I signed onto an Amicus Brief on behalf of Faith Leaders for DACA Rights

26 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Social Justice

I have agreed to sign onto the Amicus Brief in support of nationally-recognized immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, challenging the unlawful targeting of immigrant rights activists nationwide in violation of the First Amendment.

In the lawsuit Ragbir et al. v. Homan et al., nationally recognized immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir, along with the New Sanctuary Coalition, CASA de Maryland, Detention Watch Network, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the New York Immigration Coalition, are challenging the unlawful targeting of immigrant rights activists nationwide in violation of the First Amendment. Represented by attorneys at Arnold & Porter and the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic, Plaintiffs have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, which seeks an order (1) staying Mr. Ragbir’s removal pending adjudication of the case, and (2) restraining federal immigration officials from taking any adverse immigration enforcement action against any noncitizen on the basis of protected speech or expressive conduct, or, in the alternative, preliminarily enjoining federal immigration officials from opening an investigation into, surveilling, accelerating proceedings against, detaining, or altering the provisions of any order against any noncitizen on the basis of protected speech or expressive conduct.

The law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, LLP, is drafting an amicus brief on behalf of faith leaders in support of the plaintiffs. The brief is tentatively due March 1, 2018. The brief will describe the sanctuary movement and argue that the targeting of immigrants, faith leaders, and places of worship affiliated with the sanctuary movement – through retaliation and surveillance – raises serious First Amendment concerns.

Amicus briefs from faith leaders are often filed in major litigation across the country, including in Gloucester Country School Board v. GG to oppose discrimination against transgender individuals, and in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission to oppose discrimination against same-sex couples.

Bibi and Trump – Two Peas in a Narcissistic Pod

15 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History

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The parallels are obvious. Though both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deserve due process, their narcissism has resulted in similar behavior and potential criminal charges being waged against them.

This week we have learned that there is solid evidence that Bibi has engaged in bribery, fraud, and breach of the public trust. His response has been to attack the police and his political enemies as conducting a witch-hunt.

Trump has throughout his presidency attacked the FBI and intelligence services, the courts, the free and independent press, the independent investigator, and any opponent or critic as conducting a witch-hunt against him.

After a painstaking year and a half investigation by the Israeli police, the police issued a non-binding recommendation that there is credible evidence that the Prime Minister has engaged in bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two separate cases.

Case 1000 involves Netanyahu receiving $286,000 in cigars and champagne as gifts primarily from Israeli mogul Arnon Milchin in exchange for Netanyahu pushing to extend the so-called “Milchin law” that cuts taxes for Israelis who make their money outside of Israel for another 10 years. Bibi had appealed to former Secretary of State John Kerry to institute this provision.

Case 2000 involves Bibi trying to make a deal with the owner of Israel’s second-largest newspaper, Yidiot Achronot, that he would get favorable coverage if he would persuade Israel Hayom’s owner Sheldon Adelson, who owns the largest free newspaper in the country, to not publish on weekends. Though the deal was never made, the conspiracy to manipulate the press is considered by many in Israel to be a criminal offense.

In response to the accusations by the police this week, Netanyahu defended himself as a loyal servant of the Jewish people and State of Israel, as a former commando in the IDF, as a former UN Ambassador, and as Prime Minister who always put the interests of Israel first. He accused everyone involved in these two cases and the opposition of trying to get rid of him for political purposes. His main Likud whip accused current opposition leader Yair Lapid, when he was Finance Minister in Bibi’s government, of being a “malshin” (a “rat” which according to Halacha carries a death sentence and was the justification that Yigal Amir used when he assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin).

Lapid met at the request of the police for one hour in this year and a half investigation to answer the question about whether Bibi pressured him to act on behalf of Milchin when he was finance minister. Lapid answered honestly.

It remains to be seen what will happen in these two cases, and the Israeli Attorney General, Amichai Mandelblit (from the Likud party and an honest man and public servant) may take months to go over the evidence provided by the police.

Many are saying that if an indictment is brought against the Prime Minister, he should resign immediately. There is precedent in Israel for this so it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. PM Rabin resigned the first time he was Prime Minister in the 1970s when an illegal checking account was discovered in the name of his wife Leah during the time that Rabin served in Washington, D.C. as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States. More recently, former PM Ehud Olmert resigned when he was indicted and later convicted of bribery. He served time in prison for his crime.

