sid.schwarz Articles American civic division, American Jewish life, American tribalism, crisis of faith, Donald Trump, erosion of American democracy, healing the American divide, Israel
I’m an old-fashioned news hound. I can’t start my day without reading the newspaper. The Washington Post is my paper of choice. And I read the hard copy that gets thrown on my lawn every morning around 5am. But then, as I start my workday, I work in a professional bubble of my own creation. […]
sid.schwarz Sermons and Speeches African refugees, Asylum seekers, compassion, human rights, Israel, Passover, social justice
Note: These were remarks given at a Pre-Passover Vigil held in front of the Embassy of Israel in Washington D.C. on March 27, 2018. I am Rabbi Sid Schwarz. I am the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD; a life-long Zionist and a Board member of Truah: The Rabbinic Call for […]
sid.schwarz Sermons and Speeches Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Palestinians, Yitzhak Rabin
For people who care deeply about the State of Israel, the future of the Jewish people or about the prospects for peace in the world, the twentieth anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin provided much to think about. People of my generation readily remember where they were when they heard the news about the […]
sid.schwarz Articles democracy, Israel, Netanyahu, racism
There is a wonderful phrase in Hebrew that drips with sardonic, Jewish wit. It is when someone says “gileta et America”, meaning “so you discovered America!”. It is said to someone when they say something so obvious that everyone has known it for years, but the person who shared it put the thought out in […]
sid.schwarz Articles human rights, Israel, social justice
The season of reckoning is upon us. For Jews, the sentiment will likely evoke thoughts of the upcoming Days of Awe. Both the Hebrew month of Elul and then the ten days of repentance that starts with Rosh HaShana and ends with Yom Kippur is the time when Jews are called upon to go into […]
sid.schwarz Articles Israel, Jewish people, Next Gen Jews, Zionism
Students of American Jewry often point to 1967 as a watershed in the evolution of the American Jewish community. The anxiety that American Jews felt in the weeks leading up to the Six Day War was palpable. There was no evidence that Israel could defend itself against any concerted Arab military assault, no less a […]
sid.schwarz Articles art, censorship, Israel, Jewish community, theater
Given the controversy surrounding Theater J’s production of Motti Lerner’s play, The Admission, at the DCJCC, I expected a full scale indictment of Israel’s conduct during the 1948 War of Independence. Instead I encountered a play that probed the complexity of war, politics, memory, ethnic identity, love and survival with astounding sensitivity and nuance. Ever […]
sid.schwarz Articles activism, agriculture, fair trade, food justice, human rights, Israel, labor rights, leadership, networks, new york, slavery, social justice, subway posters
“A Rabbinic Call For Human Rights” published in the Jewish Week – January 23, 2013 Last week, I was one of several rabbis from a range of religious denominations who met with a senior Israeli diplomat at the Israeli Embassy. We were there to deliver a letter asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel plans […]
sid.schwarz Articles activism, Fellowship program, human rights, Israel, Jewish community, Jewish professionals, Makom, NGO, RCFP, René Cassin, René Cassin Fellowship Program, social justice
Last week an application process was launched for a brand new program called the René Cassin Fellowship Program (RCFP). With hubs in New York, London and Jerusalem, the RCFP will select 36 outstanding Jewish young professionals, ages 25-35. The year-long program of study, travel and hands-on impact projects does not take the place of one’s […]
sid.schwarz Sermons and Speeches covenental, Haiti, Israel, Kol Nidre, Millenials, peoplehood, Soviet Jewry, tribal identity, Yom Kippur
Kol Nidre, 2012: Some years ago the Jewish Week asked me to write an op-ed before the High Holydays. At the risk of being thrown out of the rabbi’s union I said that I wasn’t quite sure how many of the Jews showing up for Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur were there for the prayers […]