Title
Honoring the life and legacy Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow, a prophetic activist and author grounded in Jewish tradition and faith, who created the foundation on which generations of moral activists stand.
Body
WHEREAS, Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow was born in Baltimore, Maryland on October 12, 1933 to a politically engaged family his father a labor organizer, his mother and grandfather active in voter registration and political campaigns; and
WHEREAS, Since his first arrest in 1963 protesting racial segregation in a Baltimore amusement park, Rabbi Waskow participated in dozens of instances of civil disobedience in support of the Civil Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Waskow was active in anti-war movements throughout his life, beginning with the Vietnam War having co-authored "A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority," which encouraged Americans to resist the military draft as well as testifying for the defense of the Chicago 7, Vietnam war protestors facing federal conspiracy charges; and
WHEREAS, In 1969, on the one-year anniversary of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King's assassination, Rabbi Waskow published the first "Freedom Seder," connecting the story of the Exodus with contemporary struggles for liberation including the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Rights Movement. Thousands of Freedoms Seders have taken place since then, inspired by Rabbi Waskow's vision; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Waskow was not only a faith leader and an activist in the streets, but also a civil servant dedicated to our country. He served as a legislative assistant in the United States Congress, helped found the Institute for Policy Studies, and served as a delegate to the Democratic National Committee in 1968, where he was instrumental in nominating Reverend Channing Phillips, the first Black American nominated at a major party convention; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Waskow transformed how Jewish communities understand their traditions. He helped shape a new Jewish spirituality an...
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