Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City. With a fiery voice, a listening heart and a brilliant mind, Rabbi Hirsch articulates a clear vision for the survival and success of American Judaism while tending compassionately to the needs of his growing congregation.
Internationally recognized for his leadership in Jewish affairs, Rabbi Hirsch is frequently cited in the media. In 2024, The Jerusalem Post named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year.” City & State praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews and The New York Observer named him among “New York’s Most Influential Religious Leaders.” His sermons are regularly broadcast on JBS-TV and he is the host of the bi-weekly podcast “In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch.”
The son of Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch z’’l and Bella Hirsch z’’l, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch grew up in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area before moving to Israel for his high school years. From 1977 to 1980, he served as a tank commander in the Israel Defense Forces.
Rabbi Hirsch earned his LL.B Honors law degree from the London School of Economics and is a member of the New York State Bar. He received his ordination at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City, where he was granted numerous awards for academic excellence.
Prior to his arrival at Stephen Wise, he served for 12 years as executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Israel arm of the North American Reform movement.
Rabbi Hirsch has served on numerous boards of national and international bodies, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the World Zionist Organization, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He is currently an officer of the New York Board of Rabbis, and a member of the Partnership of Faith, an interfaith body of New York religious leaders, and New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ Black-Jewish Clergy Roundtable.
An accomplished teacher and public speaker, Rabbi Hirsch is also the author of “The Lilac Tree: A Rabbi’s Reflections on Love, Courage, and History” and the co-author of the acclaimed “One People Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues that Divide Them.”
Rabbi Hirsch can be reached at (212) 877-4050, ext. 226, or by emailing his assistant at rabbiassistant@swfs.org.
Watch Sermons
The Festival of Jewish Survival
Recounting the story of our people’s unlikely endurance, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reminds us that “a hundred generations of the descendants of Judah Maccabee have transmitted Judaism to you” and asks that, as we light the Hanukkah candles, we make a commitment to Jewish survival for the years to come…
Dream Interpretation
In this week’s parashah, Jacob dreams of angels climbing a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with God promising to return the descendants of Israel to the Land of Israel. Awaking with a jolt, Jacob is struck by the vividness of his dream. “Was it real?” asks Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “Did God, in fact, communicate with Jacob and promise him everlasting security — or was it just a dream?” While rabbinic tradition cautions that dreams are only “1/60th of prophecy,” Rabbi Hirsch says, “Sometimes, dreams do create reality…”
Here We Go Again
Following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, Rabbi Hirsch worries about the future of democratic intuitions, reflects on the anti-Zionism and antisemitism and the left’s abandonment of liberalism that estranged many centrists and Jewish voters, and urges Americans to reach across the aisle and attempt to understand one another. “For better or for worse, this is the outcome America wanted,” Rabbi Hirsch says.
On The Character of Man: What a Piece of Work
“The contrast between our high self-image and the base evil we are capable of has long baffled and intrigued the greatest minds of our species,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. The Psalmist praised the human creature as “little lower than angels,” but our actions hardly justify this honor. As the presidential elections approach, Rabbi Hirsch reminds us: “we are not destined for evil. We have the ability to choose…”
October 7: A Year Later
On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch shared the range of emotions experienced by Jews since October 7, 2023, including anger, love, sorrow, mutual responsibility and determination to recover. Addressing young adults directly, he urged them to stay committed to Israel and the Jewish people: “I love your generation. You are our future. Know that we tried to instill in you a sense of justice, virtue, honor and decency for all people, and if this leads you to be critics of Israel, so be it. At the same time, we wanted you to be Zionists. Direct your eyes and heart towards our people. If they rejoice, rejoice with them. If they suffer, suffer with them. Mourn with them. Support them. Help them.”
The Most Important Verse in the Bible
“What is the most important verse in the Bible?” asks Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Erev Yom Kippur. “You have all these grand ethical principles: monotheism, equality, justice, humanity, mercy, loving-kindness, freedom — and one of our Sages pulls out an obscure verse that seemingly means nothing…”
The Tests of Our Time
“For Jews, our deepest anxieties for the safety of our people — the product of centuries of repressed traumas — have reawakened and our confidence in the West’s ability to withstand the test of civilization has been shaken,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Rosh Hashanah, warning that what was unleashed against Israel on October 7th “threatens the West as much as it does the Middle East…”
✡️ On the seriousness and resurgence of antisemitism:
“One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism…”
🇮🇱 On today’s manifestations of anti-Zionism:
“…the intent of anti-Zionism is to generate intense hostility to Judaism and Jews themselves… How easily do anti-Israel passions lead to violence against Jews and Jewish institutions…”
“If you understand the history of classic antisemitism, the connection to today’s anti-Zionism stares you in the face. The Jewish state has become the Jew of the world, humanity’s ultimate villains, and accused of our era’s worst transgressions..”
🗽 On post-October 7 society and the test of Western civilization:
“For years now, some of us have been warning of a deteriorating commitment to liberal values, camouflaged by a torrent of high-sounding words like ‘progress, civil and human rights, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism.’ Ideologies that divide people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character; philosophies that reduce all human conflict to oppressor and oppressed, subjugation and freedom fighting, racists and anti-racists — are not liberal values… These are illiberal and dangerous ideas that threaten the future of our country and Western civilization.”
💪 What can we do?
“Recognize the urgency of the times. We must win this battle of ideas and reassert basic norms of Western liberal morality. Do not be in denial. Do not be complacent. Fight back… fight back hard.”
A Message of Jewish Resilience
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch opens the Rosh Hashanah evening services with a message of resilience: “There is a stone slab in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It was carved around the year 1,200 BCE and stands 10 feet tall. Its purpose was to praise the military victories of the Pharaoh Merneptah. What did the king say about us? What were the first words ever written about the Jewish people? At the bottom of the slab recording the deeds of the ‘lord of strength, whose name is given to eternity,’ as Merneptah described himself, he writes: ‘Israel is laid waste, its seed is destroyed.’ Stay strong and keep the faith — we ain’t goin’ nowhere!”
Do Not Be Indifferent
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch reflects on the unsettling feeling that world events are driving history. Yet he reminds us of Judaism’s central plea: You must not remain indifferent. “Compassion is not enough,” he says. “It needs to be translated into deeds. While we cannot change the world by ourselves, we can do something every day that makes one life better.”
A Prayer for the Hostages
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch shares his grief over the crushing loss of the six Israeli hostages and prays for the speedy return of the hostages still alive in captivity.
Recent Commentaries and Op-Eds
eJewish Philanthropy: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s rise and the state of Jewish particularism in the Reform movement
Nov 25, 2024
Over the last decade — and particularly in the past year, in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks — Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has emerged as perhaps the Reform movement’s most prominent pro-Israel voice, writes Jay Deitcher in an eJewishPhilanthropy profile of Rabbi Hirsch. The attention has brought with it support for his initiatives, as well as pushback from other members of the movement…
Ynet (Hebrew): The Shock in American Jewry After the Elections: Who Is Afraid of Donald Trump?
Nov 13, 2024
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told Israel’s Ynet, “There is a certain shock in the Jewish community from the results… American Jews are divided. Even in my liberal community, there are people who are very happy and feel that they would have been saved from very bad developments if Harris had been elected. On the other hand, there are those who feel that their world has collapsed…”
eJewish Philanthropy: JNF-USA pledges $250,000 to Stephen Free Wise Synagogue to connect young American Jewish to Israel
Oct 31, 2024
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has emerged as perhaps the Reform movement’s most vocal critic of the dangers of young Jews pulling away from Zionism. Now, armed with a $250,000 grant from the Jewish National Fund-USA’s Boruchin Center, Rabbi Hirsch’s synagogue will launch a leadership program for American Reform Jews, ages 22–35 across nine cities, to try to stem the tide. “We’re going to be able to reach substantially more people with more geographical diversity than we otherwise would have,” he told eJP.
News12 Israel (Hebrew): The Jewish Voice Chapter 1: A week for the US elections
Oct 29, 2024
Israel Channel 12 News visited Stephen Wise Free Synagogue before Shabbat to experience a Reform New York service and to speak with our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch about American attitudes — especially the younger generations — toward Israel after October 7th.
Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement
Oct 22, 2024
On this episode of Tablet Studios’ “Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement,” Rabbi Diana Fersko and Tablet’s Josh Kross use their final episode to look at the current state of Zionism in the Reform movement. They’re joined by Rabbi Ammi Hirsch whose recent, viral Yom Kippur sermon emphasized his stance that Zionism is an imperative for Jews today.
Mosaic Magazine: A Rabbi Wonders if Jews Sacrificed Their Sense of Peoplehood on the Altar of Universalism
Oct 22, 2024
The firm majority of American Jews appear to worry about rising antisemitism and to support Israel, but a vocal anti-Zionist minority gets much attention and has gained traction within some Jewish institutions. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, in his Yom Kippur sermon, wondered if Reform Judaism made mistakes that contributed to this situation…
The Forward: Is anti-Zionism a sin? We asked the rabbi whose viral Yom Kippur sermon begged the question
Oct 14, 2024
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has made advancing the Zionist cause a focal point of his work for more than 30 years at the forefront of Reform Judaism. But lately, he has been wondering where it all went wrong with young American Jews: “We wanted you to be Zionists,” he said in a viral clip from the sermon he posted on X this weekend. “We did not intend that our emphasis on tikkun olam — social repair — would lead some Jews to join anti-Israel demonstrations…” The Forward’s Louis Keene reached out to Rabbi Hirsch to hear the backstory; their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
J-TV: Chabad Rabbi Reacts To Reform Rabbi Speech: ‘Why Is Reform Producing Anti-Israel Jews?’
