Stephen Wise

New York City's Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is a catalyst for progressive Jewish thought and committed social action. Led by Senior Rabbi @AmmiHirsch

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

Our Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference yielded some incredibly thought-provoking conversations about leadership, meaning, and the future of #Jewish life. @JNFRobinson noted people are looking for leadership and for pathways that help them discover purpose and connection.  @RabbiYoshi reflected on a world hungry for meaning, stillness, transcendence, and authentic Jewish experience, and challenged our institutions to be worthy of that search. Watch here 📺⬇️

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

At our Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference, we tackled one of the most pressing issues facing the Jewish community today: #Antizionism and the impact of growing hostility toward Jews and Israel on the next generation. See some highlights of these conversations here w/ @DaraHorn, @adam_louis52328, @juliajassey, @RoyaTheWriter and Rabbi Ashira Boxman 📺⬇️

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

Here is an example of conversations we had at our @FreeSynagogue Re-CHARGING Reform #Judaism conference about #Zionism in the Reform seminary:

[eJewishPhilanthropy @eJPhil]

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s senior rabbi, denounced anti-Zionism as a "monstrous ideology that contravenes every liberal principle that we hold dear."

Read Nira Dayanim's full coverage of his fiery address: https://t.co/GxmlgVt1E6

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

Today @FreeSynagogue — where hundreds of Reform rabbis & Jewish community leaders are gathered for our “Re-CHARGING” conference — I addressed my deep concerns over the Reform movement and its seminary's commitment to #Zionism. My full remarks here —> https://t.co/bcY2Ys9vSm

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

The Hebrew Union College should not be ordaining #antizionist clergy.

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

.@yardenas and I discussed one of the most painful lessons of the 1929 Hebron massacre: how centuries of coexistence between Jews and Arabs could collapse into unimaginable violence almost overnight. Yet amid the horror, there were also Arab families who risked their own lives to save their Jewish neighbors... Our full convo: https://t.co/DeczKtH8SU

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

Award-winning journalist @yardenas joins Rabbi @AmmiHirsch on In These Times to discuss her new book, “Ghosts of a Holy War,” the 1929 Hebron massacre and the enduring role of disinformation, religious incitement and media narratives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. https://t.co/wJgdWdoe8c

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

On today’s episode of In These Times with Rabbi @AmmiHirsch, writer and anthropologist @adam_louis52328 argues that today’s antizionism represents a new framework for anti-Jewish hatred that — unlike the “classical” antisemitism of the far right — is rooted in the language of colonialism, power, and social justice. https://t.co/j3MEXKrHWT

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

It was great to be w/ #NY12 congressional candidates @gtconway3d @MicahLasher @JBKSchlossberg & @nschwalbe tonight @FreeSynagogue. We discussed key issues of concern to the #Jewish community. I posed this question to them on how they would respond to the normalization of #antisemitism:

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

I connected with the @nytimes' @emmabgo on this story today. I also mentioned that if @NYCMayor @ZohranKMamdani took the time to really study the Haggadah, he would discover that everything about #Passover leads to settlement in the Land of #Israel.

The purpose was not liberation for its own sake, as worthy as that is, but liberation in order to fulfill God’s promise to restore the people of Israel to the Land of Israel, as stated in the Book of Exodus: “I, God, will bring you to the Land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession.” 

This is the reason that for millennia, Jews ended the Seder with the words, “next year in Jerusalem.”

Did Mayor Mamdani stay until the end of the Seder?

https://t.co/5z1Vfg22CY

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

Author and podcaster @zibbyowens joins our Rabbi @AmmiHirsch to reflect on 10/7, the joy of reading, AI, and the anxiety of prepping to send her kids to college. https://t.co/8TRZK3X4XU

[Jewish Insider @jewishinsider]

The attack on a Michigan synagogue last Thursday was the latest example of a “direct connection between hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews,” Rabbi @AmmiHirsch, who leads Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, said during a sermon on Friday evening.

https://t.co/R5AplYx0sX

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

The assault on Temple Israel was not a natural disaster, a tsunami, a hurricane, a tornado that struck without warning. Hateful deeds are the end-result of hateful thoughts and hateful words — ignored, indulged, coddled, appeased, or encouraged by moral, political, legal and civic authorities. https://t.co/2Id74E292U

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

This @FreeSynagogue podcast episode is especially important to me. The #Jewish community does not normally hear directly from Palestinians — & I think it’s critical that we do. On “In These Times,” our goal is to platform important voices like @afalkhatib that are not often given enough consideration in mainstream circles. Our full conversation here —> https://t.co/sxiw1YeBJN

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

Oct. 7 was a massive miscalculation — one that decimated Gaza, dismantled Iran's proxy network and reshaped the Middle East in Israel's favor. @afalkhatib of @Realignforpalestine joins our Rabbi @AmmiHirsch on today's podcast to argue that the Palestinian cause needs a different kind of advocacy... https://t.co/JqZQgwkr0o

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

Award-winning journalist @Nadav_Eyal joins our Rabbi @AmmiHirsch to help us understand why regimes like Iran's are so threatened by dissent and debate, and how that clash with Western values is unfolding across the Middle East… https://t.co/VwKkqI8Mga

[Ammi Hirsch @AmmiHirsch]

Listening to Liz brought back all the emotions of the past 27 months. But for the first time in 14 years, there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza. May Abigail and all the children whose lives were crushed during this long war — Israeli and Palestinian — find their way back to joy and happiness. https://t.co/REsnDTT1Rm

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

After Hamas terrorists murdered Abigail’s parents, they abducted the 3-year-old and held her in Gaza for 51 days. Liz Hirsh Naftali joins our Rabbi @AmmiHirsch to share how she transformed from grieving family member into relentless advocate. https://t.co/aUs3oFcjF8

[Stephen Wise @FreeSynagogue]

The visionary behind vegan restaurants like @BeyondSushi, Chef Guy Vaknin tells our Rabbi @AmmiHirsch about how he's been targeted by the community that once celebrated his success — not because of his politics, but because of his Israeli identity. https://t.co/jLoGW6iWyA