Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Forward 50 2017

Morris Allen

A Leading Rabbi On Israel’s ‘Blacklist’

When he was a child, Rabbi Morris Allen heard his father’s three articles of faith of being a Jew, as he wrote in the Forward earlier this year: “Keep kosher, love Israel and vote Democratic.” Over the three decades of his career as a rabbi for Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Allen has fought to marry his progressive vision of Conservative Judaism with those dictates.

Allen has long been a vocal proponent of ethical eating in Judaism. He started the hechsher tzedek concept, beginning a movement supporting justice for animals, workers and the environment in kosher meat processing.

He is also is a vocal supporter of Israel — even when Israel is not a supporter of him. This past summer he was included on the Chief Rabbinate’s blacklist of 160 American rabbis. In his op-ed for the Forward, Allen called the blacklist an example of sinat chinam, or baseless hatred — the reason, according to ancient rabbis, that the Temple was destroyed.

Allen, 62, has loudly criticized both the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and the expansion of settlements — a centrist position that he encourages Minnesota’s Democratic politicians to share. Now, in the year before his planned retirement, he is taking on the blacklisters. “We should not allow any of our communal dollars to benefit any Israeli governmental officials — from members of Knesset to emissaries of the state — who support the continued existence of the office of the Chief Rabbinate,” he wrote. His congregation, and 160 other rabbis, will have his back.

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 credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link 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.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.