Rabbi Brant Rosen: A Much-Needed Jewish Voice for Solidarity With Palestinians
by Rev. Robert Goldstein
My father was Jewish and my mother Irish/English. My great grandfather, Jakov Goldstein, as an infant, was the sole survivor of a pogrom in Russia. He was taken to the Goldstein clan in Jerusalem and grew up in the Jewish quarter. So also my grandfather. Near the beginning of the 20th Century Jakov and his children emigrated to Australia. My father was first generation Australian. Years later I would serve on the Metro Chicago Synod Lutheran/Jewish Dialogue Team and would visit Israel/Palestine under the auspices of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) -a progressive Jewish movement. One of the accomplishments of our team in 1993 was to bring the ELCA to repudiate Martin Luther's violent writings on the Jews.Over the past 20 years I have watched with painful alarm as the culture of Israeli politics fell into the same extreme arrogance as that of the Bush administration. I brought this up with Pastor Erik as we were being driven from a Conference to a NY airport. The driver overheard my remarks and chimed in to tell us that he was in the Israeli Army but left Israel in disgust as the army abandoned its respect for Palestinian human life. The continued encroachment of the Israeli occupation of Palestine with settlements, the arrogance of Prime Minister Netanyahu toward Palestine and President Obama, and the powerful influence of AIPAC with politicians (witness the Senate attempt to add more sanctions on Iran to destroy President Obama's search for dialog with Iran -- really senators burnishing their pro-Israel-at-any-cost credentials) can only mean for me to support the Lutheran Bishop of Palestine and Jordan's criticism of Israeli violence and aggression.
I also believe that there many in Israel who are opposed to the policies of Netanyahu who wants to change the democratic secular state of Israel into a "Jewish state" -- marginalizing the Israeli Arab population. That was not the vision of many of the founders of the country. I am so glad the the movement "Jewish Voice for Peace" is growing and such leaders as Rabbi Brant are arising to bring a much needed Jewish voice in the previous language of Israeli leaders and Jewish communities in the US. Let's listen and learn from him on Sunday, February 16 at 2 PM at St. Luke's.Pastor Goldstein is a rostered leader in the Metro Chicago Synod, ELCA, and a member of St. Luke's Logan Square.Rabbi Brant Rosen discusses "Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity" at St. Luke's Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Join us! For more information on Rabbi Rosen, see the discussion of the December study on issues of peace and justice in Israel/Palestine at St. Luke's.