32 Notable alumni of
Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Jewish Theological Seminary of America is 1177th in the world, 429th in North America, and 403rd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 32 notable alumni from Jewish Theological Seminary of America sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.

  1. Bella Abzug

    Bella Abzug
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1920-1998 (aged 78)
    Occupations
    social activistlawyerpolitician
    Biography

    Bella Savitzky Abzug, nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus. She was a leading figure in what came to be known as eco-feminism.

  2. Chaim Potok

    Chaim Potok
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1929-2002 (aged 73)
    Occupations
    writertranslatorchildren's writernovelistrabbi
    Biography

    Chaim Potok was an American author, novelist, playwright, editor and rabbi. Of the more than dozen novels he authored, his first book The Chosen (1967), was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies and which was adapted into a well-received 1981 feature film by the same title.

  3. Henrietta Szold

    Henrietta Szold
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1860-1945 (aged 85)
    Occupations
    teacherwriter
    Biography

    Henrietta Szold was an American-born Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.

  4. Norman Podhoretz

    Norman Podhoretz
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1930-.. (age 93)
    Occupations
    journalistopinion journalistpunditwriter
    Biography

    Norman Podhoretz is an American magazine editor, writer, and conservative political commentator, who identifies his views as "paleo-neoconservative". He is a writer for Commentary magazine, and previously served as the publication's editor-in-chief from 1960 to 1995.

  5. Mordecai Kaplan

    Mordecai Kaplan
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1881-1983 (aged 102)
    Occupations
    diaristuniversity teacherrabbiessayistphilosopher
    Biography

    Mordecai Menahem Kaplan was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein. He has been described as a "towering figure" in the recent history of Judaism for his influential work in adapting it to modern society, contending that Judaism should be a unifying and creative force by stressing the cultural and historical character of the religion as well as theological doctrine.

  6. Abraham Foxman

    Abraham Foxman
    Born in
    Belarus Flag Belarus
    Years
    1940-.. (age 83)
    Occupations
    lawyerauthor
    Biography

    Abraham Henry Foxman is an American lawyer and activist. He served as the national director of the Anti-Defamation League from 1987 to 2015, and is currently the League's national director emeritus. From 2016 to 2021 he served as vice chair of the board of trustees at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City in order to lead its efforts on antisemitism.

  7. David Wolpe

    David Wolpe
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1958-.. (age 65)
    Occupations
    international forum participantrabbi
    Biography

    David J. Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA.

  8. Michael Schudrich

    Michael Schudrich
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1955-.. (age 68)
    Occupations
    historianrabbi
    Biography

    Michael Joseph Schudrich is an American rabbi and the current Chief Rabbi of Poland. He is the oldest of four children of Rabbi David Schudrich and Doris Goldfarb Schudrich.

  9. Shalom H. Schwartz

    Shalom H. Schwartz
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1940-.. (age 83)
    Occupations
    psychologistuniversity teacherlecturer
    Biography

    Shalom H. Schwartz is a social psychologist, cross-cultural researcher and creator of the Theory of Basic Human Values (universal values as latent motivations and needs). He also contributed to the formulation of the values scale in the context of social learning theory and social cognitive theory.

  10. Albert L. Lewis

    Albert L. Lewis
    Years
    1917-2008 (aged 91)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Rabbi Albert L. Lewis was a leading American Conservative rabbi, scholar, and author; President of the Rabbinical Assembly (RA), the international organization of Conservative rabbis; and Vice-President of The World Council of Synagogues. In 2009, the award-winning author, Mitch Albom, wrote about Lewis, his childhood rabbi, as the main character in the non-fiction book, Have a Little Faith. The book, hailed as a story of faith that inspires faith in others, concludes with the eulogy that Albom delivered at Lewis's funeral, on February 12, 2008.

  11. Ilan Stavans

    Ilan Stavans
    Born in
    Mexico Flag Mexico
    Years
    1961-.. (age 62)
    Enrolled in Jewish Theological Seminary of America
    Graduated with master's degree
    Occupations
    lexicographerwritercomics writerlinguistessayist
    Biography

    Ilan Stavans is an American writer and academic. He writes and speaks on American, Hispanic, and Jewish cultures. He is the author of Quixote (2015) and a contributor to the Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (2010). He was the host of the syndicated PBS show Conversations with Ilan Stavans, which ran from 2001 to 2006.

