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When Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught my dad to pray with his feet
(JTA) — Abraham Joshua Heschel, whose 50th yahrzeit we marked this past year, was for almost 30 years a member of the faculty at The Jewish Theological Seminary, which I lead. There he inspired many to incorporate traditional Jewish learning, observance and values into their modern lives.
But he also preached the importance of emulating the biblical prophets, who in his view, were not merely entranced conduits of God’s word but rather fully aware critics of the social injustices of their days. He believed that the immanent presence of God in the world required humans to fight injustice — as he did in his public advocacy for civil rights and in his fast friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King. Through his teaching, writing and personal example, Heschel inspired thousands to deepen their Jewish commitments and actively advance social justice causes.
But how did that inspiration actually play out? Thanks to my father, Rabbi Mordecai Rubin, I am better able to answer that question. I knew that my father had studied with Rabbi Heschel at the JTS Rabbinical School, and I remember my father attending the March on Washington in August 1963 and being awed by the experience. He woke up in the dark to board a chartered bus by 5 a.m along with other Jewish professionals and some lay leaders. He recalled that only as he saw the hundreds of other buses on the highway en route to the rally did he realize how important the day would be.
A young child at the time, I could not fully appreciate the historic importance of the march — its size, the presence of so many clergy including rabbis, the impact of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I also did not comprehend how courageous it was for my father to attend that march and then to speak about it to his congregation. But as an American Jewish historian, I know that — contrary to conventional retrospective wisdom — most American Jews at the time were reluctant to get involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Less than 20 years after the Shoah, these Jews, many of whom were children of immigrants who fled Tsarist Russia, hungered for acceptance as one of the three primary American religious groups. Most American Jews feared that their own security would be threatened if they rocked the boat by championing civil rights.
So why did he (and perhaps others like him) decide to attend the March on Washington? I got a glimpse into his thinking when I recently found the Rosh Hashanah sermon that he delivered to his congregation, the Wantagh Jewish Center, in Wantagh, New York, in September 1963, a month after the march.
In the mood of soul searching and introspections — so dominant on these High Holy Days — I should like to share these thoughts with you…
It was the first time that I had participated in a march and with each passing day — awareness swells within me of something special and unique that transformed and perhaps even reformed me…
I had many moments of doubt instead of standing up to be counted in the roll call of human conscience. As a matter of fact, I must confess that my decision to go was not without questions of doubt…. But there comes a moment of truth for every human being. And it came [to me] as I began to reflect…Why was I so angry at the non-Jewish world for remaining deaf to the pleas of our brethren in Nazi Germany 20 years ago? Why didn’t we or our Jewish leaders march on Washington when our own flesh and blood was being led to the crematoria…
We have learned to love life and to enjoy it – But we have forgotten how to live — how to sacrifice, and how to give of ourselves….and even the one great source of our idealism – Religion, our Judaic faith, instead of remaining an institution of protest against the comfortable self-centered, self-satisfying way of life, has more often than not, been content to be engulfed by it and a symbol of this evil…
I hear the echoes of Rabbi Heschel in my father’s words. His own passion about the Jewish imperative to speak out against injustice is palpable. But my father knew his congregants might balk at this message. He understood that to be heard, he had to speak not as a prophet but as a fellow suburban postwar American Jew. He needed his congregants to understand that he identified with their fears, struggles and hopes. Only then could he gently encourage them to reexamine their assumptions and choices. Only then could he inspire them to live up to their highest religious ideals.
Dr. King shone a moral light on the challenges and articulated the goals of the Civil Rights Movement that he led. This is one of the many reasons JTS bestowed upon him an honorary degree in 1964. In 1968, Heschel introduced King at the Rabbinical Assembly convention at the Concord Hotel in the Catskills, where he inspired over a thousand rabbis and spouses (including my parents) at what turned out to be one of his last addresses before his assassination. But the leadership challenge that my dad, and I’m sure many others, faced was more intimate and precarious in scale. For one thing, my father wasn’t employed by a social justice organization and didn’t have life tenure. To effect change over time, he’d need to motivate his congregants while continuing to secure his longevity in the congregation.
