Rabbi David Saperstein

Rabbi David Saperstein is director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, having served as its director and counsel for 40 years. Designated by Newsweek Magazine as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” under Rabbi Saperstein, writes J.J. Goldberg in his book Jewish Power, the Religious Action Center “has become one of the most powerful Jewish bodies in Washington.” The first rabbi in American history to have been designated a U.S. Ambassador, during the second term of the Obama administration, Rabbi Saperstein served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, carrying out his responsibilities as the country’s chief diplomat on religious freedom issues. In this capacity, he served as a principal advisor to Secretary Kerry and President Obama on issues of international religious freedom) and travelled widely as America’s advocate for religious freedom and for the security of religious minorities across the globe. From 2019-20, Rabbi Saperstein served as the President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the international arm of the Reform Jewish Movement. He remains today the senior advisor to the Union for Reform Judaism.