DOCSLIB.ORG

American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2020 Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election Jennifer Gurev Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Gurev, Jennifer, "Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election" (2020). CMC Senior Theses. 2453. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2453 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Claremont McKenna College Mobilization and Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following the 2016 Election submitted to Professor Aseema Sinha by Jennifer Gurev for Senior Thesis Spring 2020 May 11, 2020 Abstract The 2016 election sparked fundamental changes in American politics. From the rise of Donald Trump’s popularity to the growth of progressive protests in response to his election and subsequent policies, this paper explores how fundamental changes stemming from the 2016 election directly impacted American Jewish interest groups and political stances, particularly on the issue of Israel. Prior to the 2016 election, the American Jewish community was growing increasingly divided on Israel primarily due to the disparate experiences between young Jews and that of older generations, as well as increasingly right-wing Israeli politics. However, the election of Trump—and his alignment with pro-Israel policies—furthered the already existing divides across American Jewish politics. The result has been increased polarization between American Jewish groups and the mobilization of progressive groups to counteract pro-Israel organizations and Trump’s illiberal policies. This paper aims to illustrate how these changes within American Jewish politics are connected to the 2016 election through three case studies of Jewish Israel-related organizations from across the political spectrum. 1 Acknowledgements To all the people who have supported me along the way, thank you. Although a global pandemic is not the way that I imagined leaving CMC, this experience has shown me just how much this community means to me. I have so much love for the Class of 2020 and for all of the professors, classmates, and administrators who helped make my time here meaningful. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Sinha for guiding me throughout writing my thesis. Thank you for encouraging me to write my thesis on such an important and meaningful topic. I appreciate all of the guidance that you have provided me, your kindness and understanding, and for pushing me along the way. I will miss working with you. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends and family and for their positive encouragement and support throughout my thesis and college experience. To Shreya, Bridget, Gabe, Alex, and other dear friends, I could not have done this without you. I know that you will all achieve great things and I am so happy that CMC brought us together (#twomoremonths!). I would also like to thank the Rose Family for hosting me during this pandemic. Lastly and most importantly, I would like to thank my family all of their love and support. My thesis and time at CMC would not have been possible without you. 2 Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 4 About ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Polling Data ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Interest Groups .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Roadmap .................................................................................................................................................... 18 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework ........................................................... 20 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Distancing .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Young Jewish Americans Today ............................................................................................................... 27 “Twin Portraits”: American and Israeli Jews ............................................................................................ 30 What Changes Have Taken Place? ............................................................................................................ 34 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 40 Jewish Organizational Life ............................................................................................. 42 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 42 Organizational Life ................................................................................................................................... 42 Israel-related organizations ....................................................................................................................... 46 AIPAC and the Establishment ................................................................................................................... 51 J Street and Liberal Zionism ..................................................................................................................... 57 IfNotNow and Anti-Occupation Activism ................................................................................................ 63 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 71 Post-2016 American Jewish Politics ............................................................................... 72 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 72 The Rise of Trump, Political Polarization, and Democratic Party Rifts ................................................... 73 Case Study Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 79 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 92 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 95 Divisions .................................................................................................................................................... 