  12. Abraham Skorka

    Abraham Skorka
    Born in
    Argentina Flag Argentina
    Years
    1950-.. (age 73)
    Occupations
    priestbiophysicistrabbiphysicistchemist
    Biography

    Abraham Skorka is an Argentine biophysicist, rabbi and book author. Abraham Skorka is rector emeritus of the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires, the rabbi of the Jewish community Benei Tikva, professor of biblical and rabbinic literature at the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano and honorary professor of Hebrew Law at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires.

  13. Gordon Tucker

    Gordon Tucker
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1951-.. (age 72)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Gordon Tucker is a prominent rabbi, with a reputation as both a political and a theological liberal in Conservative Judaism. He is the former senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York. Since September 2020, he has served as the Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

  14. Arthur Green

    Arthur Green
    Years
    1941-.. (age 82)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Arthur Green is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He describes himself as an American Jew who was educated entirely by the generation of immigrant Jewish intellectuals cast up on American shores by World War II.

  15. Joseph Hertz

    Joseph Hertz
    Born in
    Slovakia Flag Slovakia
    Years
    1872-1946 (aged 74)
    Occupations
    rabbiwritertranslator
    Biography

    Joseph Herman Hertz was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the Holocaust.

  16. Daniel Gordis

    Daniel Gordis
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1959-.. (age 64)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Daniel Gordis is an American-born Israeli author and speaker, who is best known as a passionate advocate of Israel. He is Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College in Jerusalem, where he previously also served as Senior Vice President and Chair of the Core Curriculum, until his retirement from those positions. The author of a dozen books on Judaism and Israel, and twice awarded the National Jewish Book Award (including Book of the Year for his history of Israel), The Forward has called Gordis "one of the most influential Israel analysts around." Gordis is also the author of the blog and podcast, Israel from the Inside, which is published on Substack.

  17. David Weiss Halivni

    David Weiss Halivni
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1927-2022 (aged 95)
    Enrolled in Jewish Theological Seminary of America
    In 1958 graduated with doctorate in Talmud
    Occupations
    rabbitheologiantalmudisteducator
    Biography

    David Weiss Halivni was a European-born American-Israeli rabbi, scholar in the domain of Jewish sciences, and Professor of Talmud. He served as Reish Metivta of the Union for Traditional Judaism's rabbinical school.

  18. Arnold Resnicoff

    Arnold Resnicoff
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1946-.. (age 77)
    Occupations
    rabbimilitary officer
    Biography

    Arnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative rabbi who served as a military officer and military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school. He then served as a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. He promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. In 1984 the President of the United States spoke on his eyewitness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. After retiring from the military he was National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General.

  19. Marshall Meyer

    Marshall Meyer
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1930-1993 (aged 63)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer was an American Conservative rabbi who became a recognized international human rights activist while living and working in Argentina from 1958 to 1984, during the period of the "Dirty War" in the 1970s. He was elected by president Raúl Alfonsín to be one of the members of the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons. After the restoration of democracy in 1983, Meyer was awarded the nation's highest honor, the Order of the Liberator General San Martín, by the new president.

  20. Arthur Hertzberg

    Arthur Hertzberg
    Born in
    Poland Flag Poland
    Years
    1921-2006 (aged 85)
    Occupations
    writerrabbi
    Biography

    Arthur Hertzberg was a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist.

  21. David Novak

    David Novak
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1941-.. (age 82)
    Occupations
    rabbiphilosopheruniversity teachertheologian
    Biography

    David Novak, is a Jewish theologian, ethicist, and scholar of Jewish philosophy and law (Halakha). He is an ordained Conservative rabbi and holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as Professor of the Study of Religion and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto since 1997. His areas of interest are Jewish theology, Jewish ethics and biomedical ethics, political theory (with a special emphasis on natural law), and Jewish-Christian relations.

