Shafaq News- Washington

Jewish protesters gathered outside the White House on Wednesday to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza, as he visits the US capital.

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid, speaking at the protest, called on President Donald Trump not to “fall under the influence of that criminal, Netanyahu,” accusing him of “falsely” speaking in the name of Judaism. “Judaism is a religion of submission to God,” Dovid said, distinguishing it from Zionism, which he described as a nationalist movement that emerged roughly 140 years ago. He argued that the modern Israeli state contradicts core Jewish religious teachings.

The rabbi cited Jewish law as prohibiting killing and said it forbids Jews from establishing sovereignty or a national homeland since the destruction of the Second Temple 2,000 years ago. He described Israel’s founding as a “distortion that has fueled bloodshed among Palestinians and Jews alike.”

Dovid urged world leaders not to yield to “intimidation,” arguing that opposing “genocide in Gaza” does not constitute antisemitism. He claimed Zionism itself deepened divisions between Jews and Muslims after centuries of coexistence.

Since the ceasefire began on October 11, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 574 Palestinians have been killed and 1,518 injured, while 717 bodies have been recovered. Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, the cumulative toll has reached 71,851 killed and 171,626 wounded.

For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington, D.C.