4 rabbis arrested during New York protest

Four prominent rabbis in New York were arrested during protests against police brutality and racial injustice on the night of Thursday, December 4.

Rabbis Sharon Kleinbaum, Jill Jacobs, David Rosenn and Shai Held were among the thousands of other protesters who took to the streets on the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, December 4 & 5 over a grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the death of Eric Garner who was choked to death during arrest.

The protest began at B’nai Jeshurun, a Jewish synagogue on 88th St., and proceeded along Broadway to 96th St. where the rabbis engaged in an act of civil disobedience. Many of the protesters had just attended a ceremony organized by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) at B'nai Jeshurun, during which Rabbi Kleinbaum was one of three recipients of the Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Risk Taker Awards.

According to , Rabbi Jacobs said that she and others were arrested and taken to the police station roughly around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday evening and were held until 5:15 a.m. Friday morning.

"Rabbis and all Jews need to stand up and say that every single person is a creation in the divine image -- that black lives matter. We put our bodies on the line to show how crucial it is that the systems meant to protect us do protect all of us,"one of the rabbis, Jacob Jill said according to Huffinghton Post.

The protesters recited the kaddish, a Jewish mourning prayer delivered in memory of loved ones -- video of which several participants posted to Facebook. During the prayer, attendees read the names of more than 20 black individuals who had been killed by New York police, followed by the statement, “I am responsible.”