Jack Moline (born August 10, 1952) is an American Conservative rabbi who retired as executive director of Interfaith Alliance in 2022, having served in the post since January 2015., Interfaith Alliance press release January 20, 2015, retrieved May 17, 2015.
He is a former director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, and prior to that appointment, served as rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia since 1987 and Director of Public Policy for the Rabbinical Assembly since 2009,.AmericanProgress.org , retrieved April 29, 2011.“James Besser's Political Insider,” www.thejewishweek.com, retrieved April 29, 2011.
His appointment with Interfaith Alliance followed involvement with the organization over a period of many years, including service as chair of the board.www.sssas.org, retrieved May 2, 2011.
In 2008, he was named by Newsweek magazine as one of the top pulpit rabbis in America (#3 in a list of 25),rabbib.com, retrieved April 29, 2011. and in 2010 and 2011 as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America.The 50 Most Influential Rabbis in AmericaTheDailyBeast.com, retrieved May 1, 2011. He has served in numerous leadership positions for Jewish, interfaith, and community organizations, and has advised key religious and political leaders of the United States on issues of religion and values.Rabbi Jack Moline Website In 1995, he helped write President Bill Clinton's famous "Shalom, Haver" eulogy for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Life and works
Early life Moline is a native of Chicago whose jobs before becoming a rabbi included driving a delivery truck, working as a clown in a family restaurant and giving tours at Universal Studios in California (which included Hebrew tours to visiting Israelis).Agudasachim-va.org, retrieved April 29, 2011.
He graduated from Northwestern University (School of Communications), in 1974. Before entering the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) he served as Director of Youth Activities for the Seaboard Region of United Synagogue and interim director of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Virginia.
He was ordained in 1982 by JTS in New York, spending his first two years at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles. During this time he held part-time positions at Camp Ramah as Winter Program Director, Temple Ramat Zion as Rabbinic Intern, in addition to his work at Universal Studios as Tour Guide. During third-year studies at the JTS Jerusalem campus, he served as rabbi of the Conservative congregation of Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter.
From 1980 to 1982, Moline completed his studies at the New York campus of JTS and served Congregation B'nai Israel in Danbury, Connecticut as student rabbi, serving as full-time rabbi and part-time Jewish chaplain at the Federal Correctional Institution there upon ordination. In 1987, he became rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation of Northern Virginia, in Alexandria, Virginia
Professional service In addition to his service as spiritual leader of Agudas Achim Congregation, Moline has served in leadership positions for numerous Jewish, interfaith, and community organizations. Among positions he currently holds or has held or are: Chair, Interfaith Relations Committee of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; chair of the board, Interfaith Alliance; vice-president of the regional Rabbinical Assembly; the national board of the Faith and Politics Institute; the honorary board of Operation Understanding DC; President, Washington Board of Rabbis; President, the Alexandria Interfaith Association; the boards of the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington; the boards of the Rabbinical Assembly, the regional American Jewish Congress and Gesher Jewish Day School. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the Virginia Theological Seminary, has served on the Program Board of the Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral, is one of the U.S. religious advisors to Clergy Beyond Borders,www.clergybeyondborders.org, retrieved April 30, 2011. and serves on the board of advisors to Legacy International.www.legacyintl.org , retrieved April 30, 2011.
Moline is frequently involved in special religious services and events, including a May 2010 trip to Israel with Rahm Emanuel.www.jweekly.com, retrieved April 30, 2011. Moline co-officiated at the Bar Mitzvah ceremony for Emanuel's son and nephew, along with Rabbi Kenneth Chasen from Los Angeles.www.jpost.com, retrieved April 30, 2011. The ceremony took place at the site known as the "Masorti Kotel," the area at the southern end of the Western Wall where worshipers are allowed to pray without being separated into separate sections for men and women. In 2011 Moline officiated at a "Food and Justice Seder" held at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and sponsored by the Jewish Funds for Justice and the Progressive Jewish Alliance.www.thejewishweek.com, retrieved April 30, 2011.
