A 77-year-old rabbi was dragged away by police and arrested during the Extinction Rebellion protests in central London on Monday.
Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, the Rabbi Emeritus of Finchley Reform Synagogue, was detained after kneeling and praying in the road, blocking Lombard Street, near the Bank of England.
Dramatic footage of Rabbi Newman, a long-time environmental campaigner, being dragged away by several officers circulated on social media on Monday evening.
Wearing a kippah branded with the Extinction Rebellion logo and tallit, he told reporters: “We are in a period of enormous, catastrophic breakdown and if it takes an arrest to try to find ways of helping to galvanise public opinion, then it is certainly worth being arrested.”
Before his arrest, Rabbi Newman had led a shacharit morning service. He was accompanied by approximately 30 Jewish activists who were demonstrating with XR Jews.
Rabbi Newman was released on Monday evening after being held in custody for several hours.
He is believed to be the first British rabbi to be arrested for non-violent direct action.
Rabbi Newman’s protest was praised by some of his colleagues in the UK rabbinate, including Rabbi Danny Rich, the senior rabbi of Liberal Judaism, who said: “I support and endorse the actions of my friend and colleague Rabbi Jeffrey and those of others taking action to bring the potential climate tragedy to a wider audience of politicians and the public alike.
“Although in general Judaism teaches us that the law of the land must be obeyed, every individual Jew may face a situation where non-violent and inconvenient breaking of the law becomes a requirement, in accordance with the thought in Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers: ‘Where no-one is a human being, be a human being’.”
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Reform Judaism’s senior rabbi, tweeted that she was “very relieved” when Rabbi Newman had been released, praising his “continued courage”.
She added: “This way is not my way but I know that the urgency of climate breakdown requires many varied responses.”
But Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, in his ‘Thought for the Day’ segment on the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday October 8, said Jews should “favour not public fury but personal responsibility”.
He said: “There are some who react to climate change with scorn… while others have responded with rebellion and civil disobedience, blocking roads and bridges in major cities across the world.
“Of course, governments must play their role and effective multilateral solutions are imperative but every single individual must make difficult changes and lead by example.”
The Board of Deputies declined to comment on Rabbi Newman’s arrest.
XR Jews have maintained a presence at the Extinction Rebellion protests, outside of the chagim.
The group has held a number of events throughout the two-week mass demonstration, including a gathering after Shabbat on October 12 and a Succot service on Monday.
Ms Morris-Evans told the JC: “Extinction Rebellion Jews was set up because our tradition teaches us to be stewards of our world and to fight for justice with all our might. Tikkun olam, healing the world, is a Jewish concept that has never been all important. As Rabbi Hillel said, ‘If not now, when?’”
The Metropolitan Police declined to confirm that Rabbi Newman had been charged but he was not named on the police force’s list of Extinction Rebellion protesters who had been indicted.
Police arrested 1,642 people in connection with the Extinction Rebellion protests in London.
