About Brant Rosen

Rabbi Brant Rosen is the spiritual leader of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, IL. A long-time activist for peace, social justice and human rights, he has traveled on delegations to such countries as Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Russia, and most recently on an interfaith peace delegation to Iran. Under his rabbinic leadership, JRC constructed its new synagogue facility in an environmentally sustainable manner, eventually receiving the highest rating (Platinum) from the US Green Building Council.

Rabbi Rosen is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Past President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. He serves on numerous national and local organizational boards, including Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights - North America and Hands of Peace. His writings appear regularly in his blog, Shalom Rav

Holocaust Museum Post Mortem

By Brant Rosen June 11, 2009

What to make of the news that a neo-Nazi gunman killed a security guard at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC?  Rabbi Marvin Hier says it shows "that the cancer of hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism is alive and well … Read More

Gaza: Soldiers are Speaking Out

By Brant Rosen March 20, 2009

Once permission has been given to the destroyer to do harm, it does not discriminate between the guilty and the innocent. (Mechilta, Bo) Today the NY Times reported on an issue that has gripped the Israeli press and public for some … Read More

Che Herzl Reconsidered

By Brant Rosen February 27, 2009

Wanna get "Che Herzl" T-shirt? Just surf your way over to Jewlicious and you’ll find it along with all kinds of other swag designed especially for those aspiring to be the coolest of the cool Jews. Yep, I did a … Read More

Dancing Around Bashir

By Brant Rosen February 19, 2009

"Waltz With Bashir" has been racking up the prizes. In addition to a slew of international awards, it was awarded Best Picture by the National Society of Film Ciritics, Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes, and it seems to … Read More

Lieberman and the Contradictions of Ethnic Nationalism

By Brant Rosen February 10, 2009

It’s the last day before the Israeli elections, and there seems to be widespread agreement that Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman is going to win big – perhaps as much as 19-20 seats. They’ve already pulled ahead of the … Read More

Memo from Chicago: Best’s No More

By Brant Rosen February 4, 2009

Out here in Chicago we’re marking the passing of a venerable local institution: Best’s Kosher is no more. Its parent company, Sara Lee, has closed up its South Side meat-processing facility and will sell off the company, putting 185 employees … Read More

Rabbis on the Third Rail

By Brant Rosen January 29, 2009

Having nothing better to do, I spent a fair amount of time last week trying to spearhead a Rabbinical Statement on Gaza. Sorry to report that after several days of back and forth we had to fold the entire project … Read More