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Yisroel Dovid Weiss

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Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss
Weiss at New Horizons International Conference in Mashhad, Iran, 2018
BornOctober 1956 (age 67–68)
United States
Known forActivist and spokesman for a branch of Neturei Karta

Yisroel Dovid Weiss (Yiddish: ישראל דוד ווייס; born October 12, 1956) is an American Jewish anti-Zionist[1] and spokesman for the worldwide religious group Neturei Karta.[2][1][3] Residing in Monsey, New York, he believes that Jews should peacefully oppose the existence of the Israeli state: "It would be forbidden for us to have a State, even if it would be in a land that is desolate and uninhabited."[4] He emphasized the need for a complete return of land to Palestinians, rejecting the '67 borders and advocating coexistence.[5]

In 2006, Weiss was criticized for attending the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, which promotes Holocaust denial.[2][6] Co-speakers included David Duke and convicted Holocaust deniers.[7] As a result, Weiss incurred cherem (censure) from the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel[8] and was urged to be shunned by the Satmar Hasidic dynasty due to his participation.[4]

Weiss who himself lost most of his family in the Holocaust stated that he acknowledges the Holocaust's historical reality but criticizes Israelis for exploiting it, asserting that many Jews oppose Zionism.[5][9]

Biography

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His mother was originally from Poland. His father's family was from Hungary. Most of his family was killed during the Holocaust.[10]

Anti-Zionist campaigning

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Weiss speaks at rallies and conferences in the United States and internationally, criticizing Israel and Zionism.[11][12][13] In 2001, he attended the UN-organized World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, as part of the Islamic Human Rights Commission delegation.[14] During the conference, US and Israeli delegates walked out in protest of singling out of Israel.[15]

In November 2006, Weiss stated at a protest in New York City that, "Zionism is a fundamentally heretical movement which denies the Divine imperative that Jews remain in exile until the day when all mankind will be miraculously redeemed".[16] He repeated his claim at a 2011 conference in London, calling for Israel to be "dismantled" and saying the country is a "Zionist state that has kidnapped the name of Judaism".[6] At a conference organized by the Islamist Hezbollah in Beirut on March 13, 2018, Weiss presented a "symbolic gift" to be passed to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the organization.[1][17]

Visit to Iran, and stance on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

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In December 2006, as part of a six-member delegation from the small fringe group Neturei Karta,[2][1] Weiss spoke at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, held by the Iranian government in Tehran.[18] It was described by media sources such as NPR and London's Jewish Chronicle as a gathering of Holocaust deniers.[6][19] In his five-minute speech, Weiss addressed the issue of Holocaust denial:

Now, maybe I can say that at the discussion of the Holocaust, I may be the representative, the voice of the people who died in the Holocaust because my grandparents died there. They were killed in Auschwitz. My parents were from Hungary. My father escaped, and his parents remained. He wasn't able to get them out of Hungary, and they died in Auschwitz, as were other relatives and all the communities that they knew. So, to say that they didn't die, to me, you cannot say that. I am the living remnant of the people who died in the Holocaust, and I am here, I believe sent by God, to humbly say, simply to speak to the people here and say, 'You should know that the Jewish people died, and do not try to say that it did not happen. They did die!' There are people throughout the Jewish communities, still alive in their seventies and eighties, and every one of them will tell you their stories. It is something which you cannot refute, but that being said, it doesn't mean that the Holocaust is a tool to use to oppress other people.[4]

Weiss stated that though Israelis have used the Holocaust to gain sympathy and advantage, he does not believe the Holocaust toll is exaggerated.[9] Weiss said that "The Zionists use the Holocaust issue to their benefit. We, Jews who perished in the Holocaust, do not use it to advance our interests. We stress that there are hundreds of thousands [of] Jews around the world who identify with our opposition to the Zionist ideology, and who feel that Zionism is not Jewish, but a political agenda... What we want is not a withdrawal to the '67 borders, but to everything included in it, so the country can go back to the Palestinians, and we could live with them."[5]

Weiss defended Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against accusations of anti-Semitism. In March 2006, during a visit to Iran, Weiss released a statement to Iran's official IRIB radio in which he stated that: "It is dangerous deviation to pretend that the Iranian president is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic. He is extremely friendly, and he understands the difference between the Zionists and the Jews who do not embrace the state of Israel."[2] The statement added that they were "upset about the recent ploys, propaganda, and tensions which have been created by the West regarding the statements of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about a world free of Zionism, since this is nothing more than wishing for a better world, dominated by peace and calm."[20]

