Jews for Jihad: When Israel Hatred Exploits Jewish Identity

One night in the spring of 2024 I found myself walking past the encampment at the University of Toronto. It was a loud mob of people shouting “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea”. The police recommended that I not openly wear my kippa for my own security as Jews can be targeted in such places. Though, I realized that there were other Jews there, albeit very different kinds of Jews. These Jews were not only participants but some of the leaders of the encampment. I later had learned that these Jews conduct Kabbalat Shabbat services, a Passover Seder and other Jewish rituals at the U of T anti-Israel encampment and in similar settings. They were donning their keffiyeh talitot and watermelon kippot while praying for the destruction of Israel. I refer to this new so-called Jewish movement as Jews for Jihad. Jews for Jihad groups include Jewish Voices for Peace, Jews Against Genocide, Independent Jewish Voices, and Rabbis for a Ceasefire to list a few. Whether they know it or not, they exploit their Jewish identity to support the Jihadi cause to destroy the only Jewish state and its millions of citizens. When I put these groups of estranged Jews together, I realized they have less in common with mainstream Judaism than groups who are outside of the community such as Jews for Jesus.

Jews for Jesus adherents believe that the Hebrew Bible has divine origins. They believe that the Land of Israel was given to the Jewish people. They understand that Jihad is a dangerous evil in this world that any moral person must fight against and never ally with. Jews for Jihad do not believe in the religious authority of the Hebrew Bible. They do not believe that the Jewish people have any legitimate claim to the Land of Israel, and they align themselves with Jihadists. I am not suggesting that we embrace Jews for Jesus. Clearly they are out of the boundaries of Judaism. Rather, it is evident that if Jews for Jesus are out, than certainly Jews for Jihad is an illegitimate Jewish movement. Both groups share a superficial expression of Judaism while their true spirit belongs to other religions.

There are even Rabbinical institutions of the far left in America that graduate students who lack a basic understanding of Jewish history, the Jewish legal system of halakha, and the historical connection to the Jewish homeland. Some of these graduates move on to become communal leaders under the title “Rabbi.” These alleged rabbis are at the forefront of anti-Israel rallies and protests and knowingly or unknowingly, fight for the Jihadi cause to weaken Israel against its enemies. 

Jews for Jihad’s efforts have serious implications. For example, the Ontario Court ruled that the University of Toronto’s anti-Israel encampment was not antisemitic. This decision was largely based on the fact that groups of Jews participated in the encampment and celebrated Judaism in their unique way and who openly called for Intifada and Jihad. This demonstrated how Jews for Jihad empowered the false notion that anti Zionism is not anti-semitism. According to a recent poll, only 3% of the Jewish people believe that Israel should not exist. However, this is a very loud and harmful 3% who are responsible for misleading world opinion about legitimate Jewish voices on Israel. This clearly has legal implications as seen in the University of Toronto court case.

Jihadist supporters are masters at exploiting terms. Genocide, Apartheid, Holocaust, are some of the many words they misuse to propagate their lies. Jews for Jihad learn from their allies to exploit the term Jewish in the title of their various groups. 

This ideology which is a denial of traditional Judaism and Jewish history has been replaced with woke political ideology. It is so foreign to mainstream Judaism in that it lacks any acknowledgment of G-d, the halakhic system, the holiness of the Land of Israel and so many other basic tenets of our religion. 

Jewish Voices for Peace put out a Haggadah this past year called Exodus from Zionism. It conveniently skips key elements of the traditional Haggadah such as Next Year in Jerusalem and V’hi Sheamda. V’hi Sheamda is about the many faces of antisemitism the Jews have faced and outlasted over the generations that G-d has saved us from. 

Jews for Jihad are blind to the reality that they are pawns for the current face of antisemitism. They don’t know about the Jewish historical narrative and choose to be Hamas’ useful idiots instead. They are part of the enemy that tries to destroy the Jewish people in every generation that has been sung about at every traditional Passover seder for thousands of years. It is no wonder that V’hi Sheamda is omitted from their seder. Downplaying anti- semitism and deleting the historical connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is prevalent in the Jews for Jihad Passover celebrations and in their overall ideology.

There is an extreme leftist so-called Jewish movement today called Diasporism. Jews for Jihad who call on the destruction of Israel are Diasporists. They believe that the ideal form for the Jewish people is to live in the Diaspora. It is a complete rejection of the essence of Jewish prayer to return to Jerusalem, the main theme of the Prophets, the direction of Jewish prayer in synagogues worldwide and countless Jewish customs. The vision of a Jewish Jerusalem is a core element of Judaism. Judaism without Jerusalem is just as disconnected from our true essence as Judaism with Jesus is. A Muslim equivalent of Diasporism would be Islam without Mecca. A Catholic version would be Christianity without the Vatican. 

Just because Jews hold certain beliefs, it does not necessarily make them a legitimate Jewish ideology. Countless numbers of Jews are leaders of Buddhist movements known as JewBus. This is not a Jewish but a Buddhist ideology. Similarly, Jews for Jesus is not a Jewish movement. It is a form of Christianity. Karl Marx was Jewish. This does not make Communism a Jewish ideology because the founder was born a Jew. Equally so, Jews for Jihad does not represent Judaism. It is a group of Jews supportive of a radical Muslim ideology called Jihad. After all, when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei showed support for those protesting against Israel in the West, it became clear they are supporters of Jihad.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai wrote that the entire Jewish people is one body. When one part of the body is injured, the entire body feels the pain. What would the great Jewish mystic say about Jews for Jihad? How do they fit into his analogy of the Jewish people? Cancer becomes part of a person’s body when cells act irregularly to destroy its host. Jews for Jihad groups exploit their Jewish identity to be destructive to the Jewish people. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai would likely consider them a cancer in his analogy. Cancer can be cured. If these Jewish antagonists can be open-minded to learning more about authentic Jewish history and practices, and be less naive about their Jihadi friends, they too can be cured. Unfortunately, cancer is not always curable.