UK Chief Rabbi: 'I am Zionist because I am a Jew'

"If you are anti-Zionist, you are anti-Jews and anti-Judaism," he said, adding that "Israel is not just the geo-political endeavour of the Jewish people, it is the center of Judaism."

Britain's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (photo credit: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS)
Britain's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
(photo credit: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS)

"I am Zionist because I am a Jew," the UK's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis told attendees of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

"If you are anti-Zionist, you are anti-Jews and anti-Judaism," he said, adding that "Israel is not just the geo-political endeavour of the Jewish people, it is the center of Judaism."

"A strong Israel means a strong Jewish people."

He stressed that, coming from the diaspora, "I can declare openly, Israel, we are with you, the Jewish world is with you."

 BRITAIN’S CHIEF Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis attends a march in London against the rise of antisemitism in the UK, this past November.  (credit: Susannah Ireland/Reuters)
BRITAIN’S CHIEF Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis attends a march in London against the rise of antisemitism in the UK, this past November. (credit: Susannah Ireland/Reuters)

IHRA definition of antisemitism

Rabbi Mirvis also praised the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which he called "outstanding."

He added that antisemitic acts do not happen in a vacuum, and warned that "hate thought can easily become hate speech, and hate speech can easily become hate crime."