Archbishop of Canterbury addresses 'resurgence of antisemitism' in speech honoring Rabbi Sacks

“The desperate plight of the hostages is a bitterly vivid symbol of the way that so many lives – Jewish and non-Jewish – are held hostage by a climate of terror,” he said.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF MARCH 12, 2025 16:36

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 1948-2020. (photo credit: The Rabbi Sacks Legacy)

The 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Rowan Williams, addressed the “resurgence of antisemitic rhetoric” that came after the “butchery” of the October 7 massacre during a lecture in honor of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks on Tuesday.

“The desperate plight of the hostages is a bitterly vivid symbol of the way that so many lives – Jewish and non-Jewish – are held hostage by a climate of terror,” he said.

During his lecture, which was for the Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Annual Memorial Lecture at King’s College, Lord Williams – a close personal friend and colleague of Rabbi Sacks – discussed how the Chief Rabbi might have approached the challenges of our time.

The lecture is held every year to address society’s current challenges with the hope of encouraging debates on ethics and public policy, introducing audiences to the ideas Rabbi Sacks championed. 

“Jonathan Sacks’ groundbreaking meditations on how we mend our social brokenness, drawing deeply on the basic reality of covenant with God and one another, converge with some important strands in modern European thinking about solidarity,”  Lord Williams stated before the lecture. 

RABBI JONATHAN SACKS – his recipe for repair was the building of ‘covenantal communities’ based on a ‘we’ consciousness. (credit: Courtesy)

“A durable community needs more than general fellow-feeling; it requires the sense of a common project. This lecture, in tribute to Jonathan Sacks, will reflect on how we make the transition from what can be a sentimental feeling of common identity to an active sharing of labour in the construction of new possibilities for our living together.”

Rabbi Sacks’ youngest daughter, Gila Sacks, closed the evening by speaking about how Lord Williams and Rabbi Sacks “modelled partnership for the public good,” adding that the two “enhanced the place of faith in the public square, raising the tone of public debate, and challenging us to step up and take on the challenges facing our communities today.”

“That call to action continued powerfully with Lord Williams’ message this evening.”

Chief Rabbi for two decades

Rabbi Sacks passed away in November 2020 and served as Chief Rabbi for the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for 22 years. 

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More than being a respected moral voice, he was also a philosopher and award-winning author. 

 King Charles III, with whom he shared a close friendship, described him as “a light unto this nation.”