  22. Louis Finkelstein

    Louis Finkelstein
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1895-1991 (aged 96)
    Occupations
    Rabbinic literature scholarrabbi
    Biography

    Louis Finkelstein was a Talmud scholar, an expert in Jewish law, and a leader of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) and Conservative Judaism.

  23. Jacob Milgrom

    Jacob Milgrom
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1923-2010 (aged 87)
    Occupations
    rabbiwriteruniversity teacher
    Biography

    Jacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi. Milgrom's major contribution to biblical research was in the field of cult and worship. Although he accepted the documentary hypothesis, contrary to the classical bible critics, he traced a direct line of development from the Priestly Code (P), to the Holiness Code (H), to the cultic innovations of Ezekiel, to the cultic writings of the Dead Sea sect and finally to Jewish law (halacha) of the Mishnah and Talmud. Best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, he also published extensively on the Book of Ezekiel.

  24. Bradley Shavit Artson

    Bradley Shavit Artson
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1959-.. (age 64)
    Occupations
    rabbiphilosopher
    Biography

    Bradley Shavit "Brad" Artson is an American rabbi, author and speaker. He holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California, where he is also Vice-President. He supervises the Louis and Judith Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and provides educational and religious oversight for two Camp Ramah campuses, Ojai and Monterey Bay. He is Dean of the Zacharias Frankel College at the University of Potsdam in Germany, ordaining Conservative/Masorti rabbis for Europe.

  25. Herman Berlinski

    Herman Berlinski
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1910-2001 (aged 91)
    Occupations
    composerorganistconductorpianistchoir director
    Biography

    Herman Berlinski was a German-born American composer, organist, pianist, musicologist and choir conductor.

  26. Steven Rubenstein

    Steven Rubenstein
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1962-2012 (aged 50)
    Occupations
    anthropologist
    Biography

    Steven Lee Rubenstein was an American anthropologist. He was reader in Latin American Anthropology at the University of Liverpool, and Director of Liverpool's Research Institute of Latin American Studies.

  27. Jack Moline

    Jack Moline
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1952-.. (age 71)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Jack Moline is an American Conservative rabbi who retired as executive director of Interfaith Alliance in 2022, having served in the post since January 2015.

  28. Philip R. Alstat

    Philip R. Alstat
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1891-1976 (aged 85)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Philip Reis Alstat was a well-known American Conservative rabbi, teacher, chaplain, speaker and writer. Born in Kaunas (formerly, Kovno), Lithuania, he came to the United States in 1898, studying at City College of New York (A.B., 1912), Columbia University (A.M., 1915), and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), where he received semikhah, rabbinic ordination, in 1920, and the Doctor of Divinity degree (honoris causa), in 1966.

  29. Harry Halpern

    Harry Halpern
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1899-1981 (aged 82)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Harry Halpern was an American religious and community leader, a powerful orator, a respected religious educator, and a prominent Conservative rabbi who served for almost 49 years as the rabbi of the East Midwood Jewish Center (EMJC), in Brooklyn, New York.

  30. Seymour Siegel

    Seymour Siegel
    Years
    1927-1988 (aged 61)
    Occupations
    rabbi
    Biography

    Seymour Siegel, often referred to as "an architect of Conservative Jewish theology," was an American Conservative rabbi, a Professor of Ethics and Theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), the 1983-1984 Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council," and an advisor to three American Presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan.

  31. Rose Halprin

    Rose Halprin
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1896-1978 (aged 82)
    Enrolled in Jewish Theological Seminary of America
    1912-1913 studied education
    Occupations
    social worker
    Biography

    Rose Luria Halprin was an American Zionist leader and National President of the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America. In addition to her two terms as Hadassah president, she also served on the Zionist General Council, American Zionist Emergency Council, American Jewish Conference, and the Jewish Agency for Palestine. As part of the American section for the Jewish Agency, she was involved in discussions that led to the establishment of the State of Israel.

  32. Samuel Schafler

    Samuel Schafler
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1929-1991 (aged 62)
    Occupations
    historianrabbi
    Biography

    Samuel Schafler was a New York-born rabbi, historian, editor and Jewish educator. He was Superintendent of the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago and President of Hebrew College in Brookline, Massachusetts.