Rabbi pays tribute to Ali for stand against Vietnam war

Rabbi Michael Lerner has praised Muhammad Ali for using his fame his stand against the "immoral" Vietnam war.

Speaking at the boxing legend's memorial service in Louisville, he said: "Heavy weight champions of the world come and go. Sports heroes come and go. There was something about Muhammad Ali that was different.

"At the key moment that he had that recognition he used it to stand up to an immoral war and say 'No, I won't go'.

"And it's for that reason that tens of millions of Americans who don't particularly care about boxing do care about Muhammad Ali, because he was a person who was willing to risk a great honour that he got, and a great fame that he got, to stand up for the beliefs that he had, to speak truth to power. He stood up and was willing to take that kind of risk because of that kind of moral integrity."