96 Narrowing In ............................................................................................................................................. 97 Zooming out ............................................................................................................................................ 100 Works Cited ................................................................................................................... 102 3 1 Introduction About The election of President Donald Trump was a tumultuous time in America. The months leading up to November 2016, and the months following, elucidated and further intensified political polarization across the United States—divisions that often pervaded previously united communities. American Jews are just one example of an identity group that experienced significant changes following the 2016 election. American Jewish life has always had some religious political and cultural divides. However, over the last four years, American Jewish interest groups’ mobilization and actions have changed; significant growth within and acceptance of particular American Jewish interest groups indicates either changes to Americans Jews’ political stances or, at the very least, a newfound willingness to mobilize around their beliefs. One example is the liberal pro- peace and pro-Israel organization J Street has increased its traction in the American Jewish community. Moreover, as organizations outside of established American Jewish organizations grow in popularity this signifies a shift in the broader representation of different viewpoints across organizational life. These changes generate a research question: How have fundamental changes in America’s political culture shaped American Jews’ political stances and affected the representation of viewpoints within American Jewish interest groups? I explore this research question through three case studies; the American Israel Public Affairs
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Tearing out the Income Tax by the (Grass)Roots
    FLORIDA TAX REVIEW Volume 15 2014 Number 8 TEARING OUT THE INCOME TAX BY THE (GRASS)ROOTS by Lawrence Zelenak* Rich People’s Movements: Grassroots Campaigns to Untax the One Percent. By Isaac William Martin New York: Oxford University Press. 2013. I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 649 II. A CENTURY OF RICH PEOPLE’S ANTI-TAX MOVEMENTS ......... 651 III. EXPLAINING THE SUPPORT OF THE NON-RICH .......................... 656 IV. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FLAT TAX AND THE FAIRTAX? ............ 661 V. THE RHETORIC OF RICH PEOPLE’S ANTI-TAX MOVEMENTS: PARANOID AND NON-PARANOID STYLES .................................... 665 VI. CONCLUSION ................................................................................. 672 I. INTRODUCTION Why do rich people seeking reductions in their tax burdens, who have the ability to influence Congress directly through lobbying and campaign contributions, sometimes resort to grassroots populist methods? And why do non-rich people sometimes join the rich in their anti-tax movements? These are the puzzles Isaac William Martin sets out to solve in Rich People’s Movements.1 Martin’s historical research—much of it based on original sources to which scholars have previously paid little or no attention—reveals that, far from being a recent innovation, populist-style movements against progressive federal taxation go back nearly a century, to the 1920s. Although Martin identifies various anti-tax movements throughout the past century, he strikingly concludes that there has been “substantial continuity from one campaign to the next, so that, in some * Pamela B. Gann Professor of Law, Duke Law School. 1. ISAAC WILLIAM MARTIN, RICH PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS: GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNS TO UNTAX THE ONE PERCENT (2013) [hereinafter MARTIN, RICH PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS].
    [Show full text]
  • Co-Operatives Unleashed from the Grassroots
    Co-operatives Unleashed from the grassroots July 2020 About CCIN and the Policy Labs The Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network (CCIN) is a non-party political active hub, founded in 2012 to achieve co-operative policy development, innovation and advocacy which is: Action-focused: a vehicle for helping councils translate co-operative policy and principles into practice. Membership-based: funded by modest membership subscriptions from its member councils. Open to all UK councils: members share the belief that working co-operatively with communities holds the key to tackling today’s challenges. Part of the local government family: the network is a Special Interest Group registered with the Local Government Association (LGA) where we work to promote innovation in local government. Established in 2016, the Policy Lab programme is an opportunity for any CCIN Member to present an idea and receive funding for collaboration with other CCIN members to fund co-operative solutions to the challenges facing local government. To find out more about joining the CCIN contact: [email protected] CCIN Accountable Body: Oldham Council, Oldham Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham OL1 1UL T: 0161 770 5691 Acknowledgements As Author, I am indebted to the following people and organisations whose contributions have proved invaluable in compiling this report: Co-operatives UK Congress fringe event participants and Plymouth City Council colleagues across multiple departments who, provided the foundation for our understanding of the relationship between co-operatives and councils. CCIN members, including representatives of 15 member councils at the LGA conference stand and also colleagues from Oldham Council, Preston City Council, Rochdale Borough Council, Sunderland City Council and Glasgow City Council, who contributed case studies and gave their time for many detailed discussions.
    [Show full text]
  • Have You Heard of These Ethnic Groups?