American Jewish organisations, including Agudath Israel of America and the Orthodox Union, issued statements distancing themselves from Weiss.[18][21] The executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, has called the group "embarrassing",[21] and Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for Agudath Israel of America, called Neturei Karta's public display of affection for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "graphic and disgusting".[21]

After returning to the U.S. from the conference, Weiss and other individuals who attended were ostracized by synagogues, denied service at kosher stores, and subjected to disparagement in some communities with strong Haredi populations, such as Brooklyn and Monsey.[2] A demonstration outside a Neturei Karta synagogue on January 7, 2007, was met by a counter-demonstration attended by "a much smaller contingent" of supporters of Rabbi Weiss.[2]

Weiss's activities during the 2023 Israel–Hamas conflict

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Following the Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, Weiss and his Neturei Karta colleagues have been active in advocating for Palestinians in Gaza, speaking on various media and joining in marches and demonstrations such as a pro-Palestinian march in New York City on 17 November 2023.[22] In early December 2023 Weiss and his Neturei Karta contingent journeyed to South Africa to attend the Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine, a convention which received criticism because of the attendance of Hamas representatives.[23][24]

Weiss's reaction to critics

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Weiss asserted that the Jewish world had misunderstood the actions of Neturei Karta. He said the organization did not appear at the conference to deny the Holocaust, but to draw a distinction between Zionists and Jews.[21] Weiss stated that he believed Ahmadinejad is not an enemy of the Jews, but is a "God-fearing man [who] respects the Jewish people, and he protects them in Iran".[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Surkes, Sue (March 14, 2018). "Anti-Zionist rabbi gives Hezbollah chief in Beirut gift 'from the Jewish people'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Santos, Fernanda (January 15, 2007). "New York Rabbi Finds Friends in Iran and Enemies at Home". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Orthodox Rabbi Condemns Recent Israeli Atrocity in Gaza". Neturei Karta International. November 10, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Speech by Rabbi Y. D. Weiss, Tehran Conference, December 2006". Neturei Karta International. December 12, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Nahmias, Roee (March 12, 2006). "Neturei Karta in Iran: Zionists use Holocaust". Ynet. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Sugarman, Daniel (January 4, 2018). "Jeremy Corbyn condemned after footage shows him appearing to agree with 'Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism' claim". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  7. ^ Lefkovits, Etgar (December 11, 2006). "Israel slams Iran Holocaust conference". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 12, 2006.
  8. ^ Rabbi Metzger: Boycott Neturei Karta participants of Iran conference (YNetNews) December 14, 2006.
  9. ^ a b Correction: Iran-Holocaust-Conference (Fox News) January 9, 2007
  10. ^ Interview by Harold Channer,
  11. ^ Maher, Ahmad (August 26, 2003). "Zionism, Israel Threat to Peace: Rabbi Weiss". IslamOnline.net. Archived from the original on February 22, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  12. ^ "UK Muslims present: Jews against Zionism". Ynet. May 7, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  13. ^ "Against Zionism, Jewish Perspectives – 2 July 2006". Islamic Human Rights Commission. July 2, 2006. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  14. ^ The Race Against Racism: A report of IHRC's work at the UN World Conference Against Racism, 2001 Archived August 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (Islamic Human Rights Commission) November 1, 2001.
  15. ^ Racism summit seeks breakthrough (BBC) September 5, 2001.
  16. ^ Bonisteel, Sara (December 26, 2006). "Ahmadinejad Handshake Leaves Rabbi's Neighbors Crying Foul". Fox News.
  17. ^ "Hizbullah Deputy Sec.-Gen. Sheikh Naim Qassem Receives a "Symbolic Gift from the Jewish People," Declares: We Will Be Victorious But Are in No Hurry". MEMRI.
  18. ^ a b Shamir, Shlomo (December 16, 2006). "Satmars: Jews at Iran Holocaust Conference 'Reckless Outcasts'". Haaretz. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  19. ^ Iran Hosts Large Meeting of Holocaust Deniers, All Things Considered, December 11, 2006.
  20. ^ Freund, Michael (March 6, 2006). "Neturei Karta Sect Pays Visit to Iran". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d e Berkman, Jacob (December 19, 2006). "Orthodox furious at anti-Zionist sect". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  22. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  23. ^ Masuabi, Peter Fabricius and Queenin (November 30, 2023). "Hamas leaders' presence in SA for a Palestine solidarity convention stirs controversy". Daily Maverick. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  24. ^ "'We salute President Nelson Mandela for his support for Palestinian struggle': Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine kicks off in Johannesburg". IOL. Independent Online. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
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