Bibi and Trump really are two peas in a pod of narcissistic self-aggrandizement. Each equates himself with the “state” and seems to think that each is above the law and basic ethics.

Like Trump, Bibi is using the cynicism that appeals to his voters who don’t believe in the governmental system as a base upon which to attack the very system that distinguishes Israel as a democracy, the only democracy in the Middle East.

We will have to wait for the independent counsel in the US and the Attorney General in Israel to finish their work and make their determinations. If it is decided that Trump and Netanyahu are culpable and guilty, both should resign their office. Anyone in their respective parties who sides with the guilty party once a determination is made ought to be defeated handily in the next election.

As Trump would say – “Sad!”

In Defense of Congressman Adam Schiff against the Tweet of President Trump

05 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics

≈ 11 Comments

I sent this letter to the White House this morning (February 5)

Dear Mr President:

Your tweet about my Congressman is deeply offensive to me as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel of Hollywood, one of Los Angeles’ historic congregations.

Permit me to spell out why I am so offended by what you tweeted most recently:

1. Your designation of my Congressman should be “Congressman Schiff” not “Little Adam” – he is a distinguished Representative in the House of Representatives and he has worked long and hard serving not only his district but the nation in various capacities;

2. You have no idea if Congressman Schiff has aspirations for higher office because he has never said anything of the kind and for you to dismiss him on the basis of ambition speaks more about you than him;

3. You call him a “liar.” I have known Congressman Schiff for many years and he is the opposite of how you characterize him. I suspect you don’t know him at all. He is measured in speech and thought and only speaks specifically when he has the objective facts.

4. You demean not only my Congressman in the way you have tweeted about him but the office of the Presidency when you attack other distinguished leaders for your own personal purposes. I ask you to stop and be the President this country deserves.

Sincerely,

Rabbi John Rosove

Senior Rabbi

Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles

Let America Be America Again

01 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Poetry, Uncategorized

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Langston Hughes

In light of the corruption in this Presidency and in this Congress, the words of Langston Hughes (poet, novelist, playwright, columnist, and social activist – 1902-1967) are particularly poignant:

“Let America be America again. / Let it be the dream it used to be. / Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed – / Let it be that great strong land of love / Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme / That any man be crushed by one above.”

Flags on the Bimah – Do they belong?

01 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Israel/Zionism, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Social Justice

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I was sitting in front of the ark this past Shabbat and ruminating during a few moments of quiet prayer about the two flags that have framed my synagogue’s ark for as long as I can remember – the American flag on one side and the Israeli flag on the other. I love them both, but I asked myself, ‘Do they belong here in our Sanctuary, in our house of prayer?’ After all, they are national symbols and not religious ones.

I took a look at what has been written in Reform Responsa literature over the past 50 years since the question first was asked of the Central Conference of American Rabbis Responsa Committee about the appropriateness of placing flags in the sanctuary of our synagogues.

Essentially, the following is what I gleaned from a number of Responsa (links below):

“Though the flags are not religious symbols, they are symbols of our spiritual and emotional attachment to our country and to the State of Israel.”

“As citizens of the United States, the American flag represents some of our most sacred American ideals, our acceptance of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, and our devotion to the prophetic ideals of social justice and freedom.”

“The State of Israel is the political embodiment of the age-old Jewish dream of national redemption, a dream that Jews have expressed in our prayers for two millennia, and the Israeli flag represents the prayers of the Jewish people for a return to the land of Israel and the re-establishment there of our Jewish national life.”

So, yes! They do belong, in my opinion, and as a consequence of my ruminations last week, I feel that these flags in fact add something to the iconography of symbols that characterize our holy spaces.