Oct 14, 2024
On J-TV, Rabbi Manis Friedman reacts to Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s speech where he questions why so many children of Reform communities ended up anti-Israel.
Times of Israel: To young American Jews who turned your backs on our people
Oct 13, 2024
Addressing young Jews directly on Yom Kippur and urging them to stay committed to Israel and the Jewish people, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch writes in Times of Israel: “I love your generation. You are our future. Know that we tried to instill in you a sense of justice, virtue, honor and decency for all people, and if this leads you to be critics of Israel, so be it… At the same time, we wanted you to be Zionists. Direct your eyes and heart towards our people. If they rejoice, rejoice with them. If they suffer, suffer with them. Mourn with them. Support them. Help them.”
Haaretz: To Build a Space to Mourn All the Lives Lost – Palestinian, Israeli and More’
Oct 13, 2024
This Yom Kippur, many prayer services in New York City focused on reconciling between Israelis and Palestinians, reflecting on Zionism, and mourning all the lives lost on Oct. 7 and during the Gaza war. At the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch delivered a sermon that sparked criticism for his remarks about young Reform Jews turning their backs on Zionism. In his sermon, Hirsch stated, “We tried to instill in you a sense of justice, righteousness … to mourn the life of Palestinian civilians is a virtue … What we did not intend is for your generation to turn your backs on our people. We wanted you to be Zionists. Abandoning Israel, we desert God.”
The New York Times: A Year After Oct. 7 Massacre, Jewish Anxiety Peaks in Pennsylvania
Oct 7, 2024
Jewish voters in Pittsburgh feel squeezed by intolerance on the left and the right, and torn by presidential candidates seeking their support in a vital battleground state. The phenomenon is hardly limited to Orthodox Jews, or confined to Pittsburgh. In New York, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch condemned elite liberals he described as abandoning their Jewish allies over the past year. “Oct. 7 was an easy moral case: Babies in cribs and grandparents who could barely walk were slaughtered in their houses,” he thundered. “What does it take for those who consider themselves paragons of social justice to speak out for Jews, and if not Jews, at least in defense of the central values of Western enlightenment?”
Newsweek: In a Post-October 7 World, American Jews Face a Crisis of Confidence
Oct 6, 2024
“One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism,” writes Rabbi Ammi Hirsch in Newsweek. “The realization that age-old hatreds are still alive and kicking, even in America, thrust American Jews into a crisis of confidence…”
The New York Times: How Oct. 7 Changed American Jews
Oct 6, 2024
The toll of the past year since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel has shaken the foundation of American Jewish life. Many Jews have responded by reaching into deep wells of their history and faith. “There’s been a great not only trauma, but reawakening,” our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told The New York Times. “Those who are distanced are coming back…”
FOX 5: NYC rabbi reflects on Rosh Hashanah: ‘The most trying and challenging year in my career’
Oct 2, 2024
With the start of Rosh Hashanah, many are approaching the Jewish New Year with mixed emotions. “This has been the most trying and challenging year in my career and the lifetimes of many of our people,” Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told FOX 5. “My hope for the world entire is that this war ends in the upcoming year. That Israel’s security is assured. That the killing stops, and we begin to take steps toward more peace… I hope that this year finds us in the United States a little less polarized, a little more tolerant, a little more united in the year to come.”
Haaretz: War, Grief and Ideological Divides to Dominate as U.S. Rabbis Prepare High Holy Days Sermons
Oct 2, 2024
With the High Holy Days coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, the challenge of speaking to the moment becomes especially daunting for U.S. rabbis this year as their congregations grapple with grief, uncertainty and anxiety.
The Jerusalem Post’s ’50 Most Influential Jews’ of the Year
Oct 1, 2024
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch was honored to be named one of The Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews” of 5784. “With the emotional turmoil caused by the Israel-Hamas War and the major spike in global antisemitism since October 7, the importance of rabbis as spiritual and community leaders has become more evident than it has been in decades. Many Jews who aren’t Orthodox have also struggled, particularly those in progressive spaces, like many Reform Jews around the world. It is here that Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has been a pillar of guidance. Throughout the war, he has been active on social media and in media interviews, criticizing progressive groups that support Hamas and condemning the rising antisemitism in the US.”
Washington Examiner: Muslim-Americans push Harris for new Gaza commitment during debate
Sep 9, 2024
Joe Biden won a sweeping majority of the Jewish-American vote in 2020, but some members of the key Democratic voting bloc continue to view Harris with skepticism after she chose Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her running mate. “There’s a kind of suspicion that was in the back of our minds, and it’s creeping more to the center of our minds, that maybe it had something to do with the Jewishness of Governor Shapiro,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who leads the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, told the New York Times last month. “Even if it didn’t, that perception is not healthy for the Democratic Party,” he added.
The New York Times: For Some Jewish Democrats, Heightened Worries About Antisemitism
Aug 11, 2024
In The New York Times, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch expresses his concerns about the hard left: anti-Zionism “is not healthy for the Democratic Party, and it is not healthy for the well-being of the American polity.”
Israel Hayom: ‘We knew that the virus of antisemitism had not disappeared, but America has always been different’
Jul 8, 2024
“A Pandora’s box was opened on the day of the October 7 massacre, and all the evil and the antisemitism that was released from it — including the inextricable ties between anti-Zionism and antisemitism were completely exposed,” surprising the vast majority of American Jews “who define themselves as Zionists and regard Israel as an important part of their Jewish identity,” our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told Makor Rishon in an interview about the “new” antisemitism that has roiled America and the western world. (This interview was originally conducted in Hebrew for Makor Rishon and an English translation was published in Israel Hayom.)
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): ‘We knew that the virus of antisemitism had not disappeared, but America has always been different’
Jul 7, 2024
“A Pandora’s Box was opened on the day of the October 7 massacre, and all the evil and the antisemitism that was released from it — including the inextricable ties between anti-Zionism and antisemitism were completely exposed,” surprising the vast majority of American Jews “who define themselves as Zionists and regard Israel as an important part of their Jewish identity,” our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told Makor Rishon in an interview about the “new” antisemitism that has roiled America and the western world.
Haaretz: Jewish Denominations in America Grapple With Calls to Ban anti-Zionists From Rabbinical Schools
Jun 26, 2024
Can someone train to become a rabbi in America if they don’t believe in Israel’s right to exist? What about graduating in a keffiyeh? Some community leaders — like prominent Reform rabbi Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, who has emerged as a voice of dissent within the movement — categorically say no, but others are wary of it leading to a slippery slope of litmus tests…
Jewish Journal: Soul Searching: Reform Movement Aims to Liberate Its Zionist Calling
Jun 5, 2024
“The question before us is the same one that splintered the Reform movement a century ago and almost broke us: Are we truly committed to Jewish peoplehood? If so, what are our obligations flowing from that commitment? Are we truly committed to the Zionist idea and the State of Israel?” asked Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in his passionate keynote address at the second Re-Charging Reform Judaism Conference at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on NYC’s Upper West Side May 29-30. But some of the other speakers at the two-day conference did not share the same Zionist passion and moral clarity…
JNS: Reform Judaism event probes post-Oct. 7 course corrections
Jun 3, 2024
Reform Judaism may be the epicenter of the ways that Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre and its aftermath have changed the American Jewish landscape. “We haven’t moved on. It’s still Oct. 7 for us,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, told JNS. Some 300 clergy, educators and lay leaders associated with Reform Judaism—the largest American Jewish denomination—addressed a visible rift in liberal Jewry, including some anti-Zionist Jews siding with antisemites at anti-Israel demonstrations across the country. “We have a challenge identifying what exactly we did wrong, so that we can identify what we can do right with the future generations,” Hirsch said.
Ynet (Hebrew): Senior Reform rabbi in the USA: “There are young anti-Zionist Jews who are already lost to us”
Jun 2, 2024
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the most prominent rabbis in the Reform movement in the United States, thinks that the liberal Jewish communities should denounce the anti-Zionist voices that have been growing stronger among the members of Generation Z. In a special interview, he calls for soul-searching in the movement: “We didn’t put enough emphasis on the commitment we have towards the rest of the Jews.”
Kan 11: The world today with Yoav Zahavi (Hebrew)
May 30, 2024
Israel’s national news channel 11 reports on the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference, which convened this week to address the major challenges facing American Jewry in the aftermath of October 7th and the ongoing war in Gaza.
i24: US Reform Jewish Leaders Chart Course Post-October 7
May 29, 2024
The largest Jewish denomination in the United States gathered some 300 clergy, educators and lay leaders May 29–30 to respond to the challenges posed by October 7th and its aftermath. Senior i24 correspondent Mike Waggenheim reports from the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference and interviews Stephen Wise Free Synagogue Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who helped organize the conference, as well as presenters Columbia-JTS student Eden Yadegar and Hillel International’s Rabbi Melissa B. Simon.
18Forty Podcast: Denominations — Ammiel Hirsch: ‘What did we do wrong?’ Peoplehood and the Reform movement
May 21, 2024
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, Dovid Boshevkin talks to Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch about how Jewish Peoplehood is understood among the non-Orthodox majority of American Jews. Rabbi Hirsch is known in the Reform movement and beyond for his decades-long staunch commitment to Jewish peoplehood. This interview was recorded before Oct. 7, and especially considering Rabbi Hirsch’s leadership on issues related to Zionism, a follow-up conversation with him will follow soon.
