I will acknowledge my share of the responsibility for the wrong-doing at Abu Ghraib by a 24-hour vigil and fast Monday and Tuesday, July 26 and 27, at the Federal Building on Liberty Ave.

Evil deeds have been exposed at Abu Ghraib, and ugly truths are coming out about the treatment of prisoners there, elsewhere in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and our detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. The legal responsibility for these acts is being adjudicated, and we can only hope that the inquiry extends beyond a handful of low-ranking reservists. The administrative responsibility for what happened is under review, but the events were inevitable after our government publicly announced that our captives were unprotected by the Geneva Convention, the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or the U.S. Constitution. The political responsibility is being decided between now and November.

But the moral and the spiritual responsibility is, as we lawyers say, joint and several. We are all responsible.

The deeds were done under our American flag. The deeds were done by American soldiers, paid for by the American taxpayers – that’s us. It was done in our name.

So, starting at sundown on Monday July 26^th, at 8 pm, I will fast for 24 hours and keep vigil at our Federal Building.

Why July 26-27? That day is Tisha B’Av, a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple. I am descended from the victims of those atrocities, but also from the perpetrators. Mere legal guilt fades into history as time passes. Finding fault does not lessen my responsibilities.

The issue is not guilt; this is not a matter of wrong choices I made in the past (I opposed this war before it began). The issue is responsibility, which each one of us shares. This means we must work, as best we can, to remedy the wrongs. Furthermore, we have been saying "Never Again" – since 1945. But did we mean it? What changes, structural changes, did we make to go beyond rhetoric and promises?

This vigil is not the time and place to promote specific changes. The main purpose is not to make statements about politics and government, although the implications are unavoidable.

But, for me, the next step is clear. I acknowledge my share of the responsibility, part of the truth that will set us free. That is why I will be at the Federal Building at 8 p.m. on July 26.

Why a public fast, along with a vigil? Isaiah told us that, for spiritual benefit, a fast must be accompanied by righteous action. "Free those to whom you were unfair…" Isaiah 58:6

Please call me at 412-683-0237 for further information. All who wish to join in acknowledging our shared responsibility, who wish to join in any part of this fast and vigil, are invited.