Sources – Central Conference of American Rabbis Responsa

Hatikvah and The Star-Spangled Banner – https://web.archive.org/web/20170824182820/http://ccarnet.org/responsa/rr21-no-5758-10/

Israeli flag on a synagogue pulpit – https://web.archive.org/web/20170824183123/http://ccarnet.org/responsa/arr-66-68/

National flags at religious services LXIV(1954) 79-80 – https://web.archive.org/web/20170824183218/http://ccarnet.org/responsa/arr-64-66/

Flags on the bimah – https://web.archive.org/web/20170824182928/http://ccarnet.org/responsa/tfn-no-5753-8-29-32/

Living in the Light, Being in the Light to Others – D’var Torah Bo

18 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Divrei Torah, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Jewish Identity, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Poetry

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“I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came, and went and came, and brought no day,
And [people] forgot their passions in the dread
Of this desolation; and all hearts
Were chill’d into a selfish prayer for light:…”

Lord Byron describes well what must have been the experience of the Egyptians when the 9^th plague of darkness befell them, as described in our Torah portion, Bo, this week.

This was not an ordinary darkness. So dense it was that a person couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. The Midrash says that this darkness, choshech, wasn’t of the natural world. It wasn’t a solar eclipse nor the darkness that comes on a moonless night. While it oppressed the Egyptians guilty of enslaving the Israelites, the sun and universe operated normally. It was as if each Egyptian was imprisoned in a black box of isolation.

This darkness catapulted the Egyptians back to a time before creation itself when “darkness covered the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2)

From where did this darkness come, and what did it mean?

In Psalms (105:28) we read: “Shalach choshech va-yach’shich – God sent darkness and it became dark.”

In our portion, God instructs Moses: “N’tei yad’cha al ha-shamayim vi-hi choshech… – “Hold your arm over the sky that there may be darkness upon the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be touched.” And Moses did so.

This darkness of heart and soul reflected the debased spiritual and moral condition of the Egyptians.

The Psalms (18:12) tell us something else as well: “Yashet choshech sitro s’vivotav sukato – He makes darkness be His screen round about him,” suggesting that the light that could not enter the Egyptian heart is always hidden, only with them it was nearly extinguished because they were slave-masters.

The Divine light, however, shone in all the Israelite dwellings. In its purest form it was a luminosity so brilliant that no one could see it and live. The mystics say that the Torah is a veil shielding the light which is revealed to each of us according to our capacity to fathom it.

Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher (14^th century Spanish Kabbalist) taught that God shut off every Egyptian’s antenna to receive this Godly light without interfering with the source of its transmission. But the Israelite antennae were open because our hearts were not hard.

What does all this mean for us?

If we live long enough we will suffer broken hearts. Some suffer chronic biochemical imbalances that need medical attention. Everyone needs love and support when we or our loved ones become ill, when we divorce and when a cherished loved one dies. Others among us lose our jobs and income. All these losses necessarily bring with them a pall of darkness.

Rabbi Isaac Meir Alter (19^th century Poland) taught that the worst darkness of all is that blindness in which one person will not “see another,” and will refuse to look upon another’s misery and to help him. Such a person who can’t see another will become incapable of “rising from his/her place,” that is, of growing spiritually and emotionally.

Rabbi Yochanan taught that every eye has an area of white and black. We might think that the human being sees out of the white part. But no; we see out of the black part, which means that when we’re in the dark we’re capable of seeing what is in the light, but when we’re in the light we cannot see what is in the dark. (Yalkut Shimoni 378).

In other words, there is always hope, and there is always light, even when we suffer our darkest moments. In Egypt, wherever a Jew went, light also went because the light was in them. That is what it means to be a Jew. To live the light, to be a light to others, and to hope.

Shabbat Shalom!

Cult of the Ignorant

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Quote of the Day, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

2018 will be a pivotal year in American politics. It’s impossible to know what will be the mix of Republicans and Democrats in Congress after the mid-terms a year from now, what will have taken place vis a vis the special prosecutor investigating collusion and obstruction of justice charges in this White House, and whether the “year of the woman” will continue to evolve.

I came across this quote by Isaac Asimov today (today would have been his 98th birthday) that I want to share. It is prescient and truer than ever today:

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

-Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (born January 2, 1920 and lived to 1992)

President Trump’s Order Discriminates Against Muslims and Harms Members of all Faiths

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Ethics, Jewish-Christian Relations, Jewish-Islamic Relations, Social Justice, Women's Rights

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I have signed again on with 60 interfaith leaders and religious organizations as part of Amici Curiae, an interfaith group of religious and inter-religious organizations and clergy, who are supporting the plaintiffs-appellees against President Donald Trump to affirm the district court’s injunction restricting implementation of Proclamation No. 9645: “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public Safety Threats,” 82 Fed. Reg. 45, 161 (September 24, 2017).