And he did just that, remaining in that congregation until his death 30 years later, deepening the Jewish values, commitments, and socially conscious engagement of many thousands of congregants over the decades.
Too often we see “leadership” discussed as if it were quantifiable and replicable. But it is often the elusive qualities, individual assets and relational insights that, when cultivated to the fullest, prove most effective. Know your constituency well and personalize your message so that it can be absorbed — that is the lesson I take from Heschel, King and Mordecai Rubin in my day-to-day leadership of JTS.
We need leaders with unique strengths to meet the varying needs of the people and this moment. Our world is rife with polarization and discord, discrimination and inequality. The events of the last three months have exposed an astonishing dearth of moral clarity and empathy. Whether a prophetic voice, gifted teacher, caring pastor or brilliant community builder, we need leaders who can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow by building on their strengths in relation to their constituencies, continually recalibrating and adapting to achieve the most effective impact.
As we remember the inspiring impact of these leaders, may we remain alert to the unheralded talent of those more ordinary among us who continue to lead with courage and distinctiveness, inspiring nothing short of the extraordinary.
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The post When Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught my dad to pray with his feet appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Freed Israeli Hostages, Families of Captives React to Collapse of Gaza Ceasefire
Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Freed Israeli hostages and families of those in captivity in Gaza reacted to news of Israel resuming military operations against Hamas as the ceasefire and hostage-release deal between them collapsed on Monday night.
“We heard from survivors who returned from hell, and the message was clear: We must immediately return to a ceasefire,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the largest organization dedicated to the release of the hostages, wrote on X. “The lives of our loved ones hang by a thread and cannot endure much longer. After surviving months in captivity against all odds, they are now in critical danger. Only a deal can bring back all the hostages.”
Since Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023 — in which the Palestinian terrorist group led the massacre of 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel — well over 100 hostages have been released through negotiated ceasefire deals, and the Israeli military has rescued a smaller number in special operations.
There are currently 59 hostages still in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza, and over half of them are believed to be dead.
In another post, the forum wrote that, at a news conference, the families of some hostages “warned that continued fighting would lead to more hostage deaths and urged an immediate ceasefire and return to negotiations to secure the release of all remaining hostages.”
Noa Argamani, who became famous on Oct. 7, 2023, after an image of her being kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival — where Hamas murdered hundreds of young people — and separated from her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was seen widely. Argamani, who has been speaking across the United States to advocate for the release of the rest of the hostages since her rescue from Hapas captivity last year, shared a message this week about the end of the ceasefire.
“Fighting Resumes. Two words, and so many emotions inside. Suddenly, out of the silence, all hopes explode in an instant,” Argamani wrote. “Two words, but for the hostages inside, they mean explosions and noises that bring back the fear of dying.”
Argamani explained the hope she felt in captivity when she heard of the first ceasefire and hostage-release deal in November 2023. “Every day, I held on to that hope. I told myself there was no way I wouldn’t make it out alive.”
“But then, in a single moment,” she continued, “we started hearing the explosions again. Suddenly, all the dreams of going home, of hugging family and friends — shattered in an instant. The thought of seeing the light again felt so far away. One moment, the ceasefire was gone, and with it, the hope that I would get out of there alive.”
Argamani concluded: “I’m sorry, Avinatan. I’m sorry that for 529 days, you haven’t seen daylight. I’m sorry that you were left behind. We must save them! Too many hostages who were taken alive — were murdered in captivity. We must save every living soul! This is our mission. We cannot leave them behind.”
Similarly, Yarden Bibas, who was held hostage for over a year and whose wife and children — Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel — were all murdered by Hamas, posted on Facebook against the decision to renew the war.
“Israel’s decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza, to the moments where I heard the sounds of explosions around me and where I feared for my life as I was afraid the tunnel where I was being held would collapse,” Bibas wrote. “My wife and children were kidnapped alive and brutally murdered in captivity. The military pressure endangers the hostages while an agreement brings them home.”
“We must stop the fighting and bring everyone home first of all,” he concluded.
However, not all hostages and hostage families oppose revamping the war effort.