The Wall Street Journal: The Democratic Party Forces Jews to Choose (Opinion Letters)
May 20, 2024
Wall Street Journal readers respond to Rabbi Ammi Hirsch’s opinion piece “Democrats Take Jewish Voters for Granted.”
Algemeiner: Republican Jewish Coalition Unveils $50,000 Ad Buy to Woo Jewish Voters Ahead of 2024 Presidential Election
May 20, 2024
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) will purchase $50,000 worth of digital ads in key battleground states with the purpose of targeting Jewish voters ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, according to a statement released by the group on Monday. Ammiel Hirsch, a rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week warning Democrats not to take Jewish voters for granted. “American Jews increasingly feel politically homeless. Liberal Jewish voters consider President Biden a longtime friend. At the same time, they are troubled by the growing influence of anti-Israel forces in the Democratic Party,” Hirsch wrote.
The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Take Jewish Voters for Granted
May 16, 2024
“American Jews feel increasingly homeless politically. Most liberal American Jews consider President Biden a longtime friend. At the same time, they are troubled by the growing influence of anti-Israel forces in the Democratic Party,” writes our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch in The Wall Street Journal. He explains the mainstream liberal Jewish perspective and warns politicians not to take American Jews for granted…
The Jerusalem Post: Celebrating Israel’s Independence amidst struggle with diverse perspectives on national identity
May 12, 2024
This year, as Israel’s Independence Day approaches, many of us who usually look forward to the annual festivities are feeling somewhat anxious, not knowing if and how to celebrate Israel’s 76th anniversary. “I think it is more important than ever to celebrate Independence Day, said Ammiel Hirsch. “This year will be especially difficult for us. Still, our joy and celebration of Jewish freedom and self-determination is especially poignant this year, with the rise of antisemitism in America and the attacks on Israel. Zionism thrust the Jewish people, as a people, back into history as actors rather than passive victims.”
JNS: The Jewish vote is up for grabs, and it may decide the election
May 3, 2024
A few weeks ago, a sermon by Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch shocked millions from that city to Tel Aviv. Standing at his pulpit, Hirsch delivered a stern warning to the Democrats. Hirsch warned Democratic elected officials: “Do not take American Jews for granted.” “Is the Jewish vote really in danger for Democrats? And does it matter?” Caroline Glick asks, writing in JNS. “The data show that Jews are a big enough demographic to move four swing states away from Biden.”
Haaretz: ‘Unbelievably Challenging’: Gaza War Sparks Polarization Among US Reform Jews
Apr 26, 2024
In the immediate aftermath of October 7, Jewish Americans overwhelmingly rallied behind Israel. But as the war in Gaza progressed, they have found themselves increasingly conflicted and divided. The Reform movement has experienced these tensions most viscerally – and for obvious reasons. Rabbi Ammi Hirsch has, in recent years, emerged as a prominent voice of dissent within Reform Judaism, accusing it of burning bridges rather than strengthening ties with Israel. Although many of his congregants may not share his views, he says, that hasn’t stopped him from speaking his truth.
FOX 5 NY: NYC Rabbi and Imam tackle hate speech, stress compassion and hope in troubled times
Apr 22, 2024
This Passover, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s mind and heart are occupied by the war in the Middle East and the hostages who are still being held captive by Hamas. “There’s a heavy cloud over the entire Jewish world as we sit down to celebrate this festival of freedom. We’re very concerned about Israel’s security,” he told FOX 5 NY.
Israel Hayom: Biden’s ‘starvation politics’ help with his base; Israel is perplexed
Apr 20, 2024
It’s not just Israelis that are bothered by the voices coming from the Democratic administration, but also leaders of the American Jewish community. The loudest and boldest public voice was raised recently by Reform Rabbi Ammi Hirsch at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. In an unprecedented warning speech that directly addressed senior Democratic officials, Hirsch said: “Allow me to express a nonpartisan word to all of our friends in elected office from the Democratic Party… do not take American Jews for granted.”
J-Wire: Israel needs to loved and feared
Apr 19, 2024
On the Zionist liberal left, one United States Jewish leader, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a prominent American Reform Rabbi who has a lifelong reputation for being an outstanding Israel advocate, beautifully expressed his own community’s relationship with Israel, as he works hard to bring his congregants and others, along with him. Rabbi Hirsch said: “Our synagogue and American Jewry support Israel unconditionally, not uncritically, there never was such a Jew who was an uncritical Jew. But we support Israel unconditionally
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): An American Reform rabbi in a message to Biden: ‘Don’t take America’s Jews for granted’
Apr 16, 2024
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the Reform movement’s prominent leaders, issues a warning to the Democratic Party. And famous evangelical Pastor John Hagee calls on the administration to encourage escalation.
Fox News: Left-wing rabbi warns Biden, Democrats not to count on Jewish votes from the pulpit
Apr 16, 2024
Sending a warning to Democrats, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch spoke about the 2024 elections and how liberal Jewish voters are planning to cast their ballots.
NY1: Jewish rabbis in city sound alarm over Iran
Apr 15, 2024
“Iran is the chief fomenter of terrorism and radicalism in the Middle East. It has developed proxies from seven different fronts surrounding Israel,” said our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in an interview with NY1’s Nia Clark.
JNS: Reform rabbi to Democrat politicians: ‘Do not take American Jews for granted’
Apr 15, 2024
Ammi Hirsch, senior rabbi at New York City’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, shared a video, posted on Sunday, during a service noting some fraught conversations with Jewish Democrats of late. “Neither I nor our synagogue engage in partisan politics. So allow me to express a nonpartisan word to all of our friends in elected office from the Democratic Party,” he said. “From one who is finely attuned to American Jewish sentiment, do not take American Jews for granted.”
The Jerusalem Post: Prominent Reform rabbi to Democrats: Don’t take American Jews for granted
Apr 15, 2024
The Democratic Party should not take the vote of American Jews for granted in the upcoming U.S. elections, prominent American Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch cautioned in a Friday sermon at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. “Allow me to express a non-partisan word to all our friends in elected office from the Democratic party from one who is finely attuned to the American Jewish sentiment: Do not take American Jews for granted,” said Hirsch. “Be careful: The results of the upcoming election do not only depend on Michigan.”
World Israel News: Reform rabbi warns Democrats not to take Jewish vote for granted
Apr 15, 2024
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch warned the Democratic Party not to take the Jewish vote for granted in the 2024 elections. During a sermon at the Stephen Wise synagogue in New York City, Hirsch said, “Allow me to express a non-partisan word to all our friends in elected office from the Democratic party from one who is finely attuned to the American Jewish sentiment: Do not take American Jews for granted.”
Jewish Link: UN Rally Demands Release of Hostages
Apr 11, 2024
At an April 7 rally for the hostages still being held in Gaza, rabbinical figures offered words of strength. Addressing the hostages’ families present, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said, “We are here to urge you to not lose hope, and we will stand with you no matter how long it takes.”
eJewishPhilanthropy: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and the possible ‘crisis’ facing Reform Judaism
Apr 5, 2024
For decades, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has been an unequivocally pro-Israel voice within the Reform movement. During a time that Hirsch, fresh off his latest solidarity visit to Israel, calls “a period [that will] be viewed 100 years from now as consequential in Jewish history,” he sat down with eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen to discuss where the Reform movement is now, where it should be and where it is headed. With efforts underway in the Reform movement to enhance Zionist identity, Hirsch warned, “It’s not too late. But it is late.”
Jerusalem Post: Prominent Reform rabbi denounces progressive groups for siding with Hamas
Mar 19, 2024
In a Friday sermon, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch warned of a “deteriorating commitment to liberal values on the Left,” camouflaged behind ideological rhetoric about anti-racism, anti-colonialism, human rights, and progress, threatening not just the Middle East, but all of Western civilization.
SAPIR Journal: It Is Still October 7
Mar 18, 2024
“October 7, 2023, forever changed Jewish history. The cataclysm is so profound that it will take years to fully understand. Time froze. It is still October 7,” writes Rabbi Ammi Hirsch in SAPIR Journal, outlining the pressing challenges Jews in the United States face around Zionism, antisemitism and Western liberalism, and urging the virtues of moderation.
New York Dreamers Podcast (Hebrew) with guest with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch: Jewish families in America are being torn apart…
Feb 29, 2024
Speaking (in Hebrew) with Haaretz’s Haim Handwerker, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch discusses how and why such a large gap has arisen between the young Jews who are increasingly organizing against instead and their Zionist parents.
Haaretz (Hebrew): The Black-Latino American Congressman who Supports Israel, Right Now
Feb 27, 2024
Rep. Richie Torres of New York — the first member of Congress who is Afro-Latino and openly gay — “is a beacon of light for many liberal Jews in the United States,” writes Haaretz’s Haim Handwerker. Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told Handwerker that Rep. Torres is “our hope to push back the radical left.” (In Hebrew)
The Jerusalem Post: What does Judaism say about saving hostages? Halachic authorities explain
Feb 9, 2024
Pidyon shvuyim, the redemption of captives, is a major obligation of the community, according to Torah law. The Jerusalem Post Magazine’s Atara Beck spoke with five spiritual leaders — including our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch — for their perspectives.
Jewish Insider: Meet the college president unafraid of speaking out against terrorism
Jan 17, 2024
Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch’s sister, Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, who is president of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, was among the first — if not the first — and few university presidents to issue a statement condemning the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The New York Times: A Fraught Question for the Moment: Is Anti-Zionism Always Antisemitic?
