Ep. 100 - How Zionism stole Jewish Identity with Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro

This week Lara and Michael sit down with acclaimed Rabbi, author, and rabbinical scholar, Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro to discuss what it actually means to be Jewish. He dives deep into Jewish history and shows how the Zionist movement belonged to Christians before Theodore Herzl came around. He explains how the founders of Zionism hijacked the religion while holding a lot of the same beliefs as the antisemites of their day. He defines what it means to practice Judaism and how the future of Jewish identity hinges on defeating Zionism Book of Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro “The Empty Wagon: Zionism’s journey from identity crisis to identity theft“ : Article discused in this video : Steven Bayme’s “American Jewry and the State of Israel: How Intense are the Bonds of Peoplehood?“ A Palestinian-American Lawyer & Jewish-American comedian break down the latest Palestine-related news with commentary & interviews every week. Follow Lara: Follow Michael: ​ Music By: ​ Graphics by: ​ All sources relied upon in the preparation of this episode can be found at: 00:00 Intro 1:51 Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro’s bio 3:36 What is a Jew ? 9:47 Zionism’s Journey from identity crisis to identity theft 14:12 Zionists’ strategy to convince the Jews to embrace nationalism 20:26 The definition of a Jew 24:11 The Holy Land 29:30 Jews or Israelis? 30:10 Should Jews who speak up for Palestine do it because they are Jewish ? 34:03 Israel has to change its identity 38:29 Steven Bayme’s “American Jewry and the State of Israel: How Intense are the Bonds of Peoplehood?“ 40:48 How Zionism and Christianity exploited each other 44:16 Jewish scripture 52:37 Zionism is the opposite of Judaism 57:24 Israeli army is a church of zionism 58:37 Zionists try to assimilate to Middle Eastern style culture 1:04:06 Outro