Is Criticizing Israel Anti-semitism

Does criticizing or rejecting the policies of Israel equal to anti-Semitism? It all depends, as I explained earlier today. It all depends what's behind it. It all depends what's behind it. I actually have a person that was uh apparently a very famous anti-Semite for many years who apparently is a fan of mine and he recently uh abandoned his anti-Semitism. He contacted me. Uh apparently he likes my lectures and we exchanged a few uh a few uh a few words. Uh seems like a decent person trying to really turn around his life, go in the righteous path. And as I was saying, I hope that he succeeds in it. Uh but uh one of the things that uh I uh uh I wrote to him that I think really puts things in perspective that um I don't know. I think I think that most people don't really take into account when uh when they're practicing their uh let's just say their beliefs or whatever it is they call their beliefs uh you know, against politics and and and things like that. Um and in fact, I'll actually read you exactly what I wrote to him if I can find it quickly. Uh Ah, yeah. Um The problem with anti-Semites is their predisposed bias. And then Again, I'll read it. The problem with anti-Semites is that they have a predisposed bias and therefore the Jews can do nothing right in their eyes. This is one of the reasons the anti-Semites feel comfortable throwing all Jews into the same basket. The good news for those who watch my lectures is that they will quickly see that there's a necessity to distinguish between good and bad based on actions and not religion, gender, or any other bias. The thing that happens in world today is that people hate something, but they don't really understand what they're what they hate. So, they hate bad players. They hate bad players. They hate people that cheat the public. They hate people that manipulate people in a negative way. They hate thieves. They hate pedophiles. They hate whatever it is. And now, the truth is, any normal person will also hate those people. Any normal person that has a decent that's a decent human being will also hate those people. So, what's the difference between an anti-Semite and a normal person? A normal person will hate an anti-Semite. A normal person will hate a a a person that is you know, a thief or whatever. A a person that's you know, hurts other people and so on. Normal person will hate. An anti-Semite may hate those same people, but he will also mention that they're Jewish. Meaning, if somebody is a publicizes a bad player, and he isn't Nobody knows what he could be Christian. He could be Muslim. He could be Chinese. He could be Russian. Whatever he is. What you'll see in the media is oh, or you'll see in the the articles uh Mr. Steve you know, Jones just stole a bunch of money. Steve Jones just killed such and such. Steve Jones is a thief. Steve Jones is a bad guy, right? On the other hand, the anti-Semites, whether it be the media or the talking heads or whoever it is out there reporting Steve Jones killed somebody and by the way Steve is Jewish. That's an anti-semite. Why is that an anti-semite? Because when he wasn't Jewish, no one cared about his religion enough to mention his crime next to his religion. Nobody cared that Steve Jones made a Ponzi scheme and he happens to be Muslim and he happens to be Christian and he happens to be atheist. Nobody cares. They just say Steve Jones stole, raped, killed, whatever he did and that's why we hate him. That's why he's a bad guy. But when Steve happens to be a Jew, everyone all of a sudden cares about his religion. Even if he himself doesn't care about it. Even if he himself was born Jewish but is an atheist. He himself is born Jewish but he's a communist. Born Jewish but is completely secular, drives on Shabbat and I don't know, kills kills every opportunity to even learn Torah. He doesn't care about Torah. But people will still mention that he's Jewish. That's anti-semitism. So for those of you that feel the need to mention that the person that you hate is Jewish even if the person that you hate happens to have done a bad thing. And you decide that you want to mention their religion, too. Then you're an anti-semite. Because the reality is their bad acts have nothing to do with Judaism. Because if you learn anything and know anything about Judaism, the foundation of the Torah is morality. Which is being moral, being good, not hurting other people, whether they're Jews or gentiles. So if you're mentioning a bad player that means he did something that's against the Torah. That means he's an enemy of the Torah. That means that he didn't do it because he's Jewish. He's doing He did it because he just feels like it even though it's against the Torah. So, his Judaism was not part of his rationale behind his crime. So, you mentioning that he happens to be Jewish of religion is completely you know, a bias that you are just using as an excuse to express your anti-Semitic views. On the other hand, if you mention everybody, whoever it is, Jew, Gentile, doesn't make a difference, that did something bad whether it's politics or it's civil, whatever it is, and he did something bad, then there's no problem. They did something bad, they did something good, you want to talk about it, no problem. Because again, if it has their behavior has nothing to do with their religion, then why you mentioning it? The only reason why you're mentioning is because you're anti-Semitic. So, that's the difference. Do I think I'm superior to going? I'm superior to you because you are so self-conscious that there's no possible way that you could ever do the will of Hashem like he created you to do. Anyone that wants to serve Hashem, to do good things can do it. Elijah the prophet himself says, "Whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, young or old, maidservant or or or slave, everyone can get to Ruach Hakodesh if they do what the will of Hashem." So, everyone can get to a high level. But if you're too busy worried about whether I think I'm better than you or less than you, you're not spending your time wisely. You're too busy thinking about what I think as if you could find out what I think. You're a person. You need help. Worry about yourself. Worry about what you do. It'll be much better for your life. Did the former anti-Semite do complete chuva? I mean, I I've no idea. I don't know enough about him to know if he did complete chuva. From what it seems like he completely turned his back to the uh his past beliefs of anti-Semitism uh and apparently he's uh opened up his eyes to what the uh that it's all simply hatred for no reason and hypocrisy. Where he ends up in the future, it depends. If he continues in the right path, uh then he'll do very good things. If he um you know, uh starts uh reinventing the uh you know, himself of the past again in just a different version of it, then obviously not. So, it depends. I don't know. I don't know, but he seems like a decent person. Seems like an intellectual person. Seems like a person that wants to do good. It just depends on what his moral compass is going to be based on. If his moral compass is going to be based on uh you know, the uh the media, the opinions of others, the uh the the the heresy and idolatry of the world, then unfortunately, that's going to steer him in the wrong direction, no matter what which way he goes, whether he supports Nazism or not. Uh it's still going to be lead him in the wrong direction. But if his moral compass is based on the Torah, which is something that can impact his life in a very, very positive way, whether he's Jewish or not, um then his moral compass will guide him in the right way and he could succeed in fantastic ways and even make uh Kiddush Hashem, sanctify Hashem's name. He could become a righteous Noachide. He could do uh do a lot of things. He could even convert to Judaism if he wants. >> Every Jew must remember that [music] he is a Jew and she is a Jew. We do not celebrate non-Jewish holidays, even if they seem harmless. It is a zilzul, [music] a disrespect to the Torah and it leads to chillul Hashem, a desecration of [music] God's name. Stick to our holy Torah and our own holidays. That is the path of a true Jew.