Dec 10, 2023
The brutal shedding of Jewish blood on Oct. 7, followed by Israel’s assault on Gaza, has brought a fraught question to the fore: Is anti-Zionism by definition antisemitism? “We’re living in an increasingly post-religious age, and any Jewish community that walks away from the Jewish people, and its most articulate expression of our times — the Jewish state, the state of Israel — is walking away from their own future,” said our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch.
The Marker: How is the relationship with American Jews? Well, it’s complicated.
Dec 6, 2023
The war in Israel is also an opportunity to renew the close relationship that once existed between the state of Israel and American Jewry, writes Haim Handwerker. “We have an opportunity to restore the relationship — Israel is more united and world Jewry is more connected,” said our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, who led a special event for some 800 New Yorkers to mourn the Oct. 7 attack and stand in solidarity with Israel. (In Hebrew)
eJewish Philanthropy: Reform rabbis on Amplify Israel Fellowship visit a ‘nation at war,’ bring experiences home
Dec 1, 2023
Unlike the dozens of missions and trips that have come to Israel since Oct. 7, the group of nine Reform rabbis who visited Israel from the United States last month weren’t there to show solidarity or to volunteer (though they did do both) but to learn. They were part of the Amplify Israel Fellowship, a newly launched initiative, led by Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Rabbis Ammiel Hirsch and Tracy Kaplowitz, that is meant to prepare the next generation of Reform rabbis to lead the movement, particularly on Zionist and Israel-related issues.
New York Magazine: The War and New York: Two Rabbis Who See Hatred in Anti-Zionism
Nov 20, 2023
At workplaces and in restaurants, on university campuses and in playgrounds, over Instagram and along lampposts, the war in Gaza has shifted something in the psyche of New York. There is a pervasive sense that everyone is hurting, aggrieved, and misunderstood and no longer pretending to share a common reality… Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch and Sutton Place Synagogue’s Rabbi Rachel Ain sat down with New York Magazine’s Julia Edelstein to talk about the hatred in anti-Zionism. “It goes without saying it’s not antisemitic to criticize the Israeli government,” said Rabbi Hirsch. “What is problematic is to deny the right of Israel to exist. And all associated, adjacent, and related slogans to that effect are, in almost every case, antisemitic in either intention or in nature.”
The Jerusalem Post: American Reform Jews’ support for Israel drops amid Gaza war
Nov 2, 2023
While support remains stronger among centrist and conservative Jews, the liberal sectors, particularly the Reform, show a clear trend toward disengagement. In June, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told The Jerusalem Post “I fear that we are losing the soul of the Reform movement. But the process of distancing from Israel was gathering strength for many years before this government came into existence.” This was one of the many topics he set at the center of a conference he hosted with Reform rabbis, discussing inner challenges that the movement has been dealing with for a while. Hirsch stated that critiquing decision-makers is a sign of health and vitality in the Jewish community. However, turning “against Israel; to join our ideological opponents and political enemies in castigating Zionism, is a sign of Jewish illness.”
amNY: ‘A sad, devastating week’: Upper West Side synagogue mourns hundreds killed in Israel terrorist attacks
Oct 12, 2023
Days after the devastating terrorist attacks in Israel, about 800 people gathered at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side Wednesday for a communal gathering in unwavering solidarity to comfort each other and demand justice. In his address to the congregation, SWFS Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said it was a “sad, devastating week for the Jewish people and all decent people who value life.” He said: “We saw in vivid reality what a pogrom looks like: mass mayhem and murder. Make no mistake, Israeli civilians were massacred because they were Jews.”
CBS New York: Almost 200 gather in Washington Square Park to mourn lives lost in Israel and Gaza
Oct 12, 2023
While a group of almost 200 people gathered in Washington Square Park to mourn the lives lost in Gaza and Israel and call for a de-escalation of tensions, many hundreds of Jews gathered at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue to pray for their brothers and sisters in Israel. “We’re deeply pained, deeply sorrowed, worried about not only the hostilities now, but the war to come,” said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch.
NBC New York: NYC Holds Rally for Israel as War Intensifies
Oct 12, 2023
Hundreds gathered in solidarity with and support for Israel at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, NBC 4’s Chris Jose reports. A solemn service included a powerful message from Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “The stakes are very high. If this war ends short of a Hamas defeat, it will invite more war,” Hirsch said.
ABC7NY: Jewish community in NYC search for answers amid deadly Israel Hamas war
Oct 11, 2023
Safety is something many often take for granted, but there was comfort inside the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side Wednesday night. “We lost more Jews in one day this week than in any other time since the holocaust,” said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. So, hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers gathered in solidarity. They filled up the balcony and sat on the floor, packing out the synagogue in search for the answer to the question: what do we do now? “The question for us is do we want to stand up or cower,” said Rabbi Hirsch.
CBS New York: Worshippers gather at Upper West Side synagogue to show support for Israel
Oct 11, 2023
Hundreds gathered on the Upper West Side on Wednesday to comfort one another in their grief for the victims of the attacks in Israel, reported CBS New York’s Ali Bauman. “There is no force in the world more powerful than the united spirit of the Jewish people in urgent times,” said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who called the emergency service three days before Shabbat. “I think most American Jews are not doing well. We’re deeply pained, deeply sorrowed, worried about not only the hostilities now, but the war to come,” he said.
Times of Israel: American Jewish groups offer broad support to Israel after assault from Gaza
Oct 7, 2023
After the early-morning infiltration attack, organizations from across the political spectrum released statements supporting the Jewish state and condemning Hamas. “There will be a time for investigating what went wrong. For now, we pray for the souls of the dead and the full recovery of the wounded… We pray for the wellbeing of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces as they seek to bring Hamas terrorists to justice and ensure the safety of Israeli civilians,” said our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch.
The New Yorker: The Quiet Revolutions of the Sabbath
Sep 30, 2023
In Genesis, God rests after creating the world; in Exodus, God commands the Israelites to rest: “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.” In the new documentary “Sabbath,” our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch argues that the fourth commandment was “a revolutionary concept” that “changed human history,” because it is believed to be the first time a religious or political authority, instead of requiring work, had required rest.
Times of Israel: American Jews are partners in the destiny of our people
Sep 26, 2023
Fifty years after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reflects on his experience as a 14-year-old new Israeli immigrant and the Jewish state’s brilliant successes and unresolved disappointments over the intervening decades. But “there is something about the Jews that makes it difficult for us to live together,” he says of the ongoing civil discord in Israel. “For our own self-dignity, we” — American Jews — “will continue to voice our clear and unreserved moral resistance to extreme elements of the Israeli government.”
Haaretz: ‘U.S. Jews Don’t Understand Yet That the Judicial Coup Is Like Nothing Israel’s Seen Before’
Sep 20, 2023
Haaretz New York correspondent Judy Maltz notes that many American Jews don’t understand “the gravity, the severity and the existential crisis” that the judicial overhaul represents for Israelis. She speaks as well about the painful dilemma of rabbis like Ammiel Hirsch, who have told her that while they “support the protest movement with their entire heart, they will not be out in the streets here in New York” protesting Netanyahu or encouraging congregants to do so. She added that Hirsch said he would join the protests every week if he were in Israel, but that if New Yorkers were to see him out in front of the Israeli consulate demonstrating against Netanyahu, “they would immediately assume he had joined the boycott movement against Israel.”
Haaretz: How Israel Will Feature – or Not – in the High Holy Day Sermons of New York’s Rabbis
Sep 14, 2023
Many of New York’s rabbis will be addressing the situation in Israel during their High Holy Days remarks this year. Teasing his upcoming Yom Kippur sermon, Rabbi Hirsch said: “How can you speak about Israel now and avoid discussion of the crisis in the country? I think people really want some rabbinical guidance on an issue like this that affects the entire Jewish community – though they are not necessarily seeking answers.”
The New York Times: Israelis Have Been Protesting for Months. Now, Americans Are Joining Them.
Sep 11, 2023
In the New York Times, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch remarks on the vital stake American Jews have in Israel’s well-being.
JBS-TV: In The Spotlight: Ammiel Hirsch
Jul 10, 2023
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch joins JBS-TV’s Abigail Pogrebin to discuss Zionism, the recent Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism Conference, and his new book “The Lilac Tree,” a collection of his thoughts developed over the past 20 years on life and death, science and faith, politics and morality, the past and the future.
eJewishPhilanthropy: Stephen Wise Free Synagogue launches Amplify Israel Fellowship to connect future Reform leaders to Israel
Jul 7, 2023
Amid concerns of a growing split between American Jewry and Israel, the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue announced the launch of the Amplify Israel Fellowship, a yearlong program for 10 early-career Reform rabbis funded by the Lisa and Michael Leffell Foundation, Maimonides Fund, and The Paul E. Singer Foundation, reports eJewishPhilanthropy.
Tablet Magazine: Dissent in the Reform Ranks
Jun 28, 2023
Judaism’s largest denomination sees growing divisions around Israel, political alignment, Jewish peoplehood, and the very future of the movement, writes Tablet Magazine’s Armin Rosen about the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference, hosted at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue May 31-June 1, 2023.
The Media Line: Israel Parade Demonstrations
Jun 24, 2023
Not everyone was in favor of the Celebrate Israel Parade, and alongside the huge gathering, a few hundred demonstrators marched against the Israeli government, ostensibly to protest legal reform but actually to contest the existence of the elected government. Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the leading figures in America’s liberal Judaism movement, warned that protests against Israeli ministers and Knesset members might be misconstrued by the American public as a form of resistance against the State of Israel as a whole.