    Have you heard of these Ethnic Groups? Ethnic Group Homeland Population Bhils India 17.1 million Kazahs Kazakhstan 18 million Tagalogs Philippines 19.6 million Amhara Ethiopia 19.9 million Berbers Algeria, Morocco, 20-50 million Tunisia, Libya Fula West Africa 20-25 million Igbo Nigeria 20 million Khas Nepal 20 million Yoruba Nigeria 20 million Akan Ghana 20.9 million Source: https://joshuaproject.net/unreached/11 Have you heard of these Ethnic Groups? Ethnic Group Homeland Population Bhils India 17.1 million Kazahs Kazakhstan 18 million Tagalogs Philippines 19.6 million Amhara Ethiopia 19.9 million Berbers Algeria, Morocco, 20-50 million Tunisia, Libya Fula West Africa 20-25 million Igbo Nigeria 20 million Khas Nepal 20 million Yoruba Nigeria 20 million Akan Ghana 20.9 million Jews Israel (worldwide) 14.7 million (2019) Sources: https://joshuaproject.net/unreached/1 2 Berman Jewish Databank: https://www.jewishdatabank.org/databank/search-results?category=Global Facts about the Jewish People • Nobel Prize winners (1901-2018): 900 total. 208 were Jewish (Israel has produced a disproportionate number of Nobel Prize winners)https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewis h-nobel-prize-laureates • 8 US Supreme Court Justices: Louis Brandeis (1916-1939), Benjamin Carodozo (1931-9138), Felix Frankfurter (1939-1962), Arthur Goldberg (1962-1965), Abe Fortas (1965-1969), Ruth Ginsburg (1993-2020), Stephen Breyer (1994-), Elena Kagan (2010-) https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-u-s- supreme-court-justices 3 Facts about the Jewish People • Jews
    [Show full text]
  • Views Or Conclusions
    The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 181 THE BEGIN-SADAT CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 181 The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa © The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan 5290002 Israel Tel. 972-3-5318959 Fax. 972-3-5359195 [email protected] www.besacenter.org ISSN 0793-1042 October 2020 Cover image: Sheri Hooley via Unsplash The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is an independent, non-partisan think tank conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability. It is named in memory of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, whose efforts in pursuing peace laid the cornerstone for conflict resolution in the Middle East. Mideast Security and Policy Studies serve as a forum for publication or re-publication of research conducted by BESA associates. Publication of a work by BESA signifies that it is deemed worthy of public consideration but does not imply endorsement of the author’s views or conclusions. Colloquia on Strategy and Diplomacy summarize the papers delivered at conferences and seminars held by the Center for the academic, military, official and general publics. In sponsoring these discussions, the BESA Center aims to stimulate public debate on, and consideration of, contending approaches to problems of peace and war in the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • Fear and Threat in Illegal America: Latinas/Os, Immigration, and Progressive Representation in Colorblind Times by Hannah Kathr
    Fear and Threat in Illegal America: Latinas/os, Immigration, and Progressive Representation in Colorblind Times by Hannah Kathryn Noel A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (American Culture) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Evelyn A. Alsultany, Co-chair Associate Professor María E. Cotera, Co-chair Associate Professor María Elena Cepeda, Williams College Associate Professor Anthony P. Mora © Hannah Kathryn Noel DEDICATION for Mom & Dad ii ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I could not have accomplished this dissertation without the guidance of my co-chairs, and graduate and undergraduate mentors: Evelyn Alsultany, María Cotera, María Elena Cepeda, Mérida Rúa, Larry La Fountain-Stokes, Carmen Whalen, Ondine Chavoya, Amy Carroll, and Anthony Mora. Evelyn, thank you for the countless phone calls, comments on every page of my dissertation (and more), advice, guidance, kind gestures, and most of all your sensibilities. You truly went above and beyond in commenting and helping me grow as a teacher, scholar, and human. María, thank you for standing by my side in both turbulent, and joyous times; your insight and flair with words (and style) are beyond parallel. Maria Elena, thank you for your constant guidance and keen constructive criticism that has forced me to grow as an intellectual and teacher. I will never forget celebrating with you when I found out I got into Michigan, I am beyond honored and feel sincere privilege that I have been able to work and grow under your mentorship. Mérida, I would have never found my way to my life’s work if I had not walked into your class.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Economy of Hatred*
    THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF HATRED* by Edward L. Glaeser October 26, 2004, Third Draft Abstract This paper develops a model of the interaction between the supply of hate-creating stories from politicians and the willingness of voters to listen to hatred. Hatred is fostered with stories of an out-group's crimes, but the impact of these stories comes from repetition not truth. Hate-creating stories are supplied by politicians when such actions help to discredit opponents whose policies benefit an out-group. Egalitarians foment hatred against rich minorities; opponents of redistribution build hatred against poor minorities. Hatred relies on people accepting, rather than investigating, hate-creating stories. Hatred declines when there is private incentive to learn the truth. Increased economic interactions with a minority group may provide that incentive. This framework is used to illuminate the evolution of anti-black hatred in the United States South, episodes of anti-Semitism in Europe, and the recent surge of anti-Americanism in the Arab world. * I am grateful to George Akerlof, Alberto Alesina, William Easterly, Lawrence Katz, David Laibson, Steven Levitt, George Loewenstein, Richard Posner, Jose Scheinkman, Jesse Shapiro and Andrei Shleifer for extremely helpful comments, and to the NSF for financial assistance. Giacomo Porzetto provided excellent research assistance. I am enormously indebted to Paul Romer, whose thinking, only some of which appears in Romer [1996], is the starting point for this paper. Naturally, I alone bear blame for my excesses and errors. I. Introduction From the Thirty Years’ War to the Holocaust to the contemporary wars in Rwanda and the Balkans, much of human misery is due to religious and ethnic conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • 'The Left's Views on Israel: from the Establishment of the Jewish State To
    ‘The Left’s Views on Israel: From the establishment of the Jewish state to the intifada’ Thesis submitted by June Edmunds for PhD examination at the London School of Economics and Political Science 1 UMI Number: U615796 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615796 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F 7377 POLITI 58^S8i ABSTRACT The British left has confronted a dilemma in forming its attitude towards Israel in the postwar period. The establishment of the Jewish state seemed to force people on the left to choose between competing nationalisms - Israeli, Arab and later, Palestinian. Over time, a number of key developments sharpened the dilemma. My central focus is the evolution of thinking about Israel and the Middle East in the British Labour Party. I examine four critical periods: the creation of Israel in 1948; the Suez war in 1956; the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 and the 1980s, covering mainly the Israeli invasion of Lebanon but also the intifada. In each case, entrenched attitudes were called into question and longer-term shifts were triggered in the aftermath.
