Why Rabbi Julie Schonfeld Saw ‘Lot of Familiar Faces’ at Historic DNC Benediction
By Josh Nathan-Kazis July 26, 2016
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld watched Bernie Sanders speak to a restive Philadelphia crowd on Monday night on the monitors backstage at the Wells Fargo Center.
The executive vice president since 2009 of the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents Conservative rabbis, Schonfeld was slated to follow Sanders with a closing benediction to end the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Despite Sanders supporters’ persistent disruptions of speakers throughout the day, Schonfeld said that, when it came time for her to speak, she wasn’t worried about appearing before the boisterous audience.
“The feeling in the hall was that it really was moving towards a more unified spirit,” Schonfeld said, recalling the moment while driving home down I-95 the next morning. “I thought that Senator Sanders spoke very, very well. And really did a good job of trying to bring the delegates together.”
The first woman ever to serve as chief executive of an American rabbinical association, Schonfeld spoke at the end of an evening that was heavy on Jewish speakers, from Senator Al Franken to comedian Sarah Silverman, to aging pop star Paul Simon, to Sanders himself. Schonfeld’s benediction, delivered in English, drew on Jewish liturgy.
“God is the great, the mighty and the awesome, for God defends the cause of the widow and the orphan and loves the stranger residing among you,” Schonfeld intoned. “This is God’s greatness, and this is the greatness the American people must strive to imitate.”
Schonfeld delivered the benediction in her personal capacity, and not as a representative any organization.
Monday’s events proceeded shakily in their early hours, as Sanders’ supporters booed speaker after speaker. But Schonfeld said that, by the time her turn came to speak, the crowd seemed mostly mollified.
“The First Lady’s speech was fantastic,” Schonfeld said, referring to an address delivered shortly before Sanders spoke by Michelle Obama. “I get shivers even to say it now.”
Schonfeld said that, as she spoke, she recognized friends from the New York delegation, who had seats close to the front of the floor. “Funnily enough, in that great big room there were a lot of familiar faces,” she said. “I was just so honored really to be able to take part in this moment.”
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter, @joshnathankazis
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward An elite Jewish society at Yale fractures over its director’s embrace of Itamar Ben-Gvir
-
News Trump would eliminate antisemitism envoy in proposed State Department overhaul
-
News Harvard’s Jewish president, in new lawsuit, says Trump crackdown has ‘nothing to do’ with fighting antisemitism
-
News Pope Francis, who advanced church’s relationships with Jews, dies at 88
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward 72% of American Jews disapprove of Donald Trump’s performance so far, poll finds
-
Culture Einstein or Edison? Jordan or LeBron? A rabbi explains why Jews debate who is greatest
-
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on U.S. soil. I think I know why no one objected
-
Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.