Haaretz: (Opinion) We Can Reignite Zionism in America Right Now. By Opposing Israel’s Government
Jun 20, 2023
Disagreeing with our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch’s assertion at the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference that commitments to Israel, Zionism and Jewish peoplehood are weakening among Reform Jews, Eric Yoffie argues that the best way to reignite Zionism in America is by opposing the current Israeli government.
JNS: Reform movement takes time to re-evaluate goals amid ‘inflection points’
Jun 19, 2023
JNS reported on the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism Conference, where clergy and lay leaders addressed concerns such as the growing distance between the movement and Israel, declining synagogue attendance and the need to prioritize Jewish education for young members.
i24 News: NYC Conference Addresses Challenges Facing Reform Jews
Jun 11, 2023
For a report on the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference, i24 News’ Mark Wagenheim spoke with our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch and Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs about the challenges facing the Reform movement.
Mosaic Magazine: Reform Judaism Will Lose Its Soul if It Forsakes Its Commitment to Jewish Peoplehood and Zionism
Jun 8, 2023
According to a 2020 study, 2.1 million American Jews describe themselves as Reform, making the denomination—as it has been historically—the largest in the U.S. Yet Ammiel Hirsch, the rabbi of Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, believes the movement stands at a crossroads.
Jerusalem Post: Terror attacks depress Israel, but don’t demoralize – opinion
Jun 8, 2023
In an opinion piece for The Jerusalem Post, Gil Troy writes “Israel is more than terror attacks and judicial reforms…Last week, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch challenged his movement to recharge Reform Judaism… and articulated a spiritual and moral challenge that Identity Zionism addresses.”
RNS: We asked hard questions about Reform Judaism
Jun 6, 2023
In his Religion News Service column “Martini Judaism,” Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin gives an overview of the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference held at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue May 31–June 1, 2023.
Israel Hayom: Senior Reform rabbi warns of ‘devastating’ rift because of anti-Israel sentiment
Jun 6, 2023
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, delivered the keynote address at the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism Conference, urging the movement’s leaders to be “proactive” in countering those who attack Israel.
Israel Hayom (Hebrew): A senior Reform rabbi with an unusual warning: ‘the movement will split because of anti-Israel trends’
Jun 5, 2023
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch initiated a conference at New York’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue attended by about 300 Reform Jewish leaders from around the U.S. According to Hirsch, the purpose of the conference was to reverse the anti-peoplehood and anti-Zionist drift in the movement, which may destroy it.
The Jerusalem Post: Protesting Israeli officials abroad sends the wrong message to the world – analysis
Jun 4, 2023
“Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets each Saturday night over the last 22 weeks to protest the judicial reform and the current government in Israel. But do these protests need to be exported and transplanted to cities abroad?” asks Herb Keinon in an analysis in The Jerusalem Post. He quotes our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch: “To critique decision-makers is what Jews do. To turn against Israel; to join our ideological opponents and political enemies in castigating Zionism is a sign of Jewish illness, an atrophying of our intellectual and emotional commitment to our people.”
The Jerusalem Post: American Jewry’s strong connection to Israel is extremely vital – editorial
Jun 4, 2023
Against the backdrop of waning support for Israel among liberal Jewry and an American media complex that amplifies Jewish criticism of Israel, hundreds of Reform rabbis, cantors, educators and lay leaders gathered for the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference. It was initiated by our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, who has been at the forefront of Reform leaders working to prevent a stream hostile to Israel from becoming the movement’s dominant roaring river, writes The Jerusalem Post editorial staff.
Jewish Journal: An Idea to Re-Charge Reform Judaism: Make it More Sephardic
Jun 1, 2023
Reflecting on the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference, Los Angeles Jewish Journal publisher and editor-in-chief David Suissa writes: “Although I’m in the Orthodox world… I’ve always felt that all denominations have something to offer and that we can all learn from one another. In that spirit, I asked myself: What would I have talked about at the conference if I were one of the speakers?”
Jewish Journal: Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism Conference Keynote Address
Jun 1, 2023
The Los Angeles Jewish Journal published the full text of Rabbi Ammi Hirsch’s keynote address at the opening of Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism, a two-day conference gathering more than 300 Reform clergy, educators and lay leaders at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. In his speech, Rabbi Hirsch discussed the three ideological pillars on which the movement’s future rests: commitment to Zionism, balancing universal and particular values, and elevating ritual and religious practice.
Jerusalem Post: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch: ‘We are losing the soul of the Reform movement’
May 31, 2023
Speaking at Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism, a gathering of 300+ Jewish leaders at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch expressed his concern that the North American Reform movement is at an inflection point in its history and his fear that if the movement becomes perceived as anti-Zionist and anti-particularistic, most American Jews will abandon it.
Jerusalem Post: Reform rabbis gather for NYC conference to cement Reform Jewish values
May 31, 2023
Hundreds of Reform Jewish clergy, educators, synagogue presidents and board members were set to arrive at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a historic 116-year-old Reform congregation on New York’s Upper West Side on Wednesday for a two-day conference today. Titled “Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism,” it was initiated by Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who has been what some consider the “opposition” in the American Reform movement in terms of its relationship with Zionism, Israel and tradition.
NY Jewish Week: NYC’s Celebrate Israel Parade set to draw big crowds — and protests — amid Israel’s political turmoil
May 31, 2023
“It is more important than ever to participate in the Celebrate Israel Parade because it represents our commitment not to elements of this government but to our relationship with the people, the state of Israel, and the Zionist ideal,” our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch told NY Jewish Week. “The best response is not to walk away but to double down with those in Israel who are as distressed as we are and want to see a more representative Israeli government.”
JNS: A celebration of Israel to bring all Jews together
May 19, 2023
Events like the Celebrate Israel Parade bridge the divide between Israel and American Jewry — whether political, religious or cultural. “It’s a chance for us to gather as Jews and walk together, showing the world that we are one community, even when we disagree,” write the signatories — including our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch — of an open letter published in JNS.
JTA: Why a liberal Zionist rabbi isn’t taking to the streets over Israel’s judicial reform plan
Apr 30, 2023
Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch sat down with JTA’s managing ideas editor to talk about his upcoming book, Israel-diaspora relations and the state of American liberal Judaism.
The Forward: Rain on the Israel Day parade? Organizers recruit Israeli president to promote the annual spectacle
Apr 27, 2023
Amidst Israel’s political turmoil, Jewish leaders such as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and our own Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, are asked to encourage turnout and support at this year’s Celebrate Israel Parade. “The Israel parade, like Israel, belongs to us all,” said Rabbi Hirsch.
RNS: Is it time to reform Reform Judaism?
Apr 20, 2023
“Reform Judaism began as Jews, eager to enter the modern world, began to reassess their relationship with the inherited tradition, and to create new understandings of Judaism. It is time to do it again,” writes Rabbi Jeff Salkin in his Martini Judaism column about our upcoming Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference. “Some have noticed that this conference is a grassroots effort, and not officially organized by any of the arms of Reform Judaism. This was neither an act of conscious rebellion, nor anti-establishment sentiment. Rather, it was an enthusiastic response to this historical moment in the life of American Judaism.”
The New York Times: Israel’s Right-Wing Government Has Jewish Democrats at a Loss
Apr 20, 2023
Defending Israel’s far-right government is proving difficult for American lawmakers and rabbis alike. Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, who created the Amplify Israel initiative to renew a commitment to Zionism in a Jewish community drifting away from the Jewish state, appeared near a breaking point last month when he pleaded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the bimah, “Stop this runaway out-of-control car before it hurtles off the abyss,” The New York Times reports.
The Media Line: In 1st, US Democrats Side More With Palestinians Than Israelis, Poll Finds
Mar 19, 2023
Amid polling that has found an 11% increase in Democrats who sympathize more with Palestinians than with Israelis, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told The Media Line: “While we have been aware of this trend, still it should constitute another wake-up call for American supporters of Israel as well as Israeli policy-makers and diplomats.”
Times of Israel: Leading NY rabbi: Israeli government speeding ‘headlong toward abyss’ with overhaul
Mar 18, 2023
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue says in his “most painful” sermon: “Israeli government is tearing society apart, bringing world Jewry along for dangerous ride”
JTA: American rabbis, wrestling with Israel’s behavior, weigh different approaches from the pulpit
Mar 2, 2023
As American rabbis grapple with how to deal with Israel and its controversial new government, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch believes today’s clergy must be vocal in fending off the influence of “competing values” about Zionism — while leaving room for criticism.
Maariv (Hebrew):’We must confront the government’: fear in US Jewry of worsening relations with Israel
Jan 5, 2023
“If the coalition partners act and function according to their agreements, we expect increasing tensions between Israel and the American government,” our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch tells Maariv. “I cannot wrap my head around the minds of those who claim to be religious, but behave in such a destructive way towards fellow Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post: Reform rabbi: Netanyahu is ‘last brick in the wall’ for Israel-diaspora ties
Dec 4, 2022
During an interview with The Jerusalem Post, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch expressed grave concern over Israel’s incoming government —and of potentially irreparable damage to the Israel-diaspora relationship.
Times of Israel: Leading New York Reform rabbi launches push against anti-Zionism in the movement
Oct 11, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch discussed our new Amplify Israel initiative with The Times of Israel. “We want to impact first and foremost on the Reform movement and through the Reform movement to the broader American Jewish community, to slow down, eventually stop and reverse the anti-Israel, anti-Zionist encroachment,” he said.
