Anti-Semitism Is Us: Chief Rabbi Sacks at the Israeli Presidential Conference
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, is perhaps one of world Jewry’s most articulate spokesmen. Cambridge-educated and media savvy, the Chief holds forth on moral issues of the day in dozens of forums every week. His books are excerpted on the pages of The Times of London and he’s a regular on the BBC.
Today, Rabbi Sacks told an intimate group of English language Jewish bloggers gathered at the Israeli Presidential Tomorrow 2011 conference, that he considers himself the “Jewish equivalent of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Photo credit: On Being@flickr.com
Just before his chat with the bloggers, the Chief addressed a plenary session of the conference that attracts world leaders in business, academia, the arts, philanthropy and politics. The topic was ‘Looking Towards Tomorrow: Trends, Challenges and Decisions.’
Rabbi Sacks chose to devote his allotted time to a discussion of anti-Semitism in the world, providing a learned discussion of his views of the evolution of this scourge against the Jewish people. Like many Jews, Sacks firmly lays the blame for the current wave at the feet of the “human rights” community.
After all the doom and gloom, I couldn’t help thinking of the remarks of American non-Jewish comedian Ted Alexandro, who in an off the cuff interaction with a Jerusalem audience after his hilarious performance last week at a benefit for the Koby Mandell Foundation, asked: “What is wrong with you people??” after a young woman had asked in a defensive tone about his opinion of Israel.
Alexandro listed the fascinating and fantastic things he’d seen and experienced here on his first visit to the country and scratched his head as he asked us why in the heck every Israeli he meets seems to feel the need to ask for outside validation.
It’s a bitter residue of the galut mentality that will probably take at least another few generations to exorcise.
Maybe a good place to start the process would be a meeting between the Jewish archbishop and the goyishe comedian.Site Feed