Interfaith affairs Moline has been active in numerous interfaith groups, including ongoing dialogues with African American ministers and social justice causes at home and abroad. He described the Interfaith Alliance as:
... a national organization, which now for almost a generation has been addressing the relationship between religious faith, politics and government. It stands for faith and freedom. We are, to the best of our knowledge, the only national organization that addresses the positive influence of religion on government and government on religion, protecting the independence of each.Philadelphia Jewish Voice, retrieved May 2, 2011.
In 2007, Moline attended a Christian Zionist Conference hosted by the Reverend John Hagee's organization, a decision that aroused some controversy within the Jewish community.Ynetnews.com, retrieved April 29, 2011. Moline took pride in his participation, noting that "We're [those in the Jewish community] no longer in a position of being too selective in choosing our friends," and citing "the threat posed by Iran and Israel's growing isolation." He has also taken a strong stand against those who attack Islam in general or individual Muslims regardless of their own words and actions, and therefore was a strong voice among those who rebuked Republican congressman Allen West for his "intemperate" comments about Muslim Democratic congressman Keith Ellison and his Islamic faith.www.njdc.org, retrieved April 29, 2011. Moline was also one of the religious leaders to speak out against Rep. Peter T. King's 2011 congressional hearings on "the radicalization of American Muslims."www.theamericanmuslim.org, retrieved April 30, 2011. In 2009 he spoke on the topic of "Preventing Future Holocausts" during a tour of the United States Holocaust Museum by a group of rabbis and imams from ten European nations.www.familysecuritymatters.org, retrieved April 30, 2011.
Moline is on the steering committee of "Shoulder to Shoulder: Standing with American Muslims; Upholding American Values," which describes itself as "a campaign of national faith-based organizations and religious denominations to promote tolerance and put an end to anti-Muslim bigotry."www.nrcat.org, retrieved May 1, 2011. In a March 2010 statement, the group wrote that
As American religious leaders, we share a deep sense of obligation to call upon our fellow citizens to treat each other with compassion and honesty, and to foster an ethical commitment to bedrock American values such as pluralism and religious freedom, mutuality and respect—values also at the core of our religious traditions.
For similar reasons, he was an outspoken critic of the 2005 documentary film "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," which he described as "a thinly-veiled call for disparagement and distrust of all Muslims."October 2008 statement on the film “Obsession,” retrieved May 1, 2011.
Moline participated in the opening prayer service for the United States Congress in 2009 and 2011, representing the Jewish community at the request of Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi and Speaker-elect John Boehner, respectively.www.faithandpolitics.org/111thOpeningReflections , retrieved May 1, 2011. In March 2011 he spoke at a special meeting of the "Black and Jewish Members of Congress Breakfast."www.flickr.com, retrieved May 1, 2011.
Political activist In 2009, after years of trying to persuade the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly that the movement needed a stronger presence in the nation's capital, the group made the decision to appoint a Director of Public Policy, turning to Moline to serve in that position as a volunteer. He had argued that other Jewish movements had such a presence, such as the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the Orthodox Union's Institute for Public Affairs, both of which are "active players in the capital." Understanding that there is a "diverse RA membership behind him and an even more diverse population of Conservative Jews," Moline's responsibilities were expected to focus on "broad consensus positions of the movement and on laying out broad principles based on Conservative thinking." However, as one Washington Jewish Week article noted, "... he is also an experienced Washington player; a lot of the new Conservative movement's impact may be under the radar with Moline at the helm." Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, then President of the Rabbinical Assembly, praised the choice of Moline for the new position, saying that "Rabbi Moline is that perfect combination of smart, well-connected, socially-savvy and thoroughly conversant on the issues of the day. In addition, he knows the ins and outs of the Washington world. His appointment ushers in an exciting new era for the Rabbinical Assembly and Conservative Judaism."blogs.jta.org, retrieved May 1, 2011.
In 2010, Moline spoke to his friend Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff, about the Obama administration's perceived lack of friendliness toward Israel.www.JTA.org , retrieved April 29, 2011. As a result of that conversation, Moline initiated two "intimate White House meetings" between the White House and "a carefully selected slate of 15 rabbis from across the country representing the Orthodox, Reform and Conservative streams." Moline's notes on those meetings, shared with the larger community by some of the participants,Moline's report on the 2010 White House meetings with 15 American rabbis. Moline's report on White House meetings , retrieved May 2, 2011. have become the official historical record of this initiative.