The Tikva Forum — a right-wing alternative to the main hostage family organizations — wrote in a statement that it fully supports resuming fighting against Hamas, arguing it is only intense pressure on the terrorist group that will result in the hostages being freed.
“The past few weeks have proven what we have been saying all along – Hamas will never return all the abductees voluntarily,” the Tikva Forum wrote. “Only massive military pressure, a complete blockade that includes a power and water cut, and the occupation of territories that will lead to Hamas’s collapse, will lead it to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will return all the abductees together, in one fell swoop.”
It concluded, “If the attack that began [Monday] continues with force and without interruption, we will be able to bring all our loved ones home in one fell swoop, on one bus.”
The post Freed Israeli Hostages, Families of Captives React to Collapse of Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Far-Left US Lawmakers Blast Israel for Resuming Military Campaign in Gaza, Accuse Jewish State of ‘Genocide’
US Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), left, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listen during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 18, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Progressive US lawmakers largely condemned Israel on Tuesday after it resumed military operations in Gaza following the collapse of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, falsely accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” against Palestinian civilians and demanding the immediate implementation of an “arms embargo.”
On Monday night, Israel resumed airstrikes targeting Hamas in Gaza under the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said in a statement that the military action followed “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the sole Palestinian American in Congress and a strident critic of the Jewish state, repudiated Israel’s decision to restart the military campaign against Hamas. Tlaib demanded the White House pause weapons transfers to Israel in response to what she described as a “genocide” unfolding in Gaza.
“The Israeli apartheid regime has resumed its genocide, carrying out airstrikes all across Gaza and killing hundreds of Palestinians. This comes after a complete blockade of food, electricity, and aid. They will never stop until there are sanctions and an arms embargo,” Tlaib wrote on X/Twitter.
Tlaib appeared to be referring to Israel’s decision earlier this month to block humanitarian aid transfers into Gaza as a way to pressure Hamas to agree to an extension of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect in January. Hamas refused to do so.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another vocal critic of Israel, blasted the Jewish state for launching airstrikes against Hamas. Sanders accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal and reiterated his demand for the end of US aid to the Jewish state.
“Netanyahu has not allowed any food, water, or fuel into Gaza in two weeks. Now he has resumed bombing, killing hundreds of people and breaking the ceasefire that had given Gaza a chance to live again. NO MORE MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL,” Sanders posted on social media.
In November, Sanders spearheaded a failed effort to impose a partial arms embargo on Israel.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a left-wing lawmaker and consistent critic of Israel, condemned the “horrific images” emerging from Gaza after the relaunching of the war effort. The progressive firebrand denounced Israel’s military operations as a “genocide” and called for an arms embargo to be placed on the Jewish state.
“Once again our timelines are flooded with horrific images of Palestinian babies massacred by the Israeli government. Israel has consistently violated the ceasefire and in the past two weeks, cut off all aid to Gaza. Just last night, they killed 400+ people. This US-backed genocide must end,” Lee wrote.
In the 17 months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacres across southern Israel, progressives have grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state. Left-wing lawmakers have accused Israel of using “indiscriminate bombing” and “starvation” as a method of punishment against Palestinian civilians. They have also spearheaded multiple efforts to impose a unilateral “ceasefire” or “arms embargo” upon Israel, arguing that the Jewish state has embarked on a “genocidal” revenge campaign against the people of Gaza.
In addition, many progressives often refuse to mention or condemn Hamas when making public statements regarding Israel’s war efforts, and they rarely note Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
However, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), one of the most vocal defenders of Israel in the federal government, issued support for the Jewish state amid a barrage of backlash.
“I unapologetically, 100% stand with Israel, and demand the release of all remaining hostages,” Fetterman wrote on X/Twitter.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication.
The post Far-Left US Lawmakers Blast Israel for Resuming Military Campaign in Gaza, Accuse Jewish State of ‘Genocide’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Must Be Destroyed
Kfir Bibas. Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
In the wake of the cold-blooded murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas by the literal hands of Hamas terrorists, I have been haunted by the similarities between Kfir and my own two-year-old son.