Tablet: We Defeat Helplessness by Helping
Oct 6, 2022
“What can one person do to impact on the many challenges facing our world?” writes Rabbi Ammi Hirsch in Tablet Magazine, reflecting on the war in Ukraine and our synagogue’s humanitarian mission to Poland and the Ukrainian border. “We overcome despair by countering despair — one day at a time, one place at a time, one person at a time… We defeat helplessness by helping.”
Times of Israel: The future of American Jews on campus
Oct 3, 2022
“This is the irony: the struggle against Israel waged by some American Jews, is not really about Israel at all,” writes our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch in The Times of Israel. “Israel will survive and prosper with or without them. It is about you. It is about the future of American Judaism. We cannot survive separated from the vast majority of our people. Jews who tell you otherwise are deluded.”
JNS: With bigger crowds expected for High Holidays, rabbis have a lot to speak about
Sep 21, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch gave JNS a preview of his upcoming High Holy Days sermons. He said he will recap his trip to the Ukraine-Poland border, where his congregation donated $250,000 in aid as well as supplies. He will also talk about how some don’t give Israel a fair shake.
Sapir Conversations: A Conversation with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens
Jun 13, 2022
In this episode of SAPIR: Journal of Jewish Conversations, Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens invites Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch to discuss his article on how “Judaism and Zionism Are Inseparable.”
Times of Israel: From Refugees to Guests
May 23, 2022
In April, 23 members of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue arrived in Poland on a mission –– to distribute 86 blue duffel bags stuffed with a ton of most-needed supplies for Ukrainian refugees. The congregants’ objective: Not just to bring essential goods and funds, but also to offer compassion and understanding, and to bear witness and learn what message to bring home.
NY1: Interview with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
May 5, 2022
After returning from Poland, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch speaks about Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s boots-on-the-ground effort to help Ukrainian refugees there.
People of the Pod Podcast: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch on How Support for Israel is Key to the Future of Reform Judaism
May 5, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch sat down with American Jewish Committee’s Laura Shaw Frank to discuss the danger of waning commitment to Israel among some Reform Jews, a recent delegation to the Poland-Ukraine border, and how being #JewishAndProud is as important to him as breathing.
Sapir Journal: Judaism and Zionism Are Inseparable
May 4, 2022
“The Torah establishes two foundational principles: nationhood and national territory,” writes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in Sapir Journal. “Loyalty to the Jewish people absent concern for all the families of the earth is a distortion of Judaism. And tikkun olam divorced from Jewish peoplehood is not Jewish universalism; it is just universalism.”
The Jerusalem Post: NYC synagogue sends delegation with humanitarian aid to Ukraine
Apr 30, 2022
When Russia invaded Ukraine, our synagogue had to act. Our mission to the Poland-Ukraine border spoke with The Jerusalem Post about our humanitarian relief efforts and the Jewish values that compelled us to help.
1010 WINS: Live Report from Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Apr 26, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch gave a live report to 1010 WINS from Poland’s border with Ukraine during our synagogue’s humanitarian mission.
WCBS Newsradio 880: Interview with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Apr 26, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch spoke with WCBS Newsradio 880 from Poland’s border with Ukraine during our synagogue’s humanitarian mission.
NY1: Interview with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Apr 22, 2022
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch speaks about how Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is gearing up for a boots-on-the-ground effort to help Ukrainian refugees.
Cleveland Jewish News: Temple Israel series to focus on antisemitism, anti-Zionism
Apr 15, 2022
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch will lead a virtual discussion May 25 for the Akron, Ohio, Jewish community on antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiments.
eJewishPhilanthropy: A large NYC synagogue will be visiting the Ukrainian border
Apr 8, 2022
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is doing what perhaps no other synagogue in the United States has yet done: organizing a congregational mission to Poland and the Ukrainian border to speak with refugees and observe the work of Jewish aid groups. “I felt it was important not only to write a check but to do something that would bring us into contact with suffering people,” our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told eJewishPhilanthropy.
New York Daily News: How many more wakeup calls do we need to understand anti-Jewish hatred?
Jan 26, 2022
“There is an instinct to misunderstand the nature of antisemitism,” our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch writes in the New York Daily News in response to the attack on a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. “To fight effectively against antisemitism, we must take on the toxic ideology…we must do the much harder work of eradicating ideologies of hate in our communities.”
Tablet: The Believer
Jan 25, 2022
“Ammiel Hirsch is the most prominent Reform rabbi who is willing to publicly challenge his colleagues’ alleged complacency toward the movement’s commitment to Israel,” writes Tablet’s Armin Rosen in a profile of our senior rabbi.
Jewish Journal: Does Radical Ignorance Deserve a Seat at the Table?
Dec 22, 2021
Writing in the Jewish Journal about American Jews’ “radical ignorance” of their own history, Josh Feldman quotes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who lambasted the idea that Israel is committing genocide as “a colossal, catastrophic failure of the American Jewish establishment: Rabbis, teachers, schools—all of us.”
Jewish Insider: Diaspora affairs minister ‘doesn’t accept’ delays to Kotel plan
Dec 15, 2021
Following a report that the Israeli government has frozen the implementation of a deal for a state-recognized egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told Jewish Insider he was “disappointed” but not surprised just days after positive discussions he and others had with Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai on the subject.
CNN: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch with Alisyn Camerota and Victor Black
Dec 2, 2021
On CNN Newsroom, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discussed Fox News host Lara Logan’s comparisons of Dr. Fauci to Josef Mengele: “It’s demoralizing, despicable and depressing that our culture has deteriorated to the point that we can’t disagree without equating each other with the worst evil we can think of.”
Times of Israel: For the love of Israel, we need to say: The Reform Movement is Zionist
Nov 30, 2021
In The Times of Israel, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch urges the Reform movement to respond to recent publicity around seminary students’ anti-Zionist sentiments and clarify its values and principles: “For the record, the Reform movement is a Zionist movement. Every single branch of our movement – the synagogue arm, the rabbinic union, and our seminary – is Zionist and committed ideologically and theologically to Israel.”
eJewish Philanthropy: Jews have more than an obligation to repair the world
Nov 1, 2021
There is some truth to the criticism that the Reform movement seems to focus on tikkun olam, not as an expression of Jewish peoplehood, but at its expense, writes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in eJewish Philanthropy. Judaism is both particular and universal. Social justice divorced from the centrality of Jewish peoplehood isn’t Jewish universalism; it is just universalism.
Mosaic: Left-Wing Anti-Semitism Is No Worse Than the Right-Wing Variety, but It Is More Likely to Go Unnoticed
Oct 19, 2021
Mosaic highlighted our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s piece in Tablet Magazine. “I spend so much time emphasizing the anti-Semitism of the hard left not because I believe that the anti-Semitism of the extreme right is any less pervasive or dangerous,” Rabbi Hirsch wrote. “But I am a liberal rabbi leading a Reform synagogue composed of mostly liberal Jews. And in my view, many liberal Jews are misled by the high-sounding rhetoric of anti-Zionist students, liberal professors, thought leaders, influencers, and media and social-media personalities.”
JNS: The real reason for Western support of the Palestinians
Oct 14, 2021
In her column examining the “incomprehensible animus against Judaism and the Jewish people,” Melanie Phillips quotes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch: “Of all the savageries in the sordid history of human affairs, what explains the singling out of the Jews for unique odium? … No other supremacist ideology is as singularly fixated on one group of people. It is not only the hatred of a Jew. Many antisemites have never met a Jew in their lives. It is the obsession with Jewry, the Jewish people” as “… the source of evil in the world.”
Tablet: Stop Enabling the Antisemites Who Live Closest to Our Homes
Sep 26, 2021
“The more recent explosion of antisemitism awakens in me a dire, depressing, demoralizing dread,” writes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in Tablet Magazine. “If there is one lesson to absorb from the Holocaust, it is when someone proclaims an intention to exterminate the Jews, believe them. Take them seriously.”
Times of Israel: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch sees no future for Reform Judaism without Israel ties
Aug 24, 2021
“I speak publicly about Israel, not necessarily to convince people to change their positions but first and foremost to assert to Jews that their Jewish instinct is right,” says our Rabbi Hirsch in an interview published in The Times of Israel. “In the media and on social networks they hear only negative things about Israel, so here, in their synagogue, they’ll hear what really happens there. What I say represents the vast majority of American Jews and the Reform movement.”
Cleveland Jewish News: Rabbi [Richard] Hirsch recalled as giant in Reform movement
Aug 20, 2021
Remembering his father, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told the Cleveland Jewish News: “He founded the two great… ideological institutions of the second half of the 20th century of Reform Judaism… the Religious Action Center, which set into motion the future of the Reform movement’s social justice agenda, and one of the key decisions of the 20th century of the Reform movement was his decision to move the international headquarters of the Reform movement to Jerusalem.”
Times of Israel: ‘Israel is Broadway; the Diaspora is Off-Broadway’ – Rabbi Richard Hirsch z’’l
Aug 18, 2021
“I loved Dick. He was one of my most important Zionist mentors. I love his son, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch of the Stephen S. Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan. Dick loved that Ammi and I are dear friends and whenever I spoke with Dick not only did he remind me how much he appreciated Ammi’s and my friendship, but that we Reform rabbis have a sacred and solemn duty to the Jewish people to teach and motivate our communities to understand that Progressive Zionism is the social justice movement of the Jewish people,” writes Rabbi John L. Rosove, memorializing Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch z”l in the Times of Israel.
RNS: A great leader dies — and with him, a whole generation
Aug 17, 2021
The death of Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch z”l “marks the end of an era in Reform Judaism — an era in which great leaders shaped the intellectual, moral, and political fabric of our movement,” writes Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin in Religion News Service. “How powerful — that his son Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch has inherited his voice, and has made it his own.”
