Rabbi Dovid Weiss spoke out against Zionism and the State of Israel to a scattered crowd of Cal State Long Beach students and Long Beach community members Tuesday.
Weiss, who was invited to speak by the Muslim Student Association, called for the peaceful “dismantlement of the State of Israel” and argued that its establishment was contrary to traditional Judaism.
“Zionism is a transformation of Judaism from belief in God to a materialistic concept,” he said. “Zionism decided to create their state in Palestine, but Palestine was inhabited predominately by Muslims.”
Zionism is a political movement that advocates for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Since Israel, the movement has supported the Jewish state in issues ranging from security to its right to exist.
The rabbi, who talked of being “brutally beaten” and “ridiculed” for his views, stressed that tensions between Jews and Palestinians were not religious.
“We were co-existing as Jewish communities together living amongst Muslim communities … [in] every single Arab country … for hundreds of years,” Weiss said, discussing Jewish communities in Iran, Iraq and Jordan. “How come in the last hundred years there is a radical change?”
The rabbi blamed Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel, but some disagreed.
Two members of Long Beach Hillel protested outside the Kinesiology building lecture hall, but left as soon as Weiss’ speech began.
“Rabbi Weiss does not represent most of worldwide Jewry in his beliefs against the Jewish State,” Campus Rabbi Drew Kaplan said.
Israeli citizen and junior graphic designer major Nitzan Harel agreed.
“He tries to represent [his views] as if it’s like everybody thinks this way,” she said. “[It’s like he says,] ‘Oh, everybody agrees with us. The State of Israel shouldn’t exist.'”
Harel also accused Weiss of Holocaust denial.
The speech lasted an hour and a half and ended with a 30-minute question-and-answer session.
Weiss, who spoke at Iran’s International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, elaborated on allegations of Holocaust denial during the session.
He said he went to Iran to argue that the Holocaust happened, insisting his speech could be found online.
“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,” a transcript of the speech read.
“I definitely thought it was very informative,” said Ahmad Shabaik, junior engineering major and member of MSA. “We really work a lot with the Palestine issue and we never get a chance to hear the Jewish perspective on it.”
Weiss is a spokesman for the Neturei Karta assemblage of Haredi Jews. Established in 1939 Jersualem, during the British Mandate of Palestine, Neturei Karta means “Guardians of the City.”
The Haredi rabbi lives in Monsey, NY and spoke at CSULB for free. The MSA paid for his accommodations.
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