When footage of Israeli police violently attacking Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem surfaces online, the mainstream media remains largely silent. In a powerful episode of The Deen Show, veteran Jewish Rabbi Yakov Shapiro — a senior rabbi of over 30 years — breaks down exactly why this happens, who benefits from the silence, and why the history of Jewish-Muslim coexistence tells a story the world desperately needs to hear right now.
A Rabbi Exposes Anti-Semitism From Within
Rabbi Shapiro draws a critical distinction that most Western media refuses to acknowledge: the difference between Judaism and Zionism. He explains that Zionism, according to authentic Jewish Torah teaching, is a modern political movement that sought to replace traditional spiritual Judaism with a nationalistic ideology. The founders of Zionism — Theodor Herzl and Ben-Gurion — were not practicing Jews; they were secular figures who actively opposed Orthodox Judaism. Ben-Gurion even called Orthodox Judaism “Nazi ideology,” while Herzl openly preferred Christianity to Judaism. When Orthodox Jews resist this political takeover of their faith, they face real consequences — from beatings by Israeli police to outright assassination, as in the case of Jacob de Haan, a Jewish community leader killed by Zionists for opposing their agenda.
“The Zionists are also anti-Semites, but they’re anti-Semites against the anti-Zionist Jewish religion. They don’t like the Jewish religion at all unless you’re a Zionist religious Jew… Zionism is, according to Judaism, idol worship. It’s that simple.” — Rabbi Yakov Shapiro
A Thousand Years of Peace Under Islam
- Jews thrived under Muslim rule — Rabbi Shapiro confirms that Jews lived far better under Islam than under Christianity in Europe, enjoying a Golden Age of coexistence, scholarship, and mutual respect.
- Neighbors cared for each other — In Jerusalem before Zionism, Muslim families would babysit Jewish children on Yom Kippur so Jewish mothers could attend synagogue on the holiest day of the year.
- Jews opposed Zionism alongside Muslims — When Zionists sought to take over the Holy Land, the pious Jews already living there went to the British and the Ottoman authorities begging to stop the Zionist movement, preferring to continue living peacefully under Muslim governance.
- Faith united, politics divided — As Queen Rania of Jordan stated on CNN, the conflict is not about religion; it is about politics. Islam and Judaism share deep values of justice, worship, and devotion to God.
“The Jews had a much better time under Islam than they did under Christianity in Europe. And to the point where when the Zionists wanted to take over the Holy Land, the pious Jews living there went to the British and even to the Ottoman Turks to say: we don’t want the Zionists here. We’d rather live under anybody.” — Rabbi Yakov Shapiro
Why This History Matters for Justice and Faith Today
Rabbi Shapiro’s testimony dismantles the false narrative that Islam and Judaism are inherently at odds. The truth, confirmed by over a millennium of shared history, is that Muslim societies provided safety, dignity, and religious freedom to Jewish communities — something that cannot be said of medieval Europe or, as the rabbi himself argues, of the modern Zionist state. For Muslims and Jews alike, returning to the principles of coexistence rooted in faith, compassion, and justice is not a utopian dream — it is a historical reality waiting to be restored.
