David Saperstein (rabbi)
| David Saperstein | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom | |
|
Assumed office January 6, 2015 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Suzan Johnson Cook |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 5, 1947 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Cornell University Hebrew Union College American University |
David N. Saperstein is an American rabbi, lawyer, Jewish community leader and United States Ambassador. He served as the director and chief legal counsel at the Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center for more than 30 years. Saperstein succeeded Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch as leader of the Washington D.C.-based political 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.
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 currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and serves on the boards of the NAACP and People For the American Way. In 1999, Saperstein was elected as the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
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. In February 2009, he was named to President Obama's Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Saperstein is also as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
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