Why it is still Gaza on Shabbat Hanukkah
Published
by
Mike Cushman
JVL Introduction
Rabbi Rosen explains why he is still concentrating on Gaza despite all the other events the trouble us.
We must keep Gazans in our thoughts as the daily horrors inflicted on them by the Israeli army and government every day are again intensifying. Reflecting on this week’s Torah portion on Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt, Rabbi Rosen enjoins us to use the suffering of Gaza to also remember all those incarcerated in his America and globally.
MC
This article was originally published by Shalom Rav on Fri 27 Dec 2024. Read the original here.
Remembering the Forgotten on Shabbat Hanukkah
Rabbi Brant Rosen’s weekly email to Tzedek Chicago members:
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The world needs Rabbis to speak .
It is not just the deaths .
It is also the memories of abandonment and flashbacks .
This needs to be said .
I am saying it . I get it too .
If only more rabbis would speak out like this! The vast majority of them have either nailed their colours firmly to Netanyahu’s mast, or issued wishy-washy statements regretting the violence on “both sides” and trying to achieve “balance” between good and evil.
Moral leadership has come from the ice-cream makers Ben and Jerry, and from the very few rabbis who remain true to Jewish values.
I’m reading JVP’s book about how they organised , including how some rabbis got on board (‘Solidarity is the political word for Love’, Pluto press). Of course the Jewish community in USA is 7m+ while here in the UK it is 300,000. JVP’s own membership is 23,000+ but this was not automatic growth. Most interestingly the organisation grew by NOT compromising, only being prepared to argue over time for its BDS and anti-Zionist positions.
Even so, the tameness of UK rabbis is surprising to me. I think signing that awful letter accusing Corbyn of being an ‘existential threat’ undermined the morale of many progressive rabbis. How long they will take to break cover I do not know at all. Various friends say that “their rabbi” is all right, just scared. More observant friends can report back!