Rabbi David Forman, founder of Israel’s Rabbis for Human Rights, dies

Founder of Israel’s Rabbis for Human Rights dies

JERUSALEM — Rabbi David Forman, founder of Rabbis for Human Rights, a prominent group defending Palestinians, has died, a colleague said Tuesday.

Forman was 65. He died Monday in a hospital in Dallas, Texas, where he was undergoing treatment, said Rabbi Arik Ascherman, current leader of the human rights group.

Forman founded Rabbis for Human Rights in 1988 and led it until 1992. He served as its chairman again from 2002-2003.

A Reform Jewish rabbi, he was director of the Israel office of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform umbrella group. He moved to Israel in 1972.

“Rabbi Forman was a mentor and a moral compass for several generations of rabbis and Jews around the world” through his work in human rights, Ascherman told The Associated Press.

Rabbis for Human Rights leads regular protests against the demolition of Palestinian homes and uprooting of olive trees in the West Bank.

Forman is survived by his wife and four children. His funeral is set for Thursday in Israel.