Legendary Rabbi of England Calls for Jewish Surrender in Europe

This week England’s Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks gave a speech described by the media as doom and gloom at a conference in Herzliya. He admitted a belief that the BDS movement had succeeded in making the State of Israel a “divisive factor” in Jewish life and claimed that, as a result, supporting Israel was “almost impossible” for European Jews.

It was an astonishingly defeatist speech, which is troubling enough. But most disturbing was the false dichotomy he presented to European Jews. In his own troubling words he said, “Jews have been faced with a choice: live in Europe and criticize Israel or be silent, or leave Europe…” In other words, the only solutions left for Europe’s Jewish community is to embrace and succumb to BDS or get out. What he shockingly neglected to mention is the obvious third option: to stay in Europe, embrace Israel, and fight for the Jewish State.

I was personally saddened by Rabbi Sacks’ most recent remarks. In the 11 years I served as Rabbi at Oxford University I was originally his biggest public champion. His eloquence in promoting Judaism was thrilling. But as time went by and he refused to use his considerable pulpit, not to mention his extraordinary gifts, to fight for Israel and against the anti-Semites, he gradually lost me.

In all the years Rabbi Sacks spent as Chief Rabbi all would agree that he had few equals in his mastery of language. Which made it all the more mystifying why he would not use that mastery in the war for the Jewish State. His Chief Rabbinate must be judged a failure, and not only because Anglo-Jewry continued to diminish under his watch. Rather, the phenomenal growth of anti-Semitism and attacks against Israel while he was in office, without his joining the battle, rendered his leadership obsolete.

Read more at http://observer.com/2015/06/former-chief-rabbi-of-england-calls-for-jewish-surrender-in-europe/