Rabbi David Saperstein is the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Described in a The Washington Post profile as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” he represents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the administration. He currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, which comprises more than 50 national religious denominations and educational organizations, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations including the NAACP and People For the American Way. President Barack Obama recently named Rabbi Saperstein to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a volunteer advisory council composed of 25 religious and secular leaders and scholars.

Under Rabbi Saperstein’s tutelage, writes J.J. Goldberg in his book, Jewish Power, the Religious Action Center “has become one of the most powerful Jewish bodies in Washington, second only to AIPAC.” The Center not only advocates on a broad range of social justice issues but provides extensive legislative and programmatic materials used by synagogues, federations and Jewish community relations councils nationwide, and coordinates social action education programs that train nearly 3,000 Jewish adults, youth, rabbinic and lay leaders each year.

Also an attorney, Rabbi Saperstein teaches seminars in both First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law School. In 1999, he was elected as the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom created by a unanimous vote of Congress.

A prolific writer and speaker, Rabbi Saperstein has appeared on a number of television news and talk shows including Nightline, Oprah, Lehrer News Hour and ABC’s Sunday Morning. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Harvard Law Review. His latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

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Blog Entries by Rabbi David Saperstein

Public Education: DC Vouchers Program Isn't the Answer

2 Comments | Posted May 14, 2009 | 03:41 PM (EST)


The promise of a better education at private schools, to escape "failing" and "unsafe" public schools, is often touted by voucher advocates as an option that all families should have. Indeed, this rallying cry was front and center when the Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), a pilot school vouchers...

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Going to Jail to Fight Genocide

8 Comments | Posted May 1, 2009 | 01:05 PM (EST)


Despite what some UN diplomats and squeamish academics might be saying, the genocide by attrition continues in Darfur, through the use of rape and denial of humanitarian assistance as weapons of war. There are no gas chambers; there are not even the dramatic village burnings of 2003-5 Darfur. But the...

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A Pro-Life Position Most Religious People Embrace

Posted March 10, 2009 | 11:10 AM (EST)


In giving government support to promising research utilizing stem cells, which can enhance the life and health of millions of Americans, President Obama has shown not just political courage, but a moral vision that resonates with deep religious reverence for life.

This decision resonates with the Jewish tradition, in which...

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Our Rights in Peril: The Future of the Courts

Posted February 19, 2009 | 04:53 PM (EST)


The progressive religious community has long been a principal force in efforts to gain and protect fundamental rights. On nearly every issue, from civil rights to health care reform to a woman's right to choose, religious groups have made their voices heard. Yet, although every one of these issues is...

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