2014 Branigin Lectures

Rabbi Arik Ascherman makes history, bringing a controversial message: human rights from religious sources. He is President and Senior Rabbi of Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), a Jerusalem-based religious organization dedicated to human rights. A 1981 graduate of Harvard University, he was ordained as a rabbi in 1989. He later served congregations in California and in Jerusalem. His human rights work in Israel has at times been confrontational and controversial: He has several times stood trial for acts of civil disobedience. Rabbi Ascherman is no stranger to academic settings. His interests include interactions of human rights, law, and religion. He is also a frequent contributor to the press. In 2011 he was co-recipient (with Rabbi Ehud Bandel, another co-founder of RHR) of the Gandhi Peace Award, “for their nonviolent methods of resolving human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Territories.”

Watch Rabbi Ascherman's Lecture