Anti-Zionist rabbi calls for continued boycott of companies backing Israel

A visiting US rabbi has called on opponents of the Zionist state to continue boycotting companies seen as allies of Israel, saying this goes hand in hand with efforts to end the occupation of Palestine.

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a prominent Jewish voice against Zionism and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, was responding to a question about the controversy surrounding the Malaysian government's refusal to cancel a deal with a company owned by US fund manager BlackRock, which is accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes.

Weiss said he did not want to tell any government what to do, but added that it was obvious that supporting pro-Israel companies was tantamount to supporting the occupation.

"People should not be supporting the occupation, obviously. That means they should not be supporting companies that are supporting the occupation.

"They (the Zionists) are simply a criminal entity and therefore what emanates from them is logically wrong and logically you should not support it," he told MalaysiaNow on the sidelines of a colloquium on Palestine in Putrajaya today.

The event, organised by the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) and several non-governmental groups, was supposed to be also addressed by former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was unable to attend today as he is still recuperating at the National Heart Institute.

"We must hold Israel accountable for their evil and barbarity and be punished for it. I appeal to the decency of the world to please, please, please stop the massacre!," Mahathir said in a message read by PGPF chairman Norian Mai, the former inspector-general of police.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has come under fire from pro-Palestinian groups over a government-backed deal in which BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) will be part of a consortium to operate airports across the country.

Under the deal, GIP will take a 30% stake in a consortium to manage Malaysia Airports Holdings, alongside the government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional and Employees Provident Fund, both entities under the jurisdiction of the finance ministry led by Anwar.

Anwar has repeatedly defended the decision, saying the government could not cut ties with companies doing business with Israel, adding that such a move would also "affect the country's economy".

He also claimed that Hamas leaders had no problem  with Malaysia doing business with pro-Israel companies.

On the same day he made the remarks,  Hamas released a statement calling on Muslim countries and Palestinian sympathisers to continue boycotting the Israeli state and its supporters. It added that a global campaign had so far achieved "significant accomplishments in undermining the entity's economy, isolating it, and delegitimising it".

Weiss, an American Haredi Jew, has long campaigned for the dismantling of Israel, arguing that the establishment of the state goes against the teachings of Judaism.

He said Jews were the first people to boycott Israel.

"We simply do not buy products, especially from the settlements, and we try very carefully not to use products made in Israel," he added.

He cited the American experience in condemning Israel's current military campaign in Gaza, where at least 35,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since October last year.

"We went and gave support to the students' encampment in universities and told the people that they should not be intimidated, although they are being accused of being anti-Semitic.

"We have always offered our assistance. It happens very often that they were taken to court, accused of anti-Semitism, and we are ready to stand up for them, explaining it's not anti-Semitic," he said.

Meanwhile, at the colloquium today, the chairman of the Malaysian chapter of global anti-Israel movement Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) said the government was well aware of BlackRock's involvement in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

"We are puzzled because if we are talking about stopping the genocide in Gaza, why are we making a deal with a genocide supporter?" asked Nazari Ismail.

"The Malaysian government should tell BlackRock: 'Sorry, you are complicit in the human rights violations in Gaza. Therefore, we don't want to have anything to do with you'.

"I don't understand why they (Putrajaya) are not saying that at the moment," he said.

'Free Palestine' should mean dismantling Israel

Earlier in his speech, Weiss praised Mahathir for his vocal opposition to Israel.

"I personally had the privilege of meeting him over 10 years ago, and we spoke about the issue of what Judaism is, as well as the difference between Judaism and Zionism. Dr Mahathir, with his brilliance, understood it fully and was speaking so eloquently. I was basically overwhelmed," said the 68-year old rabbi.

He said that the slogan "Free Palestine" should mean nothing less than the dismantling of the state of Israel.

"We as Jews are here to explain that because we are Jews, we cannot accept that (the slogan) means a two-state solution. We cannot understand that people come in the name of our religion, in the name of Judaism, and claim that they have the right to simply take half of the land of Palestine.

"This is not acceptable, this is not Judaism, this is contrary to the core religion of Judaism," he said, adding that the concept of a state for the Jews is a violation of the Torah.

"Zionism is a transformation of the religion of Judaism into nationalism," he said.

"Don't try to conflate this movement of Zionism with a religion of 3,000 years."