You Go, Guys

Though I am not, generally speaking, a fan of civil disobedience (I don't think it's a very effective tool for getting what you want accomplished), in this case I can't help but make an exception.  I believe in this issue and I agree with the sentiment 100%:

Twenty-one rabbis, and a Jewish community layperson were arrested at the United Nations Tuesday, demanding that Iran be removed from the international body.

The group, organized by AMCHA – Coalition for Jewish Concerns, was arrested by New York City Police and imprisoned for several hours after peacefully crossing over from the public city street to the steps leading down to the United Nations.

AMCHA Director, and Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Avi Weiss stated in response to his incarceration, "It's a serious matter to step beyond the line, to violate the law. But we must do so as a moral outcry to the world that it can't be business as usual. The time has come to expel Iran from the United Nations."

After being warned of their impending arrest, the group sat down under the large Peace Wall quoting the words of the biblical prophet Isaiah: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more."

At the rally which began several blocks away at the Iranian Mission to the UN, Weiss exclaimed, "There's a fire burning, and we must raise a voice of moral outrage. We urge that the presence of any Iranian delegation be protested, that pressure be put on countries not to trade with Iran, that state governments divest from companies trading with Iran, and that nations signed on to the Genocide Convention strongly condemn Iranian President Ahmadinejad who's threatened to wipe Israel off the map.

"We demand that the United Nations expel Iran, which has threatened to annihilate Israel, a fellow UN member state."

The group then proceeded to the headquarters of the World body, with the intent of getting arrested.

Former Deputy District Attorney, turned Conservative Rabbi, Mark Ankorn, of the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation stated prior to his arrest, "It’s not a decision I take lightly, believe me. I’ve never written a letter to the editor, never written my congressman or my senator about any issue, never been a part of a sit-down or teach-in or anything else.

"But the government of Iran denies the Holocaust and supplies the rockets that killed dozens in Israel this past summer. They furiously seek nuclear weapons and kidnap British sailors. When will it stop? When will we stand up and say, Enough?"

The Arrested Community Leaders
Rabbi Mark Ankcorn, Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation
Rabbi Moses Birnbaum, President, Long Island Board of Rabbis
Rabbi Steven Burton, Congregation Shaarei Shalom
Rafi Farber, rabbinical student, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah   
Rabbi Jeffrey Fox   
Rabbi Avidan Freedman, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, Congregation Sons of Israel
Ben Greenberg, rabbinical student, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Yehuda Hausman, rabbinical student, Yeshivat Chovevai Torah
Rabbi Jason Herman, Congregation Beth Israel/West Side Jewish Center
Rabbi David Kalb, CLAL
Rabbi Pinchas Klein, Mount Freedom Jewish Center, Morasha
Rabbi Aryeh Leifert, Congregation Rodfei Sholom, San Antonio, Texas
Rabbi Etan Mintz, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Rabbi Ronald Price, Congregation Netivot Sholom, UTJ/Morasha
Glenn Richter, Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns
Rabbi Aaron Rubinger, Congregation Ohev Shalom, Orlando, FL
Ross Shapiro, rabbinical student, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Rabbi Uri Topolsky, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Rabbi Akiva David Weiss, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Rabbi David Willig, Bayside Jewish Center

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