Moral dilemma at Jewish Center

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To the editor:

I’m not writing this to pass judgment on any of Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt’s actions (“Congregants petition for rabbi’s removal”). But I am puzzled by the mindset exhibited by some of the members of the RJC congregation. 

On the one hand, they admit that his conduct was an issue that they had been aware of for more than 20 years! On the other, a longtime member echoed the thought that “it’s clear that with everything that has come out in the last few weeks, it’s almost impossible to see the rabbi continuing in his current role.”  

What is different now to have caused a change in attitude? Was it an act of cowardice in the past not to have confronted Rabbi Rosenblatt before his behavior made the headlines, or is it an act of cowardice now for the congregation to bend to the opinions of others and force out a man who had been an effective spiritual force?

Gerald Lebowitz

Riverdale Jewish Center, Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, Gerald Lebowitz

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