[Peace-discuss] A decent rabbi

[David Green]

Just to be fair, a view from Philip Weiss's blog from a Reconstructionist rabbi in Evanston:

I tell you: this is the anti-67 war. It will unrally American Jewry and make them wake up to what Zionism has built in the Middle East. Brit Tzedek has failed the test, not surprisingly: its statement on the slaughter seems to blame both Israelis and Palestinians. It has missed the moment. It has refused to see what is before its eyes. But here is a supporter of Brit Tzedek who doesn't fail the test: Rabbi Brant Rosen, a Reconstructionist leader-- read his whole beautiful post: 


"The news today out of Israel and Gaza makes me just sick to my stomach. 
I know, I can already hear the responses: every nation has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens. If the Qassams stopped, Israel wouldn’t be forced to take military action. Hamas also bears responsibility for this tragic situation…
I could answer each and every one of these claims in turn, but I’m ready to stop this perverse game of rhetorical ping-pong. I don’t buy the rationalizations any more. I’m so tired of the apologetics. How on earth will squeezing the life out of Gaza, not to mention bombing the living hell out of it, ensure the safety of Israeli citizens?
We good liberal Jews are ready to protest oppression and human-rights abuse anywhere in the world, but are all too willing to give Israel a pass. It’s a fascinating double-standard, and one I understand all too well. I understand it  because I’ve been just as responsible as anyone else for perpetrating it. [beautiful, Rabbi!]
So no more rationalizations. What Israel has been doing to the people of Gaza is an outrage. It has has brought neither safety nor security to the people of Israel and it has wrought nothing but misery and tragedy upon the people of Gaza.
There, I’ve said it. Now what do I do?"