As a contributor to Newsmax TV’s The Daily Wrap, hosted by Joe Concha, I appeared in a recent episode – alongside attorney Heather Hansen and radio broadcaster Rick Ungar? – to discuss current events. For a portion of the broadcast, seen in the clip below, our panel engaged in a substantive discussion about the University of Oklahoma’s decision to kick Sigma Alpha Epsilon students off campus, after they were seen reveling in racist chants on a video that went viral.
Expulsion is just a first step to what should happen in a case like this one. As I said to Concha’s panel on the show: “The notion of a ‘time out’ is not just for six-year-olds. Every tradition – political, religious, they all have it. There are times you’ve done something so grotesque, you have to leave the community. But it’s also really important to find a way to re-integrate those people. Otherwise what happens is the hate festers on the outside and eventually comes storming back in later.” We can look to the scandal’s unsung hero, a spokesperson for OU’s Black Student Association, who declared that forgiveness and education and communication with the ostracized students are essential, productive next steps.
Watch the video and let us know your reaction and insights.
Newsmax TV’s The Daily Wrap features fast-paced, fun conversation from across the ideological spectrum. In one hour, it offers viewers a chance to catch up on the hottest stories of the day, and feel more involved in those stories by getting the analysis they need to help form their own opinions.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”