Michael Lerner (rabbi)

Michael Lerner is a rabbi, political activist, and the editor of Tikkun, a prominent left-wing Jewish bimonthly magazine based in San Francisco, California. He was the leader of the prominent anti-Vietnam War group Seattle Liberation Front ("Seattle Seven").

Lerner, a rabbi in the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal, promotes the concept of Jewish Renewal, a small Jewish movement which he descibes as "positive Judaism", rejecting what he considers to be ethnocentric interpretations of the Torah. His publications promote religious pluralism and left-wing or liberal approaches to political problems. He has, for example, been outspoken against attacks on immigrant communities in the United States, and has attempted to build bridges with Muslim leaders around such issues.

Lerner considers himself a Zionist, in that he believes in a Jewish homeland in Israel; however, he supports the idea of a "binational state" (see One state solution), in which Jewish people and Arabs would share equal citizenship. Unlike more mainstream Zionists, he tends to oppose restrictive immigration laws aimed at maintaining a Jewish majority in Israel. Lerner also stridently objects to Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and supports the adoption of the Geneva Accords as a basis for an independent Palestinian state until a binational solution is feasible. His positions are a great deal to the left of mainstream Zionism, and many consider his criticisms of Israel as a Jewish state to be a sign of de facto anti-Zionism.

Criticism of leftist anti-Semitism

Lerner has also had run-ins with left-wing opponents of Israel. Recently, Lerner accused the neo-stalinist anti-war group International ANSWER of anti-Semitism, claiming that their decision to bar him from speaking at their rallies against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, was due to his outspoken support for the continued existence of Israel.[1] That said, Lerner spoke at a September 2005 anti-war rally in Washington, DC sponsored by ANSWER.

External links

• Tikkun community website
• Tikkun magazine
• Interview