Rabbi Feldman recounts life in Palestine before Zionism: "Jews, Muslims and Christians lived in peace in Palestine in pre-Zionism era"

At the "European Summit for Palestine" held at Çırağan Palace, Rabbi Feldman from the Anti-Zionist Jews Organization Neturei Karta International (NKI) answered journalists' questions, explaining the difference between Judaism and Zionism.

Orthodox Rabbi Feldman, who came from the U.S. state of New York to Istanbul to attend the summit, stated, "Judaism is a religion, just a religion, it does not involve politics. In contrast, Zionism is purely a political movement, related to nationalism, and does not represent the Jewish religion. Unfortunately, people think these two are the same, and that all Jews support Israel, but it's not the case," he said.

Highlighting that many Jews worldwide oppose the crimes committed by the state of Israel, Feldman stated that the existence of the state of Israel is contrary to Jewish beliefs and that is why they also oppose the existence of the state of Israel.

Stating that there are hundreds of thousands of like-minded anti-Zionist Jews worldwide, Feldman said there is a strong anti-Zionist community in New York.

Feldman stated, "We say that everything done to Palestine is wrong. All these crimes, killings, thefts, oppressions have been applied to an entire people from the beginning. This is not just a genocide we have seen in the last two months. The occupation of Palestine from the beginning is also wrong; it is a crime."

Emphasizing that Israel's actions are not only against international law but also a crime from the perspective of Judaism, Feldman said, "The Torah prohibits all these crimes."

Feldman noted that even if Israel had not committed any crimes and people were living in peace in the region, according to Jewish teachings, they would oppose Israel.

Stating that the foundation of Jewish teachings is based on the fact that Jews are in exile, Feldman said, "It is forbidden according to their beliefs to fight and establish a dominant state with the 'will of God.'"

Feldman said, "All this must end. If we completely stop this occupation, hopefully, we will see peace once again in a peaceful way, without allowing anyone to suffer. We lived in peace in Palestine before the invention of Zionism, and we hope we can do it again in the future."

Pointing out that they want a single-state solution where there is no occupation, no oppression, and all rights are restored to the indigenous people, Feldman stressed that both Muslims and Christians, as well as Jews, are part of the native population of Palestine, and the Zionist movement does not represent the Jewish people.

Feldman evaluated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's constant references to "sacred texts" during the days when Israeli attacks on Gaza began with the following words:

"This is pure hypocrisy. Netanyahu is a secular person, the Zionist movement is a secular movement, and they are using the religion they refuse to follow. They are abusing the religion to justify crimes that are forbidden in that religion. This makes no sense, and it is pure hypocrisy."

Israel's attacks on Gaza are also heavily criticized by some Jewish groups.

Neturei Karta International, consisting of Orthodox Jews and based in the U.S., is one of the groups that make the heaviest criticisms of Israel.

Members of NKI, whose protests against Israel's previous attacks on Gaza have been frequently heard, wrote a letter to former U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing the thoughts of Orthodox Jews and opposing the decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Members of NKI, in various forums and events they participate in, explain that Zionism is an ideology that does not represent Judaism.