Michael Knopf, at The Blogs

Michael Knopf

Rabbi and editor of 'No Time for Neutrality'

Jun 22, 2026, 12:00 AM

Image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress, March 2015. Source: U.S. Congress / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

This week, I rediscovered a letter I drafted in 2015, after I signed onto a rabbinic statement supporting the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA. At the time, some members of my congregation were upset that I supported the agreement. I...

Mar 20, 2026, 10:37 PM

AI Has No Ethical Guardrails. We Can’t Unplug It. Now What?

Recently, the US Defense Department tried to strong-arm Anthropic, the maker of the AI system Claude, into removing ethical constraints on its technology. Anthropic had drawn clear lines: no domestic mass surveillance, no fully autonomous lethal weapons. The administration...

Oct 28, 2022, 6:56 PM

Saving democracy is a Jewish obligation

Saying that democracy itself is on the ballot has become a cliche for a reason. Experts widely agree that threats to democracy in the US and around the world are rising, including the specter of political violence and election...

Apr 20, 2022, 4:46 PM

Balancing the wise and the wicked child

Defining Conservative Judaism in the 21st century rests upon our ability to embrace Jewish tradition while also unapologetically interrogating and challenging it

Feb 13, 2022, 5:12 PM

Featured Post

A wake-up call for people of conscience

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin speaks at an election night party in Chantilly, Virginia, November 3, 2021, after he defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe. (AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik)

Those who preach compassion and justice for every human being are rightly disappointed by the Virginia governor's race. We must use it to spur us to do better

Mar 6, 2020, 9:13 AM

From Purim to Passover, Seeing Ourselves in the Exodus

On Monday evening, March 9, Jews around the world will begin to celebrate the festival of Purim. This holiday, which commemorates the events described in the biblical book of Esther, is known mostly for its costume parties and hamentaschen....

Jan 29, 2020, 7:45 AM

Justice, Truth, and Peace: How to Keep a Republic

For approximately two thousand years of Diaspora, the Jewish people lived, effectively, as guests in every land, and under every government, in which we established communities. Sometimes, thanks to a particularly beneficent ruler or more tolerant social mores, we were...

Dec 23, 2019, 7:44 PM

Star Wars, Hanukkah, and the Banality of Evil

Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Two years ago, the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi coincided with Hanukkah, and I wrote about the parallels between the Star Wars saga and the...

About Me

Rabbi Michael Knopf is co-editor of 'No Time for Neutrality: American Rabbinic Voices from an Era of Upheaval', and Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth El in Stamford, CT. The views expressed in this article are solely his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of his congregation.