More Again From Crown Heights III

This Sunday is an important day for Jews. In New York and Berlin rallies will be occurring to bring attention to the growth of antisemitism in our current state of affairs.

When I was a young boy my family belonged to a synagogue in Newark, NJ. Temple B'nai Abraham was a landmark institution with a very prominent rabbi, Joachim Prinz. Dr. Prinz was the chief rabbi of Berlin in the 1930's but escaped the Nazi debacle. He was an extremely charismatic personality, and was part of Dr. Martin Luther King's historic presentation in Washington, DC, He was given the honor to say some words to the mass of marchers just before Dr. King gave his landmark speech.

Dr. Prinz's speech in its entirety can be read here. But a few sentences stand out as apropos for our time:

'When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.'

So, tomorrow as we march at 12 Noon from Columbus Circle to Sixth Avenue for the 1pm rally, we will not be silent. Here's the Facebook link. 

Here's more from Crown Heights.