Jerusalem in front of the White House. We always have demonstrations all against Zionist Israel. Bibbi, Nathaniel came to the White House. They say they will stand up with size. Israel has no right to rule of any part of the Holy Land. This is what Judaism is doing, demonstrating and standing up. Because this Zionist entity that decided to take over the Holy Land is bogus. It’s a bogus Jewish state and it is criminal. It is. The world says that it is committing international atrocities and international crimes.

We are saying it’s not only international, it is against God and it’s not Jewish. So of course the Jews around the world, we are hurting and crying with the people of Gaza. In the last 70 months, it’s been 76 years of murder and bloodshed of the Palestinians and of the Jews who oppose them. But now it has culminated in 17 months now of, of a mass murder, a genocide that is beyond any human comprehension. The oppression and the on and on of the sniping of children, of targeting reporters, targeting medical personnel, on and on, the stopping of any aid of water, of medicine.

So we are crying in the world amongst the Jewish world, from the streets of Jerusalem till New York till in London, we are crying and hurting with the people of Gaza and we are pleading with the world leaders that they should not be duped and conned by this false Judaism, by this false, by the Zionist state of Israel. And they should be standing up and saving the innocent people of Gaza on top of everything. We have to remember it was the Arab and Muslim countries, like you, Iran, who took us, the Jews in and embraced us and gave us a home for these two over 2,000 years. And we were given a home and told. And even though we have a distinctly different religion, it was never an impediment to peace. We always lived in harmony and peace, as you can see in the streets of Al Quds in Jerusalem and of course in Iran and many so other Arab and Muslim countries.

This is not a conflict of religion, it’s a conflict against religion. So we’re pleading with the world leaders, do not be fooled by the Zionist attacks and vilifying the people of Palestine, the Muslim countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran, they’re vilifying them and saying that they hate the Jews. There’s nothing more repugnant and false. We are embraced and given a safe haven, enjoying that we can flourish in Iran. Islamic Republic of Iran. And we were able to under the Ottoman Empire in Palestine. And the Zionist. It’s only an excuse that they’re vilifying the people of Palestine in order to be able to complete their occupation. So of course, we are hurting and crying and we demonstrate daily here in New York and around the world to show that and plead with the world leaders that they should stand up and do what’s right and immediately stop this carnage, this genocide, and to remove God. She talked speedily and peacefully. The whole occupation, the Zionist state of Israel from the world governments. It has no right to exist. The Zionist state of Israel, just like apartheid, was stopped.

2-In your opinion, how much the British and the general public of the world have become concerned about the Palestinian issue after October 7th, and how much it has made people aware of the reality of the situation and the state of Israel?

One thing, we have expression in our Torah from bitter comes sweet, one thing is certain, if there’s anything good that came out of this terrible, this Nakba, this calamity in the last 70 months, is that the people have been witnessing day in and day out, as I mentioned, they’ve seen that reporters were targeted, that medical personnel were murdered, doctors and lawyers, and they were arrested, and human rights people, that people were seen, everybody sees on their phones, how people, children, babies are wounded and mortally and left amputated, and they’re crying and screaming, and the parents are crying and screaming.

The people were seeing this, and it changed the hearts that people are stopped, have stopped buying into the repugnant, unacceptable Israeli narrative, and they’re realizing that what’s happening here is a satanic murder of innocent people, and therefore, many, in the hundreds of thousands, and maybe, not maybe, but in the millions of people around the world, from Iran, of course, which they’ve always been standing up, to the people in the universities in the United States and in Europe, and they’re protesting, even though they’re being viciously attacked as anti-Semitic, which is such a disgusting charge, when anti-Semitic means against Jews because of their religion, and all these people who are speaking up are speaking purely because they’re looking at innocent people being killed, and it’s anti-Zionist, it’s not anti-Semitic, it is a contradictory concept, Zionism and Judaism, and to be opposed to Zionism is to be lauded, to be appraised, so when they’re being viciously accused of anti-Semitism, that’s a simple Zionist ploy in order to stifle opposition, but the world is standing up, even though professors are losing their tenure, they’re losing their jobs, students are being expelled from the universities, and they’re being thrown out of the U.S. and England, and the countries that there are also punishing them, people are getting arrested, all because they’re following in lockstep with the Zionist accusation of anti-Semitism, and this is expressly false, but I must say proudly that there is tens of thousands and more of Jewish people who are protesting in the streets, and they’re losing also their jobs, and they’re not being silent.

