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AAI in the News

Rabbi delivers Sept. 11 blessing to Arab Americans

JTA
Posted on Sunday September 10, 2006

A leading Reform rabbi delivered the blessing at an Arab American commemoration of Sept. 11.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, joined a multifaith panel at the Arab American Institute’s commemoration Monday in Washington and delivered the blessing.

“Where there are ignorance and superstition, let there be enlightenment and knowledge,” Saperstein said.

He said the West had failed “to stand up to terrorism earlier and to ameliorate the conditions that cause terrorism,” adding that military action alone would not eradicate the problem. “The sword enters the world because of justice delayed and justice denied,” Saperstein said, citing the Talmud.