The humanitarian situation in Gaza has grown beyond intolerable. If you have any doubts, just read this devastatingly important article by Sara Roy, senior research scholar at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies:
Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Programme, [...]
Archive for the ‘Global Activism’ Category
Rescue the Spirit of Humanity
Posted in Gaza, Global Activism, Global Health, Human Rights, International Aid, Israel, Palestine on July 1, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Is BDS anti-Semitism?
Posted in Anti-Semitism, Global Activism, Human Rights, Israel, Nonviolence, Palestine, Politics, Zionism on April 1, 2009 | 16 Comments »
For many Jews, no three letters seem to conjure up rage and fury as effectively as “BDS.” Still, I have a strong suspicion that we’ll be hearing them bandied about increasingly in the coming months.
Since the Gaza war, the movement for global Boycott/ Divestment/ Sanctions against Israel seems to have gained new momentum. Among its [...]
Exxon Valdez: A Dubious Anniversary
Posted in Current Events, Environmentalism, Global Activism, Water on March 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Hard to believe, but Tuesday, March 24 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. On that infamous day nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil was spilled into this exquisite sea habitat, covering 11,000 square miles of ocean. Hundreds of thousands of [...]
Jewish Brits Organize for Fair Trade
Posted in Fair Trade, Global Activism, Judaism, Poverty, Religion on March 3, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Kudos to the British Jewish community for mobilizing big time in support of Fair Trade!
Check out their impressive new Jewish Guide to Fair Trade – it has to be the most comprehensive resource of its kind. It’s even more remarkable when you consider that it is the product of a wide-ranging coalition that includes every [...]
A Rabbi Dad Kvells!
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, Global Activism, HIV/AIDS, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Judaism, Religion, Rwanda, Uganda on January 26, 2009 | 7 Comments »
It’s Mazel Tov time. This past Shabbat, our family celebrated our son Jonah’s Bar Mitzvah with our family, friends and incredible congregational community. A joyous kvell-o-rama!
As you may remember from earlier blog posts, Jonah attended JRC’s congregational trip to Rwanda/Uganda this past summer. In honor of his Bar Mitzvah, he’s been selling Mirembe Kawomera coffee [...]
Understanding Iran, Facing our Fears: A Sermon for Yom Kippur
Posted in Global Activism, High Holidays, Interfaith, Iran, Israel, Peace, Politics, Religion, Sermons on October 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
At Yom Kippur services yesterday, I announced to my congregation that I will be traveling to Iran on an interfaith peace delegation next month. I devoted the majority of my remarks to our current conflict with Iran, and why I have been so deeply frustrated with our government’s and the Jewish community’s response to this [...]
The Season of our Sustenance: A Sermon for Erev Rosh Hashanah
Posted in Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Green Buildings, HIV/AIDS, High Holidays, Hunger, International Aid, Judaism, Poverty, Religion, Sermons, Spirituality, Tzedakah on October 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As I sat down to write my sermons this New Year, I somehow found myself returning to the theme of “sustainability.” Click below for my remarks on Erev Rosh Hashanah:
Comfort in the Wake of Trauma
Posted in Global Activism, Israel, Palestine, Spirituality, Tisha B'Av, War on August 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This evening begins Shabbat Nachamu (”The Shabbat of Consolation”), the Sabbath immediately following the festival of Tisha B’Av. Last week we highlighted our collective experience of pain and loss; beginning this week we begin the road to recovery through the consoling themes of the Haftarah portions chanted during the next several Shabbat services. These reminders [...]
Harvesting Peace
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Interfaith, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Judaism, Peace, Poverty, Religion, Uganda on July 21, 2008 | 2 Comments »
As promised, we went to the Abayudayah Jewish community on Shabbat morning for services. It was actually a fairly auspicious time to be visiting: last week their new spiritual leader, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, was formally installed in his home community. Rabbi Gershom has been studying for the past several years at the Conservative movement’s Ziegler [...]
On Coffee and Coexistence
Posted in Africa, Coexistence, Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Interfaith, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Religion, Uganda on July 19, 2008 | 1 Comment »
That man in the picture above is JJ Keki – Ugandan farmer, musician, fair trade entrepreneur, local politician and interfaith activist (I’m sure I’m missing several more job descriptions…) JRC has gotten to know JJ well over the years through our our relationship to the Peace Kawomera interfaith fair trade coffee cooperative. JJ (a Ugandan [...]
