Henry Sobel
This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (April 2011) |
Henry Sobel | |
---|---|
Born | Henry Isaac Sobel 9 January 1944 |
Died | 22 November 2019 | (aged 75)
Occupation | Rabbi |
Henry Isaac Sobel (9 January 1944, in
.Biography
Son of Ashkenazi Jews who fled the Nazi persecution during the World War II (Belgian father and Polish mother), Sobel was born in Lisbon, Portugal.[1] While he was an infant his family moved to New York City where he grew up and was eventually ordained a reform rabbi in 1970. In the same year, he accepted an invitation to be the rabbi at Congregação Israelita Paulista and established himself in São Paulo, Brazil. In his own words, it "made possible my actuation in the social and politic fronts and gave me the chance of engaging myself".[2] As of 2007, he had two colleagues sharing the rabbinate, Rabbi Michel Schlesinger and Rabbi Yehuda Busquila. During the 1970s and 1980s Sobel had an extraordinary role in protecting the human rights in Brazil (at that time governed by the military). Along with Catholic Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns and others, Sobel showed great courage in denouncing the assassination of journalist Vladimir Herzog by right wing military in Brazil.
He had also a great role in promoting inter-religious dialogue in Brazil and elsewhere by cultivating excellent relations with Catholic dignitaries, including the Pope John Paul II. During more than 30 years, Sobel was recognized as an informal leader of the reform Jewish community in São Paulo.
Sobel has one daughter, Alisha, born in São Paulo in 1983.
U.S. arrest and hospitalization
This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. . (April 2011) |
On March 23, 2007, Sobel was arrested in
On March 30, Sobel was admitted to
Death
Sobel died of cancer on 22 November 2019, in Miami, Florida.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Corpo do rabino Henry Sobel é sepultado nos EUA". G1 (in Portuguese). 2019-11-24. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ From God's country: Henry Sobel's pluralist city, VisitSP.com interview
- Seattle Post Intelligencer. 28 March 2007.
- ^ "Brazilian rabbi requests suspension after tie theft". Metro.co.uk. 30 March 2007.
- ^ "Illustrious Rabbi from Brazil Apologizes for Stealing Expensive Ties in the US". Brazzil Magazine. 2007-04-02. Archived from the original on 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ "Rabino Henry Sobel morre aos 75 anos em Miami". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). 2019-11-22. Retrieved 2019-11-22.