In his latest radio segment Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro brings down compelling arguments on the topic “Is Jerusalem the Capital of the Jewish People?”
Here is a summary of the Rabbi’s show. In case you missed it you can listen to the recording below.
President-Elect Donald Trump has recently issued a statement that he believes in moving “Israel’s” American Embassy to Jerusalem. Netanyahu has always said that Jerusalem is the official capital of the Jewish people, Ariel Sharon also said this.
The Jewish Nation don’t have a capital, a capital is a political concept. We are not a country, we are a people, a nation established on Torah Judaism. Yes, Jerusalem is a Holy place but that doesn’t make it our capital. It is a Zionist concept that Jews are not a religion, but a nationality/race
Zionists say that the Jews became a people when they entered Israel. Not true – it happened at Mount Sinai, before we even entered the Land of Israel. Step 1 for Zionism was to nationalize the Jewish people. Step 2 for Zionism was that they say Israel is their country.
The modern state of “Israel” was founded by people who wanted to create a country in the middle east. Somehow they say that this country is the country of Jews worldwide. How? They claim to represent every Jew, a completely unfounded claim. The Jewish people had nothing to do with the creation of this state. The Zionists did. The majority of religious Jews at the time did not want Israel to represent them at the state’s founding. Ben Guirion, Israel’s first Prime Minister agreed with his generation’s leading Rabbis to never claim that “Israel” represents worldwide Jewry as it would be dangerous to Jews worldwide. It casts them as dually loyal. They can never be fully loyal to their home country if they are also loyal to “Israel”. He later went back on his agreement.
Zionism not only a country- also an ideology which makes claims about the Jewish people that they are a nationality and “Israel” is their nation-state. According to Zionists, anyone who disagrees with this is a traitor. Netanyahu went to UN claiming to represent all Jews, went to Paris and Denmark telling the Jewish community there that Israel is their home. Paris and Denmark Jews accused him of strengthening antisemitism in their countries and endangering their communities.
According to “Israel”, the state gets to decide who is a Jew: if someone converts to Christianity the state does not recognize them as a Jew. An atheist is still considered a Jew by their standards.
Zionist nationalism takes it even further than that: First, Ben Guirion said that “Israel” is the embodiment of the Jewish people themselves. Germany offered reparations for crimes they committed in the holocaust. People urged ben guirion not to take it as they cannot make amends that way for what was done. He took the money as he felt that it would help the state and that’s what the victims would want. Yair Lapid, when asked if it’s possible to be anti Zionism but not Anti Semetic, said no, “Israel is the embodiment of the Jewish spirit”. Rabbi Hershel Schechter, a religious Zionist said that “Israel” is allowed to go to war to save land because the nation state is the people. Just like you are allowed to cut a branch off a tree to save the tree, you are allowed to put people in danger to save Israel. This is complete Avoda Zara (idolatry).
Taking Callers:
Julie: You sound like you are Anti-Israel, are you a radical leftist? They are all anti semites. The Democratic party hates Jews and Israel. We voted for Donald Trump because Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. You are a self hating Jew.
Rabbi Shapiro: Thank you Julie, I’m actually a Republican. This is what the Zionists do, they bully people and slander people for disagreeing with the Zionist way. Herzl is the one that got Zionism off the ground. He knew that if you wanted people to get behind your movement, you need a flag. The Hasbara Israel Project’s 2009 Global Language Dictionary by Frank Luntz (a Republican) on page 100, explains why Zionists always lose arguments. Why do college kids who try to defend Israel always lose the argument: “…the pro-“Israel” tone is often loud and emotional while the people they are debating are calm and level headed.”
Next Caller, Boris: I understand what you are trying to say, with the state of “Israel” don’t the benefits outweigh the negatives to the Jewish people?
Thank you Boris, Tel Aviv University keeps track of anti semitism: when “Israel “goes to war there is always a negative effect on Jews and Jews are harassed or killed around the world. They need to stop calling “Israel” the Jewish state so as not to endanger Jews worldwide. They won’t because it gives their movement more legitimacy. Rav Shach says that it is forbidden to say that Israel represents the Jewish people because it endangers the Jewish people. Zionists don’t care about the safety of the Jewish people, just about furthering their own political agenda.
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