    [Show full text]
  • YUL.Commentator.8.1993-09-21.Pdf (8.965Mb)
    tOfficial Undergraduatenmmentntnr Newspaper of Yeshiva College September 21, 1993/ 6 Tishrei 5754 YFSIDVA UNIVERSITY,NEWYORK, NY Volume L VIII, No.2 fJlemorlal �tlgn .on.Rav.David Lifschitz, Pages"7-9 Marttila & Kiley ; ·, / ,... Release Survey by Ryan S. Karben program, said that while the reportcqntained "fewSUiprises," � A May 1993 survey of YC it is "extremely valuable as part [ students designed to shapenew of an ongoing effort to attract ;.:: recruitment techniques has more qualified students to the � Administrators expressing College." optimism about the school's The report recommends that FormerProfessor William Dean Schwartz of prospects for growth, and YU use a more "values­ confidence that they can oriented" approach to Boston U. Law overcomethe deepdissatisfaction recruitment, citing the 68% of with the University's respondents who said that ',)Raj A.ppointed administration expressed by completing their college (Ii� , MillerMei; G�uiwicht, Rav Dovid Lifshitz. zt"/ and D;, Israel education in an Orthodox /' ' , ' , , respondents. , . dancing in the Beit Medrash, Purim 1992 'Academic VP The. survey, completed by Jewish environment was the by Gene Alperovich 57% of the student body, was "most important" factor in their conducted by the Boston-based decision to come to YU. YC Cracks Down On In a long awaited decision, firm of Marttila and Kiley. It Thereportnotedgreatconcem YU President Norman.·H. poil\tsto the growing positive about YC' s academic program Lamm announced on influence of the Israel experience bystudents;one-thirdofstudents CLEPs September 8, 1993 the on YC's recruitment pool, and said academic concerns gave appointment of Dr. William reinforces the notion that the them greatestcause for hesitancy Schwartz as the new Vice school'svalues and philosophy, aboutatten ding YU.
