David Nathan Saperstein is an American rabbi, lawyer, and Jewish community leader who served as United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. For over 40 years, he served as the director and chief legal counsel at the Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action CenterOfficial biography from rac.org. and is the center's director emeritus.
Early life and education Saperstein was born in New York City to Rabbi Harold Saperstein and Marcia Saperstein. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, Master of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University, graduating summa cum laude.
Career Saperstein succeeded Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch as leader of the Washington D.C.–based social justice and lobbying arm of the North American Reform movement. There, he advocated on a broad range of social justice issues. He directed a staff who provided extensive legislative and programmatic materials to synagogues, federations and Jewish Community Relations Councils nationwide, coordinating social action education programs that train nearly 3,000 Jewish adults, youth, rabbinic and lay leaders each year. He has been described as America's most influential rabbi and as the quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill.Religious freedom: Rabbi to the rescue, The Economist.
On August 28, 2008, Saperstein delivered the invocation at the Democratic National Convention's final session, before Senator Barack Obama accepted the party's nomination for president.Democrats Pitch Big Tent in Bid To Draw in the Faithful, by Brett Lieberman, The Jewish Daily Forward, 8/28/08
In February 2009, he was named to President Barack Obama's Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In 2009, Newsweek named him No. 1 on its list of "50 Influential Rabbis."
In 2009, he received the IRLA/NARLA/Liberty Award from the International Religious Liberty Association.
On July 28, 2014, President Obama nominated Saperstein to be the first non-Christian to hold the post of United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. In December 2014 Saperstein's appointment to the post won U.S. Senate confirmation. He succeeded Suzan Johnson Cook in this position.US Senate approves rabbi as freedom of faith envoy, The Times of Israel, December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2014Rabbi David Saperstein confirmed as U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom, AL.com, December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014
He has co-chaired the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and served on the boards of the NAACP, Common Cause, and People For the American Way. In 1999, Saperstein was elected as the first Chair of the congressionally-created U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Saperstein is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught courses on church-state law and on Jewish law for 35 years.Georgetown Law Faculty Profile page. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
On October 11, 2018, Saperstein received the International Religious Liberty Award "for his many years of work defending and supporting freedom of religion or belief for all". Cole Durham, Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) presented the award.
Personal Saperstein is married to four-time Peabody Award winning journalist Ellen Weiss. They are the parents of musician Daniel SapersteinArchived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: and journalist Ari Saperstein, executive director of the Los Angeles Reporting Collective. His brother is Jewish historian and rabbi Marc Saperstein.
See also Religious Action Center
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