I have joined with 9 rabbis, the Union for Reform Judaism (representing 900 Reform synagogues in America), the Central Conference of American Rabbis (representing 2000 Reform Rabbis), Women of Reform Judaism (representing 65,000 women), the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, The New Israel Fund, Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, The American Jewish World Service, the National Council of Jewish Women (representing 90,000 women) individual synagogues, churches, and a variety of Christian and Muslim Organizations as “Friends of the Plaintiffs against President Donald Trump” because we believe that his misguided order to increase vetting of immigrants to the United States is “intended to target Muslims in particular,” “to harm Muslims,” and “to violate the core Constitutional principle that is critical to the free exercise of all faith traditions in the United States” according to the First Amendment of the Constitution.

This Amici Curiae brief was filed in the Federal Fourth Circuit Court on November 17, 2017.

The following is language written in the brief:

“This order offends the fundamental tenets of all three monotheistic faith traditions including the Golden Rule, the imperative to welcome the stranger, and the belief that every individual has inherent value and dignity by virtue of being created in the divine image. Our faith traditions compel us to assist immigrants, particularly immigrants fleeing unjust persecution.

All our religious traditions have experienced prejudice against us and persecution, and it is out of our historic experience and our moral and religious values and our perception that Trump’s order is deliberately targeting the entire Muslim community that we shout “We protest….

This order recalls the infamous event in 1939 when a ship carrying 900 Jewish men, women and children fleeing Nazi Germany was turned away from our shores. This ship was forced to return to Europe and more than 25% of its passengers perished in the Holocaust….

All of our Amici understand exactly what the Trump Order is about – an official act of discrimination on the basis of religion. Trump said during the Presidential Campaign of 2016 that there ought to be “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our representatives can figure out what is going on.” He also said “Islam hate us” and that “we’re having problems with the Muslims….

Trump’s order also has ostracized those who simply want to practice their faith freely and live peacefully as neighbors, students, colleagues, families, and members of their community. It has contributed to an environment in which Muslims are increasingly subject to violence, harassment, and discrimination because of their faith. An FBI report has discovered that while hate crimes have risen by 6% overall in the United States, anti-Islamic bias has increased by 26.5% in 2012….

The Order’s near-absolute ban on entry by citizens of the seven countries it names is entirely contrary to the Golden Rule as well as the religious calling to welcome the stranger. Amici understand that the people barred by the Order are mothers and fathers, children and grandparents; they are clerics, congregants, shopkeepers, and students. Each one’s life is sacred-each a unique expression of the divine and a common member of humanity.”

“Why Judaism Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to His children and the Millennial Generation” – Reading and Book Signing – November 27 at 7 PM – Chevaliers Bookstore, Los Angeles

19 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Book Recommendations, Divrei Torah, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Life Cycle, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Social Justice, Stories, Uncategorized

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Chevaliers Books is the oldest independent book store in Los Angeles and is located at 126 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004 in Hancock Park.

I would love to see you there!

“Why Judaism Matter – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to His Children and the Millennial Generation” with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove is now available for purchase on Amazon.com (publishing date – October 10). This book is a collection of thirteen letters offering a common sense guide and roadmap for a new generation of young men and women who find Jewish orthodoxy, tradition, issues, and beliefs impenetrable in 21^st Century society. It is published by Jewish Lights Publishing, a division of Turner Publishing.

Endorsements

“Rabbi Rosove’s letters to his sons are full of Talmudic tales and practical parables, ancient wisdom with modern relevance, spiritual comfort, and intellectual provocation. Whether his subject is faith, love, intermarriage, success, Jewish continuity or the creation of a meaningful legacy, you’ll find yourself quoting lines from this beautiful book long after you’ve reached its final blessing.” – Letty Cottin Pogrebin, writer, speaker, social justice activist, author of eleven books including Debora, Gold, and Me: Being Female & Jewish in America, a founding editor of Ms. Magazine, a regular columnist for Moment Magazine, and a contributor of op-eds in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Toronto Star, and LA Times, among other publications.

