Our last day in Tehran was a rainy one, beginning with a visit to the headquarters of the Tehran Jewish Committee (roughly the equivalent of the Iranian Jewish Federation). We spoke at length with Committee President Rahmat ollah Raffi, who gave us a thorough tutorial on the Iranian Jewish community. In short: there are roughly [...]
Archive for the ‘Peace’ Category
Rainy Day in Tehran
Posted in Interfaith, Iran, Iran Trip 2008, Nonviolence, Peace, Religion, War on December 1, 2008 | No Comments »
The Ayatollah and the Archbishop
Posted in Interfaith, Iran, Iran Trip 2008, Islam, Peace, Religion on November 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Our first full day in Iran was devoted largely to religious destinations – our first stop was a visit to the office of Ayatollah Bojnoordi, a prominent religious leader who teaches Islamic law at Tehran and Qom Universities.
Ayatollahs are clerics of the highest order in Shia Islamic communities and they exercise enormous authority over their [...]
Shabbat at Abad Yosef
Posted in Interfaith, Iran, Iran Trip 2008, Peace, Religion on November 29, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Greetings from Iran! We arrived on Friday with no problems and have now settled comfortably into our home at the Howeyzeh Hotel in Northern Tehran. Since we actually arrived at 2:30 am, our first day here was really a half day. When we arrived at our hotel, we went promptly to sleep and woke up [...]
Orienting for Iran
Posted in Interfaith, Iran, Iran Trip 2008, Peace, Religion on November 27, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I’m writing this one from Amsterdam, where we are waiting for our connecting flight to Imam Khomeni Airport in Tehran. Our delegation has spent the last day and a half in Nyack NY at the Fellowship of Reconciliation offices, participating in sessions that reviewed Iranian history and politics, civilian diplomacy and interfaith dialogue. It’s a wonderful group and [...]
I’m Off to Iran
Posted in Interfaith, Iran, Iran Trip 2008, Peace, Religion on November 25, 2008 | 3 Comments »
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m off to Iran tomorrow on a two-week interfaith delegation sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. If you’ve been reading my blog even semi-regularly over the years (check out the “Iran” category) I’m sure you know I’ve long felt that as Americans and Jews our opinions of Iran are too often [...]
For Armistice Day 2008
Posted in Books, Nonviolence, Peace, Veteran's Day, War on November 11, 2008 | No Comments »
Here’s my offering in honor of Veteran’s Day, formerly Armistice Day, the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I (famously signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918…)
An excerpt from one of my favorites: Erich Maria Remarque’s classic WW I novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” - still one of the greatest antiwar statements [...]
Obama, Don’t Be a Friend of Israel!
Posted in Elections 2008, Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on November 10, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Let’s hope Obama won’t be a friend of Israel, writes Gideon Levy in a recent Ha’aretz editorial. Now before you get your knickers in a knot, read on:
When we say that someone is a “friend of Israel” we mean a friend of the occupation, a believer in Israel’s self-armament, a fan of its language of [...]
A Different Kind of Coalition?
Posted in Israel, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on October 27, 2008 | 4 Comments »
The news out of Israel: in recent weeks Tzipi Livni had been trying to form a new coalition but has now decided to call for new elections after refusing to bow to the Shas party’s preconditions (which included a demand to never divide Jerusalem). Much to say about all of this of course. Those of [...]
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 [...]
A Vow for Yom Kippur
Posted in High Holidays, Judaism, Nonviolence, Peace, Prayer, Religion on October 8, 2008 | No Comments »
If you are interested in making a sacred promise this Yom Kippur, I’m submitting one for your consideration. The Shomer Shalom Jewish Institute for Jewish Nonviolence has developed the following vow (or “intention”) for be recited daily or annually on Yom Kippur. (Frankly, I can’t think of a better supplement to Kol Nidre…)
G’mar Tov - [...]
