There was no classroom big enough, so they rented a stadium.
Masses of authentic Torah Jews are expected to fill the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to capacity this Sunday at 4:00 PM to hear major rabbis lecture on the incompatibility of Judaism and Zionism.
The lectures will emphasize the differences between Judaism – a religion centered around belief and adherence to the precepts of the Torah – and Zionism, a militaristic political movement designed to transform Jewish identity from religious to national, centered around a land, language, and army.
Since the state of Israel was established in 1948, Zionists have touted it as the “Jewish state,” and arrogated to it the role of representative of world Jewry. Opponents of Israel are silenced by Zionists with the accusation that they are “anti-Semites,” and Israel’s politicians are portrayed as leaders of world Jewry. Jewish opponents of Zionism have been branded “self-hating Jews,” and Israel has employed various means to coerce and convince Jews to identify with Israel as their state. Their methods of coercion include various forms of discrimination against the Orthodox anti-Zionist lifestyle. Most recently, media has attached religious significance to the move of the American embassy to Jerusalem.
This Sunday’s convention will be an important opportunity to hear the other side of the story, the position of Torah Jews on these subjects.
Besides their opposition to the ideology of Jewish nationalism, the lecturers will also explain the traditional Orthodox Jewish view that Jews are forbidden to wage war but must live among the nations of the world in peace and with utmost loyalty, and that we must resist and fight against the draft law with all means at our disposal.
Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, noted lecturer and author on both Zionism and Judaism, says “Israel’s referring to itself as the Jewish state is a form of collective identity theft, since Jewishness is a purely religious identity, not political or national.” He explains, “It is crucial for people to realize that Israel’s identification as the Jewish state is a unilateral claim of Zionism. Judaism says the Jewish people are members of a religion and have no state except those in which they reside.” Rabbi Shapiro will be available during the event to answer questions for the press and other interested parties.
Members of the press: to obtain your entry pass to the stadium, or for information about Rabbi Shapiro and his availability for interviews, please contact Isaac Richter at 516-399-7730.