“John Rosove does what so many of us have struggled to do, and does it brilliantly: He makes the case for liberal Judaism to his children. As Rosove shows, liberal Judaism is choice-driven, messy, and always evolving, “traditional” in some ways and “radical” in others. It is also optimistic, spiritual, and progressive in both personal and political ethics. Without avoiding the hard stuff, such as intermarriage and Israel, Rabbi Rosove weaves all of these strands together to show the deep satisfactions of living and believing as a liberal Jew. All serious Jews, liberal or otherwise, should read this book.” – Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism and a regular columnist for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz.

“Rabbi John Rosove has given a gift to all of us who care about engaging the next generation in Jewish life. The letters to his sons are really love-letters from countless voices of Jewish wisdom across history to all those young people who are seeking purpose in their lives. From wrestling with God, to advocating for peace and justice in Israel and at home, and living a life of purpose, this book is a compelling case for the joy of being Jewish.” – Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C.

“Rabbi John Rosove gets it. Here is a religious leader not afraid to tell it like it is, encapsulating for his audience the profound disaffection so many young Jews feel towards their heritage. But instead of letting them walk away, he makes a powerful case for the relevance of tradition in creating meaningful lives. In our technology-saturated, attention-absorbing age, Rosove offers religion-as-reprieve, his fresh vision of a thoroughly modern, politically-engaged and inclusive Judaism.” – Danielle Berrin, columnist and cover-story journalist for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, commentator on CNN and MSNBC, and published work for The Guardian, British Esquire, and The Atlantic.

“If you’re a fellow Reform millennial, give yourself the gift of John’s insights. This book is written in a breezy, gentle, readable style that is welcoming without losing sharp insight. It was so enjoyable and refreshing to read and persuasive without ever being pushy. Rosove managed to do what only a truly worthy slice of kugel or chance viewing of Fiddler has done for me; reactivate my sense of wonder and gratitude about being Jewish. I’m a huge fan of WJM.” – Jen Spyra, staff comedy writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS), former senior writer for The Onion, actress, and stand-up comedian. Jen’s writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, and The Daily Beast, and has been featured by The Laugh Factory Chicago’s Best Standup Show Case.

“Rabbi Rosove has written a wonderful book, a love letter to his children, and through them, to all our children. Prodigiously knowledgeable, exceedingly wise, and refreshingly honest, Rabbi Rosove has described why Judaism Matters. It should serve as a touching testament of faith, spanning the generations for generations to come.” – Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Senior Rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in NYC, former Executive Director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America-World Union for Progressive Judaism, author of One People, Two Worlds: A Reform rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide them with Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman.

“Rabbi Rosove has written a book of the utmost importance for our time. It is an imperative read for all those who struggle with the changing and evolving attitudes towards belonging, behavior and belief. His analysis, stemming from deeply personal contemplation and decades of rabbinic experience, offers clear yet sophisticated approaches to tackling the challenges facing this generation and those to come. This book offers a treasure of wisdom through the lens of Jewish texts – both ancient and modern – which help to frame life’s major issues taking the reader from the particular to the universal. Israel is one of the most complicated of issues and he bridges the divide between Israel’s critics and staunch supporters and moves beyond the conversation of crisis for the millennial generation.” – Rabbi Joshua Weinberg, President of the Association of Reform Zionists of America

“John Rosove’s letters to his sons based on his life, philosophy, and rabbinic work address what it means to be a liberal and ethical Jew and a lover of Israel in an era when none are automatic. He writes in an unassuming personal style steeped in traditional texts as he confronts conflicts of faith and objectivity, Zionist pride and loving criticism of the Jewish state, traditional observance and religious innovation. He is never gratuitous and invites his readers into his family conversation because what he says is applicable to us all.” – Susan Freudenheim, Executive Director of Jewish World Watch, journalist, former managing Editor of the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, and a former editor at the Los Angeles Times.

See 11 Reader 5 Star Reviews at Amazon.com

Rabbi John Rosove's Blog

Category Archives: American Politics and Life

Bibi and Trump – Two Peas in a Narcissistic Pod

In Defense of Congressman Adam Schiff against the Tweet of President Trump

Let America Be America Again

Living in the Light, Being in the Light to Others – D’var Torah Bo

Cult of the Ignorant