The Daily Signal - BONUS INTERVIEW | Israeli Rabbi Shares What America Can Learn From Israel on Socialism, Terrorism

Episode Date: May 24, 2023

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who left Ohio for Israel in 2011 and who founded Israel365, tells The Daily Signal what America should learn from the Jewish State when it comes to socialism and confronting the radical Left. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi everyone, Samantha Sharis here bringing you a bonus episode of The Daily Signal podcast. While socialism, secularism, and radical activists seem ascendant in the U.S., an Israeli rabbi who left America in 2011, argues that Israel rejected these trends and represents a model for his birth country to follow. Rabbi Tuli Wight's an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who left Ohio for Israel and who founded the news outlet Israel 365. sat down with the Daily Signals Tyler O'Neill at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention on Monday. He reflected on Israel's 75-year history and drew lessons for America today. Now here's Tyler's conversation with Rabbi White's. Well, this is Tyler O'Neill, managing editor of the Daily Signal. I'm joined by Rabbi Tully Weiss of Israel 365.

He's the founder there and editor of the Israel Bible. It's great to have you. Thank you, Tyler. Thanks for having me. The Israel Bible is really the only Bible dedicated exclusively to the land of Israel and the people of Israel. I was in a Barnes & Noble's, and I couldn't believe how many different versions of the Bible, all these niche versions of the Bible. There's the American Patriots Bible. There's the golfer's Bible.

There's the red-headed, left-hand teenage girls Bible. And I was like, so I asked them, do you? have a Bible all about Israel, and she said, well, let me check my computer. No, we don't. So that stuck with me for a few years, and I started putting together a commentary about Israel because it pops out almost on every page and certainly in every chapter of the Bible. Yeah, no, I mean, it's shocking to me because when you're going through particularly the Old Testament, but also, you know, the vast majority of the New Testament, it's all happening either in Israel, dedicated toward getting to Israel, or returning to Israel. Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, God had his own way of running,

has his own way of running the world, but a certain people in a certain land is very important part of the recipe. And we don't want to mess with that. And the connection to land is something that in Israel, we instinctively understand because not that long ago, only 75 years. years ago, 1948, we didn't even have a state. We established a state. We had to build settlements. We had to drain the swamps. We had to build the roads. And as a result, everyone feels very connected to the land, patriotic or Zionistic. And unfortunately, in America, you lose a lot of the sense of the connection to the actual land. And as a result, you know, people aren't farmers as much as they used to be. As a result, people are not connected to the physical land, and it kind of

eventually patriotism also seems to get watered down a little bit. Yeah, so Israel just celebrated its 75th anniversary. You and I were just speaking briefly about a revolution that you see happening in Israel. Can you talk about that? Yeah, so Israel was a great miracle, 1948, the British pulled out and Israel declared its independence. And those original founders of Israel were amazing heroes, great people like David bin Goryone, or before him was Theodore Hertz, all the founders of Zionism. They were amazing. And, you know, sort of like the founding fathers of America, you know, George Washington

and Thomas Jefferson. and in many ways they were forging ahead with a new vision, a democratic country in the middle of the Middle East, right? The Jews didn't particularly even have a strong tradition of democracy. We never had our own government since the ancient biblical times of the Maccabees. So we established a democratic Jewish state. And most of the founders, though, were secular Jews. They were not faithful. They were not Orthodox Jews.

They did not read the Bible necessarily. Some would say socialist. Well, they were very socialist. Some were communist. Because again, Jews, this is, you have to understand the historical context, but socialism at the time was actually instrumental. The Kibbutz movement, where they established these agricultural sort of communes were really important because they couldn't pay people.

