Jewish rabbis call
for dismantling Israel
Article from Gulf Times, Doha, Qatar
By
Anwar Elshamy
Sheikh
Qaradawi flanked by rabbis Weiss
and
Cohen at his house in Doha
TWO Jewish
rabbis yesterday called for a peaceful end of Israel
saying that the existence of the "Israeli state" was
contradictory to the Jewish law.
Speaking at a meeting with the Doha-based Muslim
scholar Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi, rabbis Ahron Cohen
and Yisroel Dovid Weiss, who are activists at the
Neturei Karta, a group known for its opposition to
the establishment of Israel, said that the creation
of Israel "was a heresy made up by the Zionists to
undermine the true Jewish life".
"Theodor Herzel and his friends were just heretics.
They are the worst enemy for the true Jews. According
to the Torah, Jews are forbidden to have a state.
All Jews should refuse the existence of the so-called
state of Israel which tarnished our image. We will
not lose hope and dream of dismantling the state of
Israel,"
said
Weiss who called on Qaradawi at his house in Doha.
The UK-based Cohen also called for peaceful dismantlement
of what he described as the "Zionist state" which
he said "triggered tension and conflict in the region" since
it was established.
"We should draw a distinction between the Zionism
and Judaism. Zionism is a political movement which
exploited and misled Jews and undermined the Jewish
life and spirituality. I believe that the current
tension in the Middle East can disappear overnight
once the superpowers agreed to dismantle the Zionist
state," he said.
About the current situation in the Palestinian
territory, Weiss blamed Zionism for the "bloodshed" in
the region saying that it was the root of all the
evil in the region since the establishment of Israel.
"Our hearts are bleeding for the atrocities committed
against the Palestinians. It is a double tragedy both
for them and us. We know that Jews and Muslims used
to live together peacefully for centuries when the
Muslim world was a safe haven for the Jews who fled
from Spain. At that time, there were no human rights
groups. However, we lived together peacefully," he
said.
Qaradawi, who is the head of the International
Union of the Muslim scholars (IUMS), hailed the stances
of Cohen and Weiss on Zionism as "true" saying that
both Jews and Christians should be closer to Muslims
than any other nations.
"Muslims have no problems at all with the Jews
themselves. Our main conflict is with the Zionist
movement. I hope that the Neturei Karta can introduce
its stance to the Arab media so that people can know
that there is a big segment of Jews opposing the Zionist
entity."
The rabbis of the Neturei Karta, who introduced
themselves as Jews but not Zionists" also voiced their
opposition for the proposed naming of Israel as "Jewish
state".
"Zionists have stolen all our symbols. Now they
name their state a Jewish state though they are not
Jews at all. We should not mistake them for Jews." |
