Rabbi Abraham Cooper headed to Oz
BY refusing to condemn Palestinian hatred and incitement against Jews and Israel, world powers are helping to destroy any chances for peace.
BY refusing to condemn Palestinian hatred and incitement against Jews and Israel, world powers are helping to destroy any chances for peace.
Those are the words of Simon Wiesenthal Centre associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who will deliver the 2015 B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) Gandel Oration in both Sydney and Melbourne next month.
Considered one of the world’s great leaders in the fight against anti-Semitism, Rabbi Cooper has spent more than 30 years speaking out against racism and discrimination and standing up for human rights.
“We are proud and honoured to host Rabbi Cooper, a close friend of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, and a world-renowned leader and warrior in the never-ending fight against anti-Semitism,” ADC chairman Dvir Abramovich said.
“Rabbi Cooper is a tenacious, fearless, and deeply admired champion for Jewish and human rights, who has dedicated his life to countering the defamation of the Jewish people and the delegitimisation of Israel, and to nobly promoting tolerance, education and understanding around the world.”
The topic of the oration will be “Global Anti-Semitism, Holocaust Denial, and the War Against Israel”.
Writing in the Jewish Journal last month, Rabbi Cooper called out world leaders to end their silence on Palestinian Authority and Hamas incitement against Israel. “Silence in the face of hate may actually be helping to kill any chances for peace in our time,” he wrote.
“It is past due for Presidents Obama, Hollande, Prime Minister Cameron, and Chancellor Merkel to tell the Palestinians: If you actually want your own state, then prove to your Israeli neighbours in word and deed that Palestinians are finally ready to tell their young that a state means embracing peace, not preparing for the next war.”
Abramovich said it is a rare opportunity for audiences in Sydney and Melbourne to hear a speaker of Rabbi Cooper’s calibre.
He said Rabbi Cooper is widely recognised as a pioneer and authority on digital hate and internet terrorism, regularly meets with world leaders, appears often on television and has been published in high-profile newspapers around the world.
GARETH NARUNSKY
The Gandel Oration will be in Melbourne on August 25 and Sydney on August 27. For more information: (03) 9272 5677.
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