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As images from Gaza spread, US rabbis wrestle with war’s morality from the pulpit

JL;DR SUMMARY American rabbis are grappling with the moral implications of Israel's war against Hamas as the conflict impacts civilian lives in Gaza. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HamasGazaJewish EthicsReform JudaismConservative JudaismHumanitarian CrisisMoral ResponsibilityRabbisReconstructionist Judaism

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is one of the largest Reform congregations in the world and the oldest in New York."
Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States
"In Gloucester, Massachusetts, Rabbi Naomi Gurt Lind grappled with the Torahs command to dispossess the lands inhabitants, a concept she called morally troubling in light of the ongoing war in Gaza."
Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"As images of starving children in Gaza continue to circulate and the international outcry grows louder, a number of American rabbis used their pulpits this past Shabbat to speak up about the humanitarian crisis, some with sorrow, others with moral urgency, and many with a sense that silence was no longer tenable."
Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
"In Santa Fe, New Mexico, Rabbi Neil Amswych of Temple Beth Shalom delivered an introspective and agonized message, one that wrestled not only with Israels actions but with the very role of the rabbi as public moral voice."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"In Los Angeles, Rabbi Hannah Jensen, who helps lead the progressive congregation Ikar, invoked the traditional Three Weeks of mourning on the Jewish calendar and reimagined them as an extended period of civic grief for her city."
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
"Action, too, was a central theme in the sermon delivered by Rabbi Adam Louis-Klein at Kehillat Beth Israel, a Conservative congregation in Ottawa."

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Cairo Item ID 57933
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Retrieved 2025-07-29 05:30:50 UTC
Curated 2025-07-29 08:31:03 UTC