Rabbi Dr. David J. Goldberg OBE is Rabbi Emeritus of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, having served the congregation as Associate then Senior Rabbi since 1975. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, Oxford University, and Trinity College, Dublin and received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Leo Baeck College in 1971.
In a full and varied career which enhanced the reputation of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue as one of the world's leading congregations, he is particularly proud of four 'firsts':
- to have been the first prominent Jew in the UK publicly to call for recognition of legitimate Palestinian rights in an article in The Times in 1978;
- to have been the first rabbi to initiate dialogue meetings between Judaism, Christianity and Islam when the Regent's Park mosque opened in 1978;
- to have been the first Jew to recite Kaddish in Westminster Abbey when he co-officiated at the Memorial Service for Lord Menuhin;
- and to have been the first - and so far as he knows, the only - rabbi ever to have had an article in Wisden, the cricket lovers' bible, or to have been interviewed on Test Match Special!
Active in interfaith work, in 1999 he was awarded the Gold Medallion of The International Council of Christians and Jews for his "Outstanding contribution to interfaith harmony and understanding". In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for his services to interfaith work.
Well-known for his outspoken and radical views and a former chairman of the Rabbinic Conference of the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, and co-chairman of the London Society of Jews and Christians, he has contributed regularly on Jewish and Israeli topics to all the major newspapers and journals (e.g. The Times, the Sunday Times, Observer, Guardian, Independent, Mail on Sunday, New Statesman, History Today, etc.)
He has written, or edited, several books. He co-authored "The Jewish People" (Viking 1989) with Rabbi John Rayner and the Italian translation of "To The Promised Land: A History of Zionist Thought" (Penguin 1996) won the prestigious Premio Iglesias prize in 1999 for best book in the Culture and Politics category.
"The Divided Self: Israel and the Jewish Psyche Today", was published in April 2006.
For further information please contact his publisher: http://www.ibtauris.com/ or the Liberal Jewish Synagogue: http://www.ljs.org
Rabbi Dr. David J. Goldberg OBE
"This handsomely produced and interestingly illustrated volume is two works in one. The first part offers a survey of Jewish history and literature. The second part presents what the preface describes as ' a thematic analysis of the teachings and practices of Judaism'"
Israel Finestein: The Jewish Chronicle
"Fluently written, with an admirable fair-mindedness in surveying both history and belief ......."
A.J. Shermann: The Times Literary Supplement
"The intelligent non-expert gets a clear picture of Jewish life, letters and history and it will be an endlessly useful reference book ....." Julia Neuberger: The Times Educational Supplement
"Zionism is one of the most misunderstood and controversial of political doctrines. To the Promised Land illuminates its origins and developments and discusses its political theory and ideology through an examination of the ideas of Zionism's leading thinkers. This sympathetic but balanced account lays bare both the paradoxes and the genuine achievements of a unique movement that changed the course of Jewish History." Penguin
" ..... beautifully written, with many deft touches of humour."
Geoffrey Paul: The Jewish Chronicle
To the Promised Land has been reissued (Sept. 2009) in Faber Finds
"Surveying clearly and concisely a history of both Jewish life in diaspora and of diaspora relations with Israel, David Goldberg reopens a debate that has laid dormant, if not suppressed for decades: is Zionism good for the Jews? This is no anti-Zionist rant, but a careful, impeccably fair questioning of the Zionist assumption that diaspora living is neurotic and doomed. Goldberg sees value in what Zionism regards as a problem - the state of being a minority in 'exile'. The book should start a much needed conversation: all those who care about the present and future of the Jewish people should welcome it." Jonathan Freedland
"David Goldberg's vivid, provocative and witty book should be required reading for anyone who cares about the future of the Jewish people and the peace of the Middle East." Max Hastings
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For a revised index which may be downloaded, see the following link: www.faber.co.uk/site-media/feed-assets/This_is_Not_the_Way_revised_index.pdf
"Great writing always takes us from the particular to the universal. Though This Is Not The Way is ostensibly about the Jews, Judaism and Israel, it actually spreads its light upon the deceits and hypocrisies of all religious forms today. A brave and passionate book, it should be read by anyone interested in the healing of the nations."
Bishop Richard Holloway, author of 'Leaving Alexandria'.
"The God of Israel, the Land of Israel and the people of Israel traditionally form an unbreakable triangle. In modern times some of the connections have become rusty or worn. Drawing on a wide-ranging experience and reading, Rabbi Goldberg subjects the external triangle to a fresh appraisal. His insights and suggestions ... are humane, acute, and often iconclastic." Professor Nicholas de Lange, Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University of Cambridge
"In the aftermath of its victory in the June 1967 War, Israel lost its moral compass. Many Diaspora Jews suffer from selective moral vision about Israel. Rabbi David Goldberg is an admirable exception. He places Israel's treatment of the Palestininans under an uncompromising lens. After the critique comes an eloquent plea for ethical Zionism - Zionism grounded in Jewish values. Rabbi Goldberg writes with exceptional insight and wisdom and he draws on his personal experience to brilliantly illuminating effect. His book carries important messages for Jews and non-Jews alike and it deserves the widest possible readership."
Avi Shlaim, Fellow of the British Academy and the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World