Tagged rabbis

From soldier to rabbi, one Afghanistan war veteran takes unusual path
November 7, 2011 / Hillel Kuttler, JTA
Joshua Knobel, shown at Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan in 2007, says he wanted to "help people figure out how to live their lives with purpose and intent." (Joshua Knobel)

BALTIMORE, Md. (JTA) — When West Point’s Jewish chaplain left the academy during Joshua Knobel’s freshman year, Knobel filled in for him, running Jewish prayer services at the military school’s chapel. In the years following his 2001 graduation, Knobel led services more than 6,000 miles east while deployed in… Read more »

Israel debate tricky for Jewish professionals in Tucson, across U.S.
May 5, 2011 / Ron Kampeas, JTA
Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

The speaker invited then uninvited. The signature on the petition removed. The activity joined, then unjoined. The job threatened. Rabbis and Jewish professionals increasingly are being faced with a dilemma over discussing divisive topics — especially regarding Israel — central to how they see their Jewish missions without losing… Read more »

Obama: Israelis should soul-search about seriousness on peace
March 2, 2011 / Ben Harris, JTA
President Barack Obama meets with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in the State Dining Room of the White House, March 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

NEW YORK (JTA) – President Obama reportedly urged Jewish communal leaders to speak to their friends and colleagues in Israel and to “search your souls” over Israel’s seriousness about making peace. In an hourlong meeting Tuesday with about 50 representatives from the Jewish community’s chief foreign policy umbrella group,… Read more »