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Read Rabbi Knopf’s Recent Posts
- Leaning Into Love: A Jewish Message for Lent/Easter 2020 April 27, 2020
- Wearing a face mask? You’re doing a mitzvah. Make a brachah! April 14, 2020
- What God Needs Now: A Brief Pandemic Passover Reflection April 12, 2020
- A Eulogy for Helen Zimm (z”l) April 8, 2020
- Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic March 23, 2020
Tag Archives: middle-east
The Promises of Israel
Sermon from Kol Nidrei — October 8, 2019 It is striking that we initiate Yom Kippur with Kol Nidrei, a liturgical poem that both highlights the promises we make and alludes to the fact that we have an unfortunate … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged American Judaism, community, culture, current-events, faith, history, human-rights, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, justice, middle-east, peace, personal, philosophy, politics, religion, social justice, society, spirituality, terrorism
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A Non-Partisan Jewish Voting Guide
1. Anti-Semitism, racism, hate, and bigotry. Does the candidate stand up against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bigotry? Did s/he condemn the neo-Nazis and other white nationalists who marched with guns and torches in Charlottesville in 2017? Does s/he … Continue reading
Posted in Articles and Op-Eds, Reflections
Tagged community, culture, current-events, education, environment, faith, health, healthcare, history, human-rights, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, justice, medicine, middle-east, peace, politics, religion, science, security, social justice, society, theology
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Statement about the President’s Islamophobic Tweets
Tuesday morning, President Trump retweeted several outrageous (and, reports indicate, phony) Islamophobic videos from a fringe British ultranationalist group. The outburst represents a continuation of a disturbing pattern. President Trump routinely targets and vilifies Muslims. The pattern seems to intensify … Continue reading
Posted in Public Statements, Reflections
Tagged American Judaism, community, equality, ethics, fear, God, human-rights, Islam, Islamophobia, Jewish thought, Judaism, justice, leadership, middle-east, Muslim-Jewish relations, peace, politics, race, racism, religion, social justice, theology, Torah, Trump
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The Jewish Necessity to Question the Israel-Gaza Conflict
Over the past few years, Hamas operatives in Gaza have been indiscriminately firing rockets into Israeli civilian population centers. When the shelling dramatically increased last week, the Israeli government decided to initiate a strong military response. The Israeli government claims … Continue reading
Posted in Articles and Op-Eds
Tagged defensive war, ethics, halakhah, human-rights, Israel, Jewish law, Jewish People, Judaism, justice, middle-east, peace, peace negotiations, politics, religion, religious thinkers, ronald dworkin, social justice, society, Torah, war
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Israel, Iran, and Trayvon Martin
Reposted from: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/the-line-connecting-trayvon-martin-and-an-israeli-attack-on-iran-1.426760 “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then what is it? That’s right, it’s a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck and it’s time the world started … Continue reading
Posted in Articles and Op-Eds
Tagged defensive war, ethics, halakhah, Israel, Jewish law, middle-east, peace, politics, society, tragedy, war
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Would God Want Israel to Attack Iran?
Reprinted from: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/would-god-want-israel-to-attack-iran-1.416343#article_comments Israeli officials have recently ramped up their arguments for striking Iranian nuclear facilities. So far, there has been silence among Jewish religious thinkers about whether attacking Iran would be consonant with Jewish values. So what would Judaism … Continue reading
Posted in Articles and Op-Eds
Tagged defensive war, halakhah, Israel, Jewish law, Judaism, justice, middle-east, peace, politics, religious thinkers, war
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