My son was born exactly a month before Kfir. Like Kfir, my son had red hair when he was little. My son laughed like Kfir when he was a baby. Like Kfir, my son is a Jew. But unlike Kfir, my son is a Jew, who by privilege and fortune to be born an American and live in the United States, does not need — I pray — to fear being stolen and murdered by Hamas terrorists simply for being Jewish.
In the well over 500 days since October 7, 2023, the kidnapping and murder of Kfir Bibas symbolizes Israel’s just and necessary response to Hamas’ massacre in Israel. Kfir is and was innocence and goodness personified. Hamas is Amalek, the Biblical enemy of the Israelites, and a symbolization for the epitome of evil. There can be no tolerance for such evil, and I strongly believe that Israel has every right to continue fighting Hamas until the terrorist organization has been destroyed.
Hamas is not only an enemy of Israel, but also of the United States. Since 1997, the US State Department has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization. As of March 2025, Hamas still holds 21-year-old New Jersey native Edan Alexander hostage, along with the remains of four other murdered Americans. On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 40 Americans.
Although it is true that Hamas has been weakened since October 7, 2023, and has suffered the loss of many of its key leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, due to the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) valiant and justified campaign, Hamas still remains in a position of strength.
The fact that Hamas has been able to continue to negotiate with Israel to ensure the release of hundreds of terrorists, many of them serving life sentences for the murder of Israelis, in exchange for the release of innocent hostages, and the bodies of deceased hostages, is sickening. The ongoing sadistic exchanges where Hamas terrorists paraded the hostages, or murdered bodies of hostages, in front of cheering crowds of their supporters calls into question how such negotiations have been even permitted to progress.
The unbalanced negotiations are not the fault of the IDF, but that of politicians — both Israeli and American. To be clear, in bringing the fight to Hamas, the IDF has endeavored to minimize civilian casualties despite operating in an extremely dense, urban, environment in which Hamas terrorists actively hide among hospitals, mosques, and kindergartens.
In fact, the IDF has gone to greater lengths than any other military in the history of modern warfare to minimize civilian casualties. I firmly believe that the soldiers of the IDF should be commended by all freedom loving nations for their adherence to the highest standards of moral and ethical war fighting.
In looking ahead to the coming months, Israel must continue to ratchet up all available military and political pressure on Hamas in order to crush the terrorist organization once and for all. I do not think that Israel should continue to follow the outlined steps of the phased hostage deal — as terrible as that may be for the plight of the remaining hostages — because to do so only encourages Hamas to plan future October 7th style attacks to kidnap more hostages to use as bargaining chips down the road.
I think it is excellent, and necessary, that Israel has once again resumed offensive operations against Hamas. Initial reports indicate that serious damage has been done to Hamas’ leadership and combat units. Israel should continue to maximize the good will of the Trump administration, and the current Republican-held US Congress, to unleash hell on every aspect of the Hamas terrorist organization. Israel must remain focused on dismantling Hamas’ organizational and tactical capabilities in order to ensure that Hamas can never again threaten Israel.
I would also like to see increased US military support for destroying Hamas. Although I would not support “regular” US military service members on the ground in Gaza due to the possibility of another Middle East quagmire, I would recommend that US Special Operations Command be given broad leeway by the Trump administration to employ the necessary assets to rescue Edan Alexander and avenge the deaths of the Americans killed on October 7, 2023. I would further recommend that the Trump administration sanction any states that provide safe harbor to Hamas terrorists, including Qatar and Egypt. This could involve cutting off foreign aid, imposing economic penalties, or barring diplomatic travel. Hamas, and its enablers, must understand that they will never be safe, whether in Deir al-Balah or Doha.
Only when Hamas feels the full military and political weight of Israel and America, and begs for the fighting to stop, will the memory of Kfir Bibas, his family, the 241 hostages, and the 1,200 murdered Israelis be avenged — and prevented from happening again in the future.
Micah Q. Jones is a publishing Adjunct at The MirYam Institute, a US Army veteran, and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. He is a litigation associate in the Boston office of an international law firm.
The post Hamas Must Be Destroyed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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