JTA: Rabbi Richard Hirsch, who eulogized Martin Luther King Jr. and helped guide the Reform movement to Zionism, dies at 95
Aug 17, 2021
Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch z”l died Monday. “He became the leading advocate for Reform Zionism… he helped found ARZA, the Reform movement’s Zionist affiliate (his son Ammiel, also a rabbi, led ARZA from 1992 to 2004).”
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): ‘There is fear among the Reform rabbis. They are afraid to speak for Israel.’
Jul 27, 2021
After nearly 100 Reform and Conservative rabbinical and cantorial students signed a letter accusing Israel of apartheid, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told Makor Rishon: “The Reform movement must see itself as a Zionist movement that supports Israel, and the education it provides and all its policies must reflect these values.”
The Jerusalem Post: Will the Kotel Deal Repair the Divide?
Jun 22, 2021
In an op-ed about Israel’s efforts to repair the relationship with diaspora Jewry, Rabbi David Eliezrie mentioned our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s recent piece about the tension between universalism and Jewish peoplehood that’s been present in the Reform movement since its inception.
The Jerusalem Post: Over 300 US rabbis from multiple denominations come together for Israel
May 28, 2021
Over 300 American rabbis from multiple denominations — including our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch — signed a letter decrying the anti-Israel sentiments currently being voiced in some Jewish communities across the U.S. “Parts of the Jewish community that are cool on Israel, that are distancing [themselves] from Israel, that are non- Zionist and anti-Zionist are becoming more vocal,” said Rabbi Hirsch. “If they are successful, it will harm Israel, but, mostly, it will harm the future of American Jewry.”
The Jerusalem Post: The fracturing of liberal Judaism over Jewish particularism
May 27, 2021
“The growing inclination among liberal Jews to deemphasize Jewish distinctiveness is the gravest threat to the future of liberal Judaism,” writes our Rabbi Hirsch in The Jerusalem Post. “Are we anchored in Jewish particularism or are we Kantian universalists who pray in Hebrew? Audacious honesty requires that we press Reform Jews: Are you committed to the Jewish nation – and what does that mean to you?”
West Side Rag: The New World of Religious Worship on the UWS
Apr 27, 2021
As we move closer to post-pandemic life, Upper West Side religious institutions are busy making plans to reopen for in-person worship and events, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. In fact, some, like our Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, have already been open for months. What do in-person religious services and events on the Upper West Side look like in the spring of 2021?
The Jerusalem Post: We must stop enabling haredi domination of religion and state
Mar 11, 2021
“Decades of excessive political power have corrupted the values of those who claim to be most loyal to Jewish values,” writes our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, addressing ultra-Orthodox pushback to Israel’s recognition of non-Orthodox conversions. “It is distressing that the American-Jewish establishment has been largely silent. Most of your supporters and most of your financing come from the non-Orthodox community. You cannot sit this out. If our bond with Israel deteriorates further, it will weaken all of us.”
CBS Detroit Michigan Matters: Black History Month and MLK
Feb 28, 2021
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s sister, Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, and father, Rabbi Richard Hirsch, spoke on CBS Detroit’s “Michigan Matters” about their family’s involvement in the civil rights movement and the work that’s yet to be done to secure a more diverse and equitable future.
The Jerusalem Post: Senior Rabbi accuses Trump of ‘sledgehammering democratic norms’
Oct 31, 2020
On the Shabbat before Election Day, our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch worried about the threat of violence in the coming weeks, no matter the outcome: “I am deeply worried about our country. The American experiment rests on two central propositions that are under withering assault: the right to vote, and the peaceful transfer of power. On this last Shabbat before our fateful choice, we pray for the peace of our nation.”
The Jerusalem Post: NY synagogue Cries Out ‘Black Lives Matter’ in Rosh Hashanah Sermon
Sep 20, 2020
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch opened the Jewish New Year with a special message of “optimism and moral clarity,” as the synagogue called it, by stating that “Black lives matter” — and perpetuating the deep underlying connection that exists between the Jewish and African-American communities in the U.S.
NY Jewish Week: Rabbis See Birth of New Movement for Civil Rights
Jun 9, 2020
Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch voiced his support for protests and criticized the response of our country’s “politically incompetent and morally deficient national leadership” at a time when there is an “assault on the guardrails of democracy.”
NY Jewish Week: A Big Night for Netanyahu Is a Letdown for Liberal Jews
Mar 3, 2020
Israel’s consul general in New York, Amb. Dani Dayan, visted Lomdim Chofshi, our Israeli outreach initiative’s Hebrew school. Dayan spoke with the students about what being Israel means to him and the challenges and rewards of his job representing Israel in New York.
The New York Times: The Anti-Israel Craze Hits High School
Jan 16, 2020
“We are deeply worried about the effect that hatred of Israel has on students,” wrote our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Joshua Davidson in The New York Times. “When teachers turn the classroom into an arena for anti-Israel animosity, students become unwitting pawns instead of safeguarded learners.” New York Jewish Week, Mosaic, The Jewish Journal in Los Angeles, The Jewish Star, Jewish Currents, and +972 Magazine covered this opinion piece.
The New York Times: Fieldston, Elite Private School, Faces Backlash From Jewish Parents
Jan 10, 2020
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Joshua Davidson spoke to Fieldston students about anti-Semitism and defended Zionism on the same day the school fired a teacher who had posted multiple tweets disparaging Zionism. This story was also covered by The New York Post, JTA, JNS, The Washington Free Beacon and The Riverdale Press.
NY Jewish Week: Could A 3rd Election In Israel Hinge On Religious Pluralism?
Dec 4, 2019
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch spoke about the possibility of religion-state issues moving to the forefront in the next elections and how that could help repair some of the damage done too the Israel-diaspora relationship over the past decade.
NY Jewish Week: Aid Debate Rattles Pro-Israel Democrats
Nov 6, 2019
After expressing alarm at “the encroachment of anti-Israel sentiments in the Democratic Party” our Rabbi Hirsch told New York Jewish Week in an interview: “Just how widespread and deep the anti-Israel animosity is in the Democratic Party is hard for me to gauge. What is important is that we have a roadmap of what that kind of thing does in the long run — and that roadmap is the United Kingdom’s Labour Party.”
Jewish Insider: Biden blasts rivals for wanting to condition aid to Israel…
Nov 1, 2019
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch criticized some of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates for threatening to condition U.S. aid to Israel and for being “tolerant of voices that are opposed to Israel’s existence.” In a statement, Hirsch warned that the Democratic Party is going in the direction of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.
Algemeiner: Prominent US Reform Jewish Rabbi Warns of Growing Anti-Israel Sentiments in Democratic Party
Oct 30, 2019
Responding to threats by several top-tier Democratic presidential candidates to condition U.S. aid to Israel, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch reminded the candidates of the mainstream American Jewish and Democratic support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and expressed alarm at the encroachment of anti-Israel sentiments in the Democratic party.
Haaretz: ‘The Free United States Has Made Us Complacent, but Anti-Semitism is a Dangerous Virus’ (Hebrew)
Oct 13, 2019
On Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch devoted his remarks to the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. from both sides of the aisle. “Jews do something that no others do: we manage to unite the extreme right and the extreme left. They are on opposite sides of the political and religious spectrum on practically everything else, but fold into each other at the extremes – overlapping in agreement on their hatred of Jews.”
Mosaic: If Jews Don’t Speak Up for Themselves, No One Will Speak Up for Them
Oct 3, 2019
On Rosh Hashanah, our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch urged us not to lose sight of “the central Jewish principle [that] all Jews are responsible one for the other.” He says: in the face of the anti-Semitic threats that come from so many different directions — and which he goes on to analyze — Jews must not lose their sense of pride, or begin to see Judaism as a burden rather than a privilege.
NY Jewish Week: Rabbis Face New Year In ‘Harrowing Times’ Post-Pittsburgh
Sep 25, 2019
Rising anti-Semitism ison many spiritual leaders’ minds this first Rosh Hashanah since the attack that killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said he will stress to his progressive congregation that the threat of anti-Semitism “comes from both the right wing and the left.”
The Times of Israel: With Israeli election looming, liberal US Jews set their ire on Netanyahu
Apr 5, 2019
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is hopeful that after elections next week Israel’s prime minister will help repair the country’s strained relationship with American Jews. He told The Times of Israel: “It’s important for the Israeli electorate to know how strongly we feel about certain issues.”
The Jerusalem Post: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch Rebukes Netanyahu for Damaging Diaspora-Israel Ties
Mar 21, 2019
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told The Jerusalem Post that the failure to address the conflict with the Palestinians and Haredi dominance over religious life in Israel has done “unprecedented” harm to the relationship between U.S. and Israeli Jews. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is coming to the U.S. for AIPAC’s annual policy conference two weeks before Israel’s elections, has presided over “the deterioration of this relationship,” Hirsch says. “It is important for the Israeli electorate to know about these issues and hear what is at stake when they go to the polling booths.”
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): Bypass: A new initiative to bridge the gap with American Jewry
Jan 20, 2019
The White House and the Israeli government are turning to Reform rabbis — and not the movement’s leadership — to create a direct dialogue with American Jews. A few months ago, Jason Greenblatt, President Trump’s emissary to the Middle East, visited Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and met with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. Greenblatt presented the general direction of the Trump administration’s peace plan, and asked those present for their opinion. He also said that he and other senior White House officials listen to Hirsch’s sermons online in order to get a reading on the pulse of the liberal Jewish public.
