Jihadi Jew

– December 7, 2011Posted in: From The Source

DISCLAIMER: To the FBI, MI5 and CIA. This is not an article about Jihad against Jews or Jews becoming Jihadists or even a group of Jihadists who want to be Jews. Its about a Jew called Jihadi which makes him instantly more interesting than any other Jew. To Muslims who have a bit too much time on their hands, just keep in mind that Jihad literally means struggle and we’ll all get along just fine!

For a while now I’ve been enjoying the Twitter feed of a certain Lee Weissman because of his always insightful, often hilarious comments and anecdotes on life and spirituality. Originally intrigued by his choice of name and expecting this to be some kind of wind up, I was impressed to find that he works to build bridges between Muslims and Jews. With the dry wit and keenness of observation that famous Jewish comedians such as Woody Allen possessed in bucket loads, its not hard to see why he has so many Muslim followers on his Twitter page. Honestly, its just so hard to not like the guy.

Here some choice quotes of his from Twitter followed by a few questions I fired his way:

“Some guys think about sports, I have medieval theologians dancing in my head. Makes me smart but not necessarily fun at parties. :-) ”

“It is remarkable that creatures as fragile as ourselves should feel so stupidly invincible.”

“I am pretty sure if a Jewish dude can get 1000 Muslims to retweet Dr. Seuss, I am gonna get some kind of Twitter award, just sayin’ :-) ”

Who is Jihadi Jew?

Jihadi Jew, is Lee Weissman, 51 from Irvine, California.  I am a husband, a father, grandfather and a high school Jewish Studies teacher.  The Jihadi Jew project (a Facebook group, A Blog, a Twitter account, a Youtube Channel and dinners around my shabbat table) are part of an effort to create friendship and dialogue between religious Muslims and religious Jews 

Why cant we all just get along?

Greed, Anger and the desire to “be right” prevent people from really understanding and meeting each other’s needs.  These are spiritual problems with spiritual solutions. 

You have a lot of Muslims following you on Twitter. Is it a love, hate thing?

I am sure that some Muslims are surprised at first. I would also say that most Jews are pretty sure that what is happening with Jihadi Jew on Twitter is simply not possible. Many would find it hard to imagine a  Orthodox Jew learning from Muslims about Islam and teaching about Judaism and comparing notes with fellow spiritual travelers. Nevertheless, that is what is happening.   For the most part, I think Muslims see in me what I see in them, kindred spirits. The things I write are as kosher as they are halal. It just so happens that we have so many values and concepts in common, that its fairly easy to speak to and from both traditions at the same time.  I am learning a tremendous amount from my Muslim cousins and I am strengthened by their encouragement. I hope they feel the same way about me. 

Can you tell me something about Judaism that is little known but we can all learn from?

Judaism does not teach that you have to be a Jew or practice the Jewish faith to be  saved. We believe that a monotheist that follows the basic laws of morality revealed to Noah is assured of salvation and can have a deep relationship with the Creator.  Though conversion to Judaism is permitted and many do convert, conversion is in no way a necessary condition for salvation. Most authorities hold that faithful Muslims would be regarded as more than fulfilling the laws of Noah.

I didn’t want to mention Palestine at all during this interview. Can you do that for me instead?

The best we can do now is to create channels of communication based on common values and faith. People like Rabbi Menachem Froman have begun to take the steps to do that. There need to be more to follow.  As I said before, these are ultimately spiritual problems in a land defined by its spirituality and connection to holiness. The utter failure of approaches based on force (on both sides) and self-interest (on both sides) are evidence that materially-based solutions are doomed.

Are there any Muslim theologians you admire and why?

For many years I have been a fan of Imam al-Ghazali. I am excited by the way he combines rationality with mystic depth.  Anyone who loves Chassidic philosophy in Judaism would love Imam al-Ghazali. The parallels are beyond remarkable.  More recently I have discovered Imam al-Haddad, whose works are mostly based on Imam al-Ghazali it seems but give them a kind of practical “in the trenches of spiritual practice” edge. 

Finish this sentence: A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim walk into a bar. The bartender says…

“OK this has gotta be a joke. Muslims don’t go to bars!”

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You can find more of him at @JihadiJew and on his blog http://jihadiyehudi.blogspot.com/

Ayman Raze

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