And so everybody had, they didn't have enough for everyone. They had to share things. And they had to share their shirts. Like literally didn't have enough shirts for all of the different farmers. So some people had, so these different, they would try anything. They just wanted a state where they could live as Jews and not be persecuted. So they were socialists and they were communists and they were democratic and they were everything. They were not very observant.

they were not faithful to God and to the Torah. And what happened after that first generation of founders, the second generation of builders did an even more amazing job growing Israel. And to the point where now it's one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has one of the best armies in the world, technology is emerging out of Israel. It's, you know, who would have thought, just in a short amount of time, Israel would have been able to accomplish so much. At the same time, you have these demographic trends where the secular community in Israel is getting smaller, and the religious community, the faithful Orthodox Jews, are having, on average, four kids, but many families, six kids. We have six kids. Some families in our neighborhood have 10 kids. And down the road, there are Jewish families, ultra-Orthodox families, that have 15 children.

So Israel has one of the highest birth rates of any developed country, developing First World country. And as a result, especially the religious community is becoming more and more powerful demographically. And so with the last election, you had a very religious and right-wing government representative of the fact that that's how the population is shifting. and at the same time, the secular, smaller, elite founding generation are seeing their power being taken away from them. And so there's a transition that's happening now. And even though everything is wonderful and we're grateful for all of the success that we've had over the last 75 years,

we're in the middle of a turbulent transition period. Yeah, and I think that turbulence, you know, you get a lot of people accusing Bibi Netanyahu of trying to make the organization less, the country, less democratic because he wants to change the way that the judiciary is structured so that there can be a little bit more of a check and balance. because right now, from what I understand, the judiciary can strike down any law, and you have almost a Roe v. Wade situation over in Israel. And without a written constitution, there's no balance there. Right, exactly. They didn't adopt a constitution in 1948. They said they were going to, and they didn't. Many in the religious community feel that, well, we don't need a constitution. We don't need a Constitution, the Bible is our Constitution. We need to learn how to interpret the Bible as a Constitution,

but as the Jewish people, it wouldn't be right for a bunch of men and women to get around and write a document that is how we're going to live our lives by and how we're going to run our country by. That's the Torah. That's the Bible. And so some feel that we should never even have a constitution. Others say, well, you know, we need a constitution. It will help avoid problems of this judicial overreach and the fact that based on any of their own standards, they can strike down laws for being unreasonable. So we need a constitution because a democracy needs a constitution. And so there's a lot of fighting over that Prime Minister Netanyahu, as you said Tyler, is trying to reform the judiciary to be more in line with the U.S. Supreme Court where you have

checks and balances between the department. And so we've seen these humongous crowds gathering. What do you see that these crowds as an example of? I think that the large protests that are happening is very much a result of the transition between the first 75 years of Israel, where the country was first and foremost a democracy. to be like any other Western democracy in the world, to a new generation of Israeli Jews who love democracy are not interested in going back to the days of socialism or communism.

By the way, all of these Kibbutzim, the Kibbutz agricultural communes, they all not closed down necessarily, but none of them are as communist or even socialist as they were. They're all capitalistic at this point. But no one wants to go back to socialism or communism. Everybody wants a democracy, but there are more and more young Jews who want, first and foremost, that Israel should be a Jewish state.

And yes, it should be a democracy, but a Jewish democracy. What does that look like? Well, there's no other precedent for it. And so we're going to do the best that we can. It's very important to all the Jews in Israel to give equal rights to all of its citizens, no matter if they're Jewish or Muslim or Christian. That's a very important pillar of Jewish democracy in Israel. Now, at the same time, we have major security issues that no other country in the world has.

None. We have terrorists who are living in our communities that are a major security challenge, that it's hard for people who are listening to this podcast to even, understand what it means to send your kids to school knowing that morning, Hamas, or Palestinian Islamic jihad, threatened to, you know, to kill a Jewish family today. Like they threaten all of the time. These are real security threats that we have to balance with our desire to be a democracy and our desire to remain a Jewish state. And at the same time, you also have the source. of Damocles hanging over your head with Iran, working with Russia and China.

