After decades of working for peace between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East, Tanenbuam Peacemaker in Action Rabbi Menachem Froman died Monday, March 4 from advanced colon cancer.
Over the past two years, Rabbi Froman had been battling cancer but continued a brisk schedule of teaching, public speaking and meetings with political, religious and civil society leaders.
The Rabbi from Tekoa, a settlement in the West Bank, was controversial, but was respected by a range of powerbrokers in the region, exemplified by relationships with figures as diverse as Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Rabbi Froman believed that Jews and Arabs can live side by side in peace, and modeled that belief in practice. In a late interview Rabbi Froman summed up religious tensions in the region this way, “In the final analysis, the question is whether you abnegate yourself before God or you represent him. And I abnegate myself before God.”
Rabbi Froman’s singular vision for peace and his unorthodox means of pursuing it will be missed. You can read more about Rabbi Froman’s life and work here.
Click here to read Rabbi Froman’s obituary in The Times of Israel.
Pictured: Menachem Froman and Ibrahim Abulhawa at Froman’s daughter’s wedding.
Source: GlobeTribune.info.