Adult Ed
What Does Judaism Say...?
06/02/08 12:38
The Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi Charges Israel and
Jews Are the Biggest Players in a Culture of
Violence! What Does Judaism Say…About Freedom of
Expression, Especially If it’s Critical of Jews and
Israel?
Recently, Arun Gandhi, a grandson of pacifist Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, wrote: "Jewish identity in the past has been locked into the Holocaust experience. . . . It is a very good example of [how] a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. . . . The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger. . . . The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak. . . . We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity."
Ghandhi is a panelist on an online site entitled On Faith that is led by Newsweek editor John Meacham and former Washington Post writer Sally Quinn. (You can see a complete article about this from this past Sunday’s Washington Post)
Needless to say, Ghandhi’s thoughts have raised a storm of protest…and apologies. Are his words anti-Semtic? Do they feed into the hands to anti-Semites? Or, as one Jewish editor suggests, is he simply speaking as would any pacifist?
What do our Torah and Jewish law tell us about freedom of speech? Our secular law preaches that truth is the ultimate defense against a charge of libel. Does Jewish law agree? Is there truth in Ghandi’s claim? What about a Jew who makes inflammatory statements about another, based on that person’s religion? How are we told to deal with that? What qualifies as censorship?
Join Rabbi Julie Schwartz to discuss this topic and the recent Ghandhi comments this Thursday, February 7th, 7:30-9PM, for our continuing series of “What does Judaism say about…?”
Recently, Arun Gandhi, a grandson of pacifist Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, wrote: "Jewish identity in the past has been locked into the Holocaust experience. . . . It is a very good example of [how] a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. . . . The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger. . . . The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak. . . . We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity."
Ghandhi is a panelist on an online site entitled On Faith that is led by Newsweek editor John Meacham and former Washington Post writer Sally Quinn. (You can see a complete article about this from this past Sunday’s Washington Post)
Needless to say, Ghandhi’s thoughts have raised a storm of protest…and apologies. Are his words anti-Semtic? Do they feed into the hands to anti-Semites? Or, as one Jewish editor suggests, is he simply speaking as would any pacifist?
What do our Torah and Jewish law tell us about freedom of speech? Our secular law preaches that truth is the ultimate defense against a charge of libel. Does Jewish law agree? Is there truth in Ghandi’s claim? What about a Jew who makes inflammatory statements about another, based on that person’s religion? How are we told to deal with that? What qualifies as censorship?
Join Rabbi Julie Schwartz to discuss this topic and the recent Ghandhi comments this Thursday, February 7th, 7:30-9PM, for our continuing series of “What does Judaism say about…?”