You know, how does that plan? So you have Iran is definitely public enemy number one. And every day, 24 hours a day, they are finding ways to harm Israel and the United States and the United States by working with now with China and Saudi Arabia because they've noticed a vacuum of leadership in the U.S., the Biden administration. And at the same time, Iran is working furiously on their nuclear program. And at the same time, they are arming Chizbullah to Israel's North in the Palestinian Islamic jihad in Gaza and now even in the West Bank and Judea and Samaria.

So Iran is working 24 hours a day to try to destabilize and to destroy Israel. And we have a lot, we have our hands full. We have our hands full. And at the same time, there are many in Israel who say that our enemies will always be there. That's the way that God created the world. and he put sort of in the DNA of many of our neighbors a hatred for Israel and what the people of Israel represent. But what's even more important and what's even more dangerous than any external threat is the importance of internal cohesion, that the Jewish people must remain united and that we must find a way that the secular Israeli Jews and

Tel Aviv can live in peace and harmony with the religious Jews in Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria. And so despite all of the protests, what the center in Israel, who is definitely the majority, is looking for creative solutions in order to give proper respect to the previous generations who did a wonderful job building a miraculous country. but at the same time recognizing that we need to be friendly or more welcoming, more open to the newer, younger generation that wants Israel to be a Jewish democracy and not only a democracy like any other country. When you talk a lot about being a Jewish democracy and having the Torah as the fundamental supreme law of the land, or at least that many conservative Jews want that,

What does that look like? I mean, short of and maybe ultimately not short of rebuilding the temple, but, you know, how is that balance something that can be achieved? So that's a great question. What does it look like? And there are many great rabbis and scholars and constitutional lawyers who are trying to grapple with your question. What does it look like? yes we do want there to be a third temple the question is how how it's going to look and where exactly it's going to be and what the time frame of the construction project is going to be you know there's a lot how long did it take the second temple right at the 70 years at least well i mean it took it took, it took, you know, years to build it. But, you know, nobody wants a third temple at the cost of World War III. Right.

And, but at the same time, we can't let our enemies tell us that, you know, anything that we want to do. They said, you can't have an American embassy in Jerusalem, otherwise there will be World War III. So we have to do what we need to do, of course, and figure out what does it look like a Jewish state? you know another example that comes up a lot is a Shabbat so in Shabbat we don't as an Orthodox Jew I don't use electricity on Shabbat but what about what about friends of mine who are not Orthodox so should there be public transportation buses running trains running on Shabbat that's a that's a question and a lot of people have strong opinions in both directions on that and that's the kind of thing where as as a religious Zionist I'm hopeful that our leadership by looking into the Torah will find a way to keep as many people happy as possible

so that if you are observing Shabbat, you won't be interrupted. You'll be able to observe Shabbat in Israel where it will be a beautiful, serene, calm, peaceful day like it's meant to be. But at the same time, if you're not Sabbath observant and you want to be able to go to the beach, you could go to the beach and no one is going to, it's not going to be like Iran or it's not going to be an Islamic country where people who violate the rules

are going to be executed. And so we're trying to figure it out. And ideally, the solution will be such that Shabbat in Israel, will be so special that people all over the world will look at it. Look how this country, how do you have electricity running if the power plants are closed on Saturday? How do you do all of these things? Because America needs a Shabbat. Everybody needs time to be with their family and to be with God. And Israel should be that example for the whole world to look at. Look, look what they've done. They've

taken Shabbat and they've made it a national weekly holiday. That's something that should inspire, especially Christian countries around the world. And we're trying to figure that out. Yeah, I remember in America's history, we used to have everything closed on Sundays. But also, what can America learn, you know, not just from something like Shabbat that Israel is still figuring out, but from Israel's history, the political turmoil right now, you said there are a lot of parallels to the United States. Where do you see those? And what can we learn? So that's a great question. What can America learn from Israel? I think that the most important thing right now that America needs to learn from Israel is the importance of confronting radicals. There are radicals in Israel that are murdering innocent civilians and the media doesn't talk about it.

and then the State Department will criticize both sides. I'm using air quotes here because both sides as if there's a moral equivalency. And creating this moral equivalency, which essentially ties both of Israel's hands behind its back, so that Israel is trying to confront the radical violent terrorists and doesn't get the support that it deserves from its allies. And why is that so important? Because America has a lot of radicals also that are not, thank God, using automatic weapons to be shooting at families on their Passover holidays, like what happens in Israel. But the radicals in America are also using a similar playbook that the radicals on the far, I'm talking about the Marxist, leftist, that it's the same playbook.