3-How much do you know about Quds Day, and what role do you think Quds Day has played in raising awareness among the audience in European societies, and especially in Britain?

Well, we know of course that it was created by Ayatollah Khomeini and that he had his farsight and he was to be praised so much because he right away stood up and differentiated between Judaism, the religion, and Zionism, this satanic movement of occupation, the criminal movement of occupation, and he did not allow the two to be confused. Right at the beginning, he had the Jews protected in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He made laws that even the Jews, even if they’re a small minority, they should have representation in parliament and that the Jews have their synagogues and schools and that they were to pray and serve the Almighty, even though we have a distinctly different religion, they were always protected and respected by Ayatollah Khomeini and as he set up the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Till today, and God shall help us continually, we are protected and respected and we are very thankful for this beautiful and godly action of Ayatollah Khomeini and one of the issues that he did, he decided that he would make at the last Friday of the fast of Ramadan that everybody should go out on the streets and protest against the occupation of the Zionist state of Israel against the people of Palestine and not to be silent and speak about it. And as I say, the accomplishment is possibly the catalyst that we are seeing so much people, so many people and that we hope, Inshallah, that we will be in the very, very near future, maybe even today, we will see the end of the occupation, God help us.

One thing, we have expression in our Torah from bitter comes sweet. One thing is certain, if anything good that came out of this terrible, this calamity in the last 70 months is that the people have been witnessing day in and day out, as I mentioned, they’ve seen that reporters were targeted, that medical personnel were murdered, doctors and lawyers, and they were arrested and human rights people, that people were seen, everybody sees on their phones, how people, children, babies are wounded and mortally and left amputated and they’re crying and screaming and the parents are crying and screaming.

The people were seeing this and it changed the hearts that people are stopped, have stopped buying into the repugnant, unacceptable Israeli narrative and they’re realizing that what’s happening here is a satanic murder of innocent people and they’re therefore many in the hundreds of thousands and maybe, not maybe, but in the millions of people around the world from Iran, of course, which they’ve always been standing up to the people in the universities in the United States and in Europe and they’re protesting, even though they’re being viciously attacked as anti-Semitic, which is such a disgusting charge when anti-Semitic means against Jews because of their religion and all these people who are speaking up are speaking purely because they’re looking at innocent people being killed and it’s anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.

It is a contradictory concept, Zionism and Judaism, and to be opposed to Zionism is to be lauded, to be appraised. So when they’re being viciously accused of anti-Semitism, that’s a simple Zionist ploy in order to stifle opposition, but the world is standing up, even though professors are losing their tenure, they’re losing their jobs, students are being expelled from the universities and they’re being thrown out of the U.S. and England and the countries that there are also punishing them, people are getting arrested, all because they’re following in lockstep with the Zionist accusation of anti-Semitism and this is expressly false, but I must say proudly that there is tens of thousands and more of Jewish people who are protesting in the streets and they’re losing also their jobs and they’re not being silent.

4-If you are to make a wish for the Palestinian people, what would it be?

Of course what it would be is in Shala Gacha’el, a totally, totally free Palestine that it should be the entire Zionist occupation, the Zionist state of Israel should be entirely removed. God, as I said, with his almighty, with his might and his might and his unending power, he could make it just like the apartheid ended, that this should end without any more death or suffering that should be entombed. He removed that apartheid was removed even more so.

And of course, that God with his compassion should bring consolation to the people, condolences to all the people of Palestine who lost all their relatives and that the world should God help rebuild Palestine, that it should be again a beautiful, beautiful home for the people of Palestine who remain and that God should make that the hearts, should they should be able to carry on living without any the after effects of witnessing so much death and suffering that it should not psychologically affect them, God should help, of witnessing so much death and suffering that it should not psychologically affect that God should help. It should be totally repaired emotionally, physically.

And that they should be able to enjoy long and healthy life in the service of the Almighty and peace and tranquility. And that ultimately we should again choose to be able to be living together, together with the people of Palestine as we’ve had prior to this Zionism where we were always living together in harmony and peace. In Shala Khraach and hope for this compassion you should make this happen today. Soon and our days, thank you, and so amolaykim.