    [Show full text]
  • Community Power and Grassroots Democracy Other Books by Michael Kaufman
    BY MICHAEL KAUFMAN & HAROLDO DILLA ALFONSO COMMUNITY POWER AND GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL KAUFMAN Jamaica Under Manleji: Dilemmas of Socialism and Democracjy Bejond Essqys Men on Pleasure, Power and Change (ed.) Cracking the Armour: Power, Pain and the Lives of Men Theorizing Masculinities (co-edited with Harry Brod) COMMUNITY POWER AND GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY The Transformation of Social Life Edited Michael Kaufman and Haroldo Dilla Alfonso ZED BOOKS London & New Jersej INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE Ottawa Cairo Dakar Johannesburg Montevideo Nairobi • New Delhi Singapore Community Power and Grassroots Democracj was first published in 1997 by Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London NI 9JF, UK, and 165 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716, USA, and the International Development Research Centre, P0 Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIG 3H9. Editorial copyright © Michael Kaufman, 1997 Individual chapters copyright © individual contributors The moral rights of the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 Typeset in Monotype Garamond by Lucy Morton, London SEI2 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn All rights reserved A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Contress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Community power and grassroots democracy the transformation of social life / edited by Michael Kaufman, and Haroldo Dilla Alfonso. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1—85649—487—X. ISBN 1-85649—488—8 (pbk.) 1. Community development—Latin America—Case studies. 2. Political participation—Latin America—Case studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Subcultures Online: Outreach, Dating, and Marginalized Communities ______
    JEWISH SUBCULTURES ONLINE: OUTREACH, DATING, AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton ____________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in American Studies ____________________________________ By Rachel Sara Schiff Thesis Committee Approval: Professor Leila Zenderland, Chair Professor Terri Snyder, Department of American Studies Professor Carrie Lane, Department of American Studies Spring, 2016 ABSTRACT This thesis explores how Jewish individuals use and create communities online to enrich their Jewish identity. The Internet provides Jews who do not fit within their brick and mortar communities an outlet that gives them voice, power, and sometimes anonymity. They use these websites to balance their Jewish identities and other personal identities that may or may not fit within their local Jewish community. This research was conducted through analyzing a broad range of websites. The first chapter, the introduction, describes the Jewish American population as a whole as well as the history of the Internet. The second chapter, entitled “The Black Hats of the Internet,” discusses how the Orthodox community has used the Internet to create a modern approach to outreach. It focuses in particular on the extensive web materials created by Chabad and Aish Hatorah, which offer surprisingly modern twists on traditional texts. The third chapter is about Jewish online dating. It uses JDate and other secular websites to analyze how Jewish singles are using the Internet. This chapter also suggests that the use of the Internet may have an impact on reducing interfaith marriage. The fourth chapter examines marginalized communities, focusing on the following: Jewrotica; the Jewish LGBT community including those who are “OLGBT” (Orthodox LGBT); Punk Jews; and feminist Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychogeographies of Site-Specific Art Shana Macdonald
    The Psychogeographies of Site-Specific Art Shana Macdonald To cite this version: Shana Macdonald. The Psychogeographies of Site-Specific Art. Media Theory, Media Theory, 2018, Geospatial Memory, 2 (1), pp.204 - 221. hal-01870463 HAL Id: hal-01870463 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01870463 Submitted on 7 Sep 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License Special Issue: Geospatial Memory Media Theory The Psychogeographies Vol. 2 | No. 1 | 204-221 © The Author(s) 2018 of Site-Specific Art CC-BY-NC-ND http://mediatheoryjournal.org/ SHANA MACDONALD University of Waterloo, Canada Abstract Contemporary efforts at urban revitalization have encouraged an increased production of site-specific public art events that temporarily inhabit popular city hubs. These “pop up” interventions range from loosely assembled happenings to the more institutionally supported all-night art festivals like Nuit Blanche. This paper examines the types of geospatial memory produced and inscribed through small- scale, participatory, site-specific urban art events. It considers how this work participates in forms of placemaking which both enact provisional and iterative forms of assembly while also marking the psychogeographic remains of space.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Councilmember Brandon T. Todd 2 3 4 5 6 7 a CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 8
    1 ____________________________ 2 Councilmember Brandon T. Todd 3 4 5 6 7 8 A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 9 ____________ 10 11 COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 12 ______________ 13 14 To recognize Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld for his activism, his efforts to combat antisemitism, and his 15 dedication in service to the District of Columbia. 16 17 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld was born on October 9, 1974 in Staten Island, New 18 York City, New York where he grew up with his four siblings; 19 20 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld received his smicha form the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan 21 Theological Seminary in 1999, and a Masters in Jewish History from Bernard Revel Graduate 22 School of Yeshiva University; 23 24 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld was Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of 25 Riverdale from 1999 to 2004, where he was mentored by Rabbi Avi Weiss; 26 27 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld began a PhD under Dr. Haym Soloveitchik at Yeshiva 28 University before choosing to pursue a career in the rabbinate; 29 30 WHEREAS, since 2004, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld has served as the Rabbi of Ohev Sholom 31 - The National Synagogue; 32 33 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld started the Shepherd Park eruv in 2004, which he has 34 led ever since, merging with the Woodside eruv in 2013 to create the Shepherd Park/Woodside 35 community eruv, which encompasses over half a dozen synagogues and thousands of Jewish 36 families; 37 38 WHEREAS, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld hosted a weekly radio show from 20018 to 2010 39 called Shmoozin’ with Shmuel, which was aimed at Jewish residents in the Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]