They're able to get away with a lot more in Israel because no one is supporting Israel in its defense against those radicals. But I'm concerned, as somebody who grew up in America, that those techniques and those radicals are going to get more and more brazen as time goes by. And so the most important lesson that America can learn from Israel right now is the importance of confronting radicals. And we actually are coming out this week with a documentary called Confronting Radicals What America Can Learn from Israel.

And it tells the story of David Rubin, who with his son were shot at by Islamic jihadis. And his son was nearly killed, thanks to the grace of God, he survived. And David, instead of wallowing in anger and in depression, he built. one of Israel's most important organizations to support children who've been traumatized by terrorism. It's called the Shiloh Israel Children's Fund. And he's a hero in Israel, David Rubin. He recently wrote a book called Confronting Radicals because he was so bothered by the BLM rallies that were getting violent. And then they were starting to embrace the Palestinian talking points. And he couldn't understand what in the world does this have to do with George Floyd? And he understood that there

was a very sinister thread that was tying the radicals in America together with the radicals that he sees in Israel. And so based on his book, Confronting Radicals, we made a documentary on this very topic that I think tries to warn America to wait. up and to start confronting the radicals in the streets of the United States. I believe there's a specific organization funded by George Soros, at least in part, that he and you are focused on exposing. Can you talk more about, is it the Tilos Foundation? So that, I'm actually not familiar with the Tilos Foundation. I know that, I know that.

George Soros is somebody who, unfortunately, you know, he was a Holocaust survivor. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and they remained Orthodox Jews, and none of their friends, and very few of their relatives remained faithful after the Holocaust. They saw their family being killed. They saw the worst things in the world. And so a lot of Holocaust survivors went in many different directions in rebuilding their lives after the Holocaust. George Soros went in a far-left direction, and I don't know him personally, but I know that he supports many far-left causes, and the causes of the far-left are very well-organized

and very well-funded, and they're appearing in Israel. The judicial reform rallies are being propped up by foreign European organizations. organizations, maybe perhaps I'm not positive, but about maybe the what you're referring to, the George Soros organizations, although I'm not positive about that, but they're very well-organized the radicals on the left, and all of those on the right are not nearly as organized as we need to be in order to unite together to defend ourselves and our values against the radical left. very important for Israel 365, my organization, that's behind the Israel Bible, to be building bridges between Jews and Israel and evangelical Christians and conservative mind and Christians

in the United States. We believe, and I firmly believe, that the safety and security of not only the state of Israel, but also the United States depends on Jews and Christians, sort of to some extent putting aside our differences and our backgrounds and our often bloody and bad history to recognize that we are both under siege and that we are both need to be cooperating in order to be able to leave our children simply a better world than they're going to have if we don't do anything. And so with God's help, more and more Jews and Christians who understand and see eye to eye that we share many of the same values. And that what we have in common is so much greater than that what divides us. And by doing so, we can help make Israel stronger and we could help make America stronger.

Yeah. Well, thank you so much again for joining me, Rabbi Weiss. Where can the people follow you and, you know, find the Israel Bible. So theisraelbibble.com has links for the Israel Bible, of course. I'm at Israel365.com. And then for more information about confronting radicals, so we have a website for that as well, www.com. Wonderful.

Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. And that'll do it for today's bonus episode. Thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed that interview and want to hear more, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Signal, wherever you get your podcast, and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review.

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