The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), today joins the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in welcoming Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D. as its next president. Dr. Rehfeld assumes the role on April 1, 2019.

“I am excited about the selection of Dr. Andrew Rehfeld to be the next President of HUC-JIR,” said Rabbi David Stern, President of the CCAR Board of Trustees. “This is an unconventional and inspiring choice. Dr. Rehfeld is an outstanding academic and accomplished leader across the Jewish community and is deeply dedicated to the Reform movement. Those who benefit from his scholarship and guidance at HUC-JIR will be equipped to make meaningful contributions to Jewish life, now and into the future.”

Dr. Rehfeld currently serves as President of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and is a prominent leader of the St. Louis Jewish community. In his new role, he will lead the four-campus international institution of Jewish higher education and seminary for Reform Judaism, which educates leaders to serve the Reform Movement and the Jewish people worldwide as rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit management professionals.

“Dr. Rehfeld is a creative intellectual who brings a strategic mindset to all his endeavors,” said Rabbi Steven A. Fox, Chief Executive of CCAR. “His leadership skill, management insight, and personal contributions to the richness of the Jewish tradition will benefit both HUC-JIR and the Reform movement at large.”

CCAR proudly works with HUC-JIR, alongside the Union for Reform Judaism to grow and develop the Reform Movement’s congregations and professional and lay leaders by illuminating Jewish heritage and fostering interfaith and multiethnic understanding. For more information, visit www.huc.edu.

Rabbi Person Becomes First Woman to Lead A Reform Legacy Organization

New York – November 15, 2018 – The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) today announced Rabbi Hara Person as the organization’s next chief executive. Rabbi Person, who currently serves as CCAR’s chief strategy officer and publisher of CCAR Press, will become the first woman to serve as the top leader of a legacy institution of the Reform Movement.

“We are so thrilled to announce that Rabbi Person will be making this historic ascension to the leadership of CCAR and the broader Reform Movement,” said Rabbi David Stern, President of CCAR. “I have personally had the privilege of working closely with Hara during my presidency and have been continually impressed by her intellect, her vision and her undeniable passion and love for the rabbinate. We are truly blessed to have such a gifted and devoted individual to lead us into the future.”

“I am profoundly honored to accept this position in an organization that supports rabbis in a myriad of ways,” said Rabbi Person. “I am excited to take on the challenge of serving our diverse rabbinate, including through professional and personal enhancement and expanded opportunities for rabbinic education. I’m also looking forward to strengthening CCAR’s bonds with our partner organizations in the Reform Movement and the wider Jewish community, so that together we may build a vibrant Jewish future.”

Rabbi Person brings a wide and diverse array of experience to the position of chief executive. During her 10 years at CCAR, she developed a multi-dimensional communications strategy to position the Reform rabbinate as a leading voice on issues of national and international importance within the Jewish and interfaith community. Since 2008, Hara has served as publisher of CCAR Press, transforming the publishing arm of the Reform Movement into a vibrant and successful publishing house providing liturgy and other resources for Reform Jews and the broader Jewish world.

In addition to her work as chief strategy officer and publisher of CCAR Press, Rabbi Person leads CCAR’s Task Force on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate, helping to advance the cause of gender equity within the Reform Movement and addressing the unique challenges of women rabbis.

Rabbi Person will succeed CCAR’s current chief executive, Rabbi Steven A. Fox, who announced his retirement earlier this year and led the organization for 13 years. She will officially assume the role on July 1, 2019.

“It has been a true privilege to serve as CCAR’s chief executive for the past 13 years. For much of that time, I have been blessed to have Rabbi Person by my side in leading the CCAR through an exciting period of change and growth,” said Rabbi Fox. “With Rabbi Person filling the chief executive position, I feel extremely confident that the future of CCAR and of the Reform Movement is in good hands.”

Rabbi Person’s selection is the culmination of a robust search process, including deliberations by the CCAR Board of Trustees and conversations among a broad and extensive array of CCAR members, as well as engagement with Movement partners and others.

Contact:
Elliot Levy, 202-800-7409, elliot.levy@berlinrosen.com

Faith leaders will protest humanitarian crises affecting immigrants, asylum seekers

Next week, Reform rabbis from across the country will lead a pilgrimage to the U.S. border with Mexico to call attention to three ongoing crises near the border: The asylum seekers languishing on the El Paso-Juarez bridge, teenagers confined to a tent city surrounded by barbed wire in Tornillo, and the humanitarian crisis in El Paso, Texas, where immigrants and refugees are being released randomly with no access to support or resources. The Let Our Families Go pilgrimage represents a bold new effort to mobilize faith communities (particularly Jewish faith communities) around the issues of immigrant justice and human rights.

“The increased militarization of our borders and zero-tolerance policies have created the conditions for this humanitarian disaster affecting immigrants and asylum seekers,” said Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp, rabbi at Temple Sholom in Cincinnati, Ohio. “These policies violate every principle of decency, justice and compassion that we hold as Jews. We are making this sacred journey to call on our government to stop the unacceptable practice of imprisoning immigrant minors and ensure protection for those seeking refuge within our borders.”

The rabbis will travel in three groups, departing from Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; and Sacramento, California on November 12, with stops in Indianapolis and St. Louis for rallies and meetings, and finally converging in El Paso on November 15. Upon arriving in El Paso, the group will participate in an action of prophetic witness that will call attention to the injustices taking place on the border and travel to Tornillo, Texas, demonstrating solidarity between the Jewish community and the immigrants suffering these outrages.

“Every day, we see in our community the painful suffering of immigrant families and asylum seekers, who want nothing more than the chance for a safe and dignified future,” said Rabbi Ben Zeidman, rabbi at Temple Mount Sinai in El Paso.

“We, as people of faith, stand for the reunification of children with parents or guardians regardless of immigration status,” said Rabbi Josh Whinston, rabbi at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, Michigan and co-chair of Let Our Families Go. “The time has to bring an end to the outrageous practices that keep asylum seekers and immigrant teens mired in desperate poverty or locked in prison camps. This pilgrimage is a fulfillment of our obligation as religious leaders to support the most vulnerable among us, and an acknowledgement of the immigrant identity embedded in our own Jewish heritage.”

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) will be represented in El Paso by its Board member, Rabbi Barry Block of Congregation B’nai Israel in Little Rock, Arkansas.

—

For more information about Let Our Families Go or to connect with participating rabbis, please contact Elliot Levy at Elliot.levy@berlinrosen.com or 202-800-7409.