Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal (STAR) is a Jewish advocacy organization to support synagogues in the United States.Sidney Schwarz, Ruth Messinger, Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2008, p. 180
Overview It was founded in 2000 by businessman Edgar Bronfman, businessman Charles Schusterman, and investor Michael Steinhardt.Julie Wiener, 'Will $18 million in grants catalyze synagogue revival?', in J. The Jewish News of Northern California, September 15, 2000 Dana Evan Kaplan, Contemporary American Judaism: transformation and renewal, New York City: Columbia University Press, 2009, p. 371 It is headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.Star Synagogue Studies Lynn Schusterman, the co-founder's widow, is chairwoman of the board.Jeffrey K. Salkin, A dream of Zion: American Jews reflect on why Israel matters to them, Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2007, p. 95
The organization pledged to give $18 million the first year. Participants in the inaugural summit in Chicago included Rabbi and author Shmuley Boteach, Professor Richard Joel, and Koret Foundation interim director Mel Mogulof. They donate $500,000 to synagogues in the United States every year.
In 2009, together with the Center for Jewish Policy Studies, it helped publish Synagogues in a Time of Change: Fragmentation and Diversity in Jewish Religious Movements by Zachary I. Heller.Zachary I. Heller, Synagogues in a Time of Change: Fragmentation and Diversity in Jewish Religious Movements, The Alban Institute, 2009, p. ix
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