Utilise resources to uplift others, says Rabbi Abraham Cooper

Rabbi Cooper emphasizes global unity for peace, urging people to question government policies and use technology responsibly.

“There will hopefully be a ceasefire to the hatred that is spreading across the world, thanks to the growing yearning among people across the globe to make the world a better place for their children to live,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center – a global Jewish human rights organisation, said in Kochi on Sunday (February 2).

In an interaction with The Hindu on the sidelines of a ‘grand thanksgiving event’ marking the reopening of the 825-year-old Kadavumbagam Synagogue after renovation in Kochi, Rabbi Cooper said an increasing number of people around the world, including in Palestine, Pakistan, China, and Japan, are seeking peace and referred to them as ‘normals’. “No country is a saint, and well-meaning people from every nation must question the wrong policies of their governments,” he added.

He said it was high time people from different communities used their intellect and resources to uplift others, not harm them. “Sadly, technology is eroding the sense of privacy people once had and can even be used to harm others. It must be understood that technology is merely a tool, and should be harnessed in a way that does not destroy humanity.”

He added that people of the three Abrahamic faiths who took their beliefs seriously should partner with one another to bring about peace in West Asia.

Born in Los Angeles, Rabbi Cooper said that Jews and synagogues were being targeted for attacks, even in the U.S. and Europe. “However, it is heartening to note that synagogues have been protected in multi-cultural India, particularly in Kerala, over the past centuries. Jews alone cannot defeat anti-Semitism. There is also the growing threat posed by lone wolf terrorists,” he added.