Rabbi Sacks on the connection between antisemitism, anti-Zionism, Judaism and Israel

As we approach Yom HaShoah, the day in the Jewish calendar when we remember the victims of the Holocaust, we tragically continue to see levels of antisemitism and antisemitic attacks rising in countries all over the world. Over the past year or so, working with White Animation, I have produced a mini-series of three short animated videos which seek to explain several aspects of the worrying and dangerous return of antisemitism.The first video looks at why antisemitism is a virus, how it has mutated over time and why its return today presents a danger not just for Jews, but for all who care about our common humanity. The second video explains what lies beneath the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, why it is so dangerous, and why Jews, people of all faiths and of none and all those who value a free society must stand up against it. The third video, released today and which you can watch below, explores the connection between Jews as a people, Judaism as a religion, and Israel as a state. It also shows how this connection is intrinsic to the link between antisemitism and anti-Zionism; something too often overlooked or misunderstood.You can watch and read the transcripts of these three videos here: https://bit.ly/2VvWZfN. Please help publicise them as widely as possible because these are messages the world needs to hear. Whatever the threats we face, we are, and have always been, proud to be Jewish and to live as Jews. Throughout history, many have tried to attack us or challenge our beliefs and way of life. And yet, throughout the generations, no empire has ever defeated the Jewish people, and no force, however dark, ever will. Am Yisrael Chai. The Jewish people live.

Posted by Rabbi Sacks on Tuesday, April 30, 2019