Newsday: Women’s March sees drop in support over bigotry accusations
Jan 18, 2019
The 2019 Women’s March is expected to be smaller than the previous women’s marches to protest Donald Trump’s presidency. The event has been marred by accusations of anti-Semitism and homophobia against some organizers. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan, disavowed the march even though he said he agrees with the political aims.“The current leaders have steered the movement away from its true course,” Hirsch said in a sermon earlier this month. He said his synagogue would join the Women’s March Alliance event. “They have allowed anti-Semitism and anti-LGBTQIA sentiment and hateful racist rhetoric to become part of the platform.”
West Side Rag: Saturday: One of Two NYC Women’s Marches Starts on UWS
Jan 17, 2019
The third annual Women’s March in New York City — one of two being held — will begin on the Upper West Side on Saturday. The march this year has been roiled by controversy, stemming from accusations of anti-Semitism against leaders of the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue said “we are disassociating from Women’s March Inc.” because “its current leadership has distorted the values and thwarted the goals articulated on that amazing January day in 2017.”
Forbes: Clouded By Accusations Of Anti-Semitism, The Women’s March Loses Ground
Jan 17, 2019
As women across the U.S. are preparing to head to Washington, D.C., for the third annual Women’s March, ugly accusations of anti-Semitism have only been exacerbated by the refusal of Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory to distance herself from the anti-Semitic statements of the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York chose to unequivocally disassociate from the Women’s March, although he added: “We are not disassociating from the original goals of Women’s March.”
The Forward: Rabbis Torn About Women’s March, Despite Secret Meeting With Sarsour, Mallory
Jan 16, 2019
New York rabbis are grappling with the same choice as many other Jews across the country: to attend a march that espouses principles most of the liberal community agrees with, or to stay home in protest of the anti-Semitism allegations and lose the opportunity to build alliances with other minority groups in attendance. The prominent Reform Stephen Wise Free Synagogue announced that it was formally disassociating with the national Women’s March organization over the anti-Semitism issue and affiliating with the Women’s March Alliance instead. “They better represented the values that we thought we were supporting when we supported the Women’s March” in 2017, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch explained.
Metro NY: Everything you need to know about NYC’s two Women’s March events
Jan 16, 2019
National Women’s March leadership in Washington has come under fire after accusations of anti-Semitism stemming from ties between Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory and Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has a reputation of anti-Semitic remarks. Some Jewish community members leaders have since said they won’t attend the Women’s March New York City chapter, instead choosing to go to the Alliance’s Women’s March On New York City. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side, said in a sermon that the synagogue was disassociating from the Washington faction.
The New York Times: How New York City Ended Up With 2 Competing Women’s Marches
Jan 16, 2019
Accusations of anti-Semitism against members of the national Women’s March leadership in Washington prompted Jewish organizations, civil rights groups and other local Women’s March organizations to break from them. “If you are sympathetic to those who are prejudiced against Jews, we cannot stand with you,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said in a sermon at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side. At press time, the synagogue was disassociating from the Women’s March group and any events affiliated with it, and said it would hold a panel discussion sponsored by Zioness, a women’s organization, ahead of the January 19 Women’s March.
Jewish Insider: Why Stephen Wise Synagogue is now avoiding Women’s March Inc.
Jan 14, 2019
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch spoke with Jewish Insider about Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s decision to disassociate from Women’s March Inc. and that join the 2019 Women’s March On NYC under the auspices of Women’s March Alliance.
JNS: New York Reform synagogue distances itself from Women’s March leadership
Jan 14, 2019
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue announced it has disassociated from the Women’s March amid accusations of anti-Semitism against a few of the movement’s leaders such as their association with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
JTA: Southern Poverty Law Center and prominent NY synagogue leave national Women’s March
Jan 14, 2019
As mounting accusations of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel advocacy roiled the national Women’s March movement, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch announced that Stephen Wise Free Synagogue would disassociate from Women’s March Inc., and that it would join the 2019 Women’s March On NYC under the auspices of Women’s March Alliance. JTA also mentioned Stephen Wise in another article about how the Women’s March named three Jewish women to its steering committee and in its guide to which local marches are and aren’t affiliated with the national group, and why.
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): ‘The Reform Movement is going through an anti-Zionist period’
Dec 1, 2018
Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch criticizes the Reform movement’s leadership for taking anti-Israel positions, which deviate from the movement’s values and those of many of its members.
NY Jewish Week: Israeli Officials Let Down Guard On Trump, Kotel
Nov 7, 2018
New York Jewish Week Editor and Publisher Gary Rosenblatt writes about off-the-record conversations he’s had with Israeli officials about the growing rift in the diaspora-Israel relationship. He mentions Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main concern for the future, which is, as he quoted our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, that: “Those who are not concerned with Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.”
amNewYork: After Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, New York rabbis plan message of healing, resolve
Nov 2, 2018
Still reeling from a Pittsburgh shooting that left 11 people dead and several more injured, rabbis across New York City are preparing for Shabbat this week, grappling to find ways to help their congregations process their grief and stand strong for the future. “The way Jews process grief is always communally,” our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told amNewYork. “I think they will show up more than regular weekly Shabbat because I feel they will feel they need it, that they need some kind of communal spiritual gathering, simply to be with other people.”
Associated Press: Israel defends Trump amid synagogue shooting criticism
Oct 31, 2018
With President Donald Trump getting a cool welcome from the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, Israel’s envoy to the memorial ceremonies for the synagogue shooting victims came to his defense, saying it was “unfair and wrong” to link him to the tragedy. Our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s relations with American Jews, said the Israeli government mishandled its response to the Pittsburgh shooting: “What the Israelis should have done is express unity with the Jewish community, unity with American society … and stand in solidarity. That’s all.” This story was picked up by The New York Times and The Washington Post, among other outlets.
amNewYork: Pittsburgh synagogue massacre unites New Yorkers against hate
Oct 28, 2018
Following the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, members of the Jewish community gathered at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue for a concert commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. There, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discussed what he felt was a rise in anti-Semitism and hate speech that stems, at least in part, from the rhetoric of President Trump: “Obviously, the tone starts at the top. You cannot isolate intolerant speech on any particular community. If you direct harsh, coarse rhetoric toward a certain group — say Mexicans — it infects our entire society and it gives license to a coarseness and hoarseness of speech to the groups that are perceived as the ‘other.’”
NY Jewish Week: Trying To Bridge The Great Divide
Oct 26, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch weighs in on the difficulty incoming Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Isaac “Bougie” Herzog will have in bridging the growing chasm between Israeli and diaspora Jewry.
J-Wire: Israel is The Nation State of The Jewish People
Oct 25, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said what worried him more than the Western Wall was loss of Jewish identity outside of Israel. He cited an op-ed in JTA by our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch to illustrate his point: “In the modern world, those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post: Reforming the Reform Movement
Oct 25, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch sat down with The Jerusalem Post’s editor in chief, Yaakov Katz, to discuss the state of the relationship between Israel and American Jewry, and the future of liberal Judaism in both countries.
The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu Reaffirms Commitment to Demilitarized Palestinian State
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
JTA: Netanyahu says he supports a Palestinian ‘state-minus’ controlled by Israeli security
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said what worried him more than the Western Wall was loss of Jewish identity outside of Israel. He cited an op-ed in JTA by our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch to illustrate his point: “In the modern world, those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu: Loss of Identity is Most Serious Challenge for Diaspora Jews
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
Times of Israel: Blaming ‘ultra-Orthodox street,’ Netanyahu defends freezing Western Wall deal
Oct 24, 2018
At the Jewish Federations GA in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who wrote in JTA: “Those who are not committed to Jewish survival will not survive as Jews.” Hirsch’s op-ed, adapted from his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” is here.
JTA: Non-Orthodox leaders downplay ‘backchannel’ delegation of rabbis that met with Netanyahu
Oct 23, 2018
Leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements in the United States downplayed the delegation of 20 rabbis, which included our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who were invited to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Haaretz: Fed Up With Critics, Netanyahu Opens Back Channel to Undermine US Reform, Conservative Leaders
Oct 22, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch traveled to Israel as part of a delegation of 20 rabbis to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. “Our movement is too narrowly focused on politics and religious pluralism, and not focused enough on what’s going to make or break our movement in Israel,” he told Haaretz. This article was also published in Hebrew here.
NY Jewish Week: Liberal Branches On Rise In Israel
Oct 16, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch responded to a new study showing Israeli Jews are increasingly identifying as Reform or Conservative. “There is a huge unrealized potential,” Hirsch said, a “historic” opportunity for non-Orthodox streams of Judaism to strengthen their foothold in the Jewish state.
JTA: This is the gravest threat to the future of liberal Judaism
Oct 5, 2018
In this op-ed based on his 2018 Yom Kippur sermon, “From the Ghetto,” our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch writes about how the growing inclination among liberal Jews to de-emphasize Jewish distinctiveness is the gravest threat to the future of liberal Judaism.
The Jerusalem Post: The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year
Sep 9, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch was named one of The Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews of the Year.” “Hirsch is a charismatic and passionate Jewish leader, a strong advocate for Israel and a standard-bearer for liberal values, messages he is disseminating from his pulpit in New York,” wrote The Post’s Jeremy Sharon.
NY Jewish Week: Discord Forcing Rabbis To Choose Roles
Sep 5, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discusses the moral role of rabbis during these contentious and politically charged times: “A rabbi’s role is not to avoid upsetting people … but to speak boldly and publicly about our understanding of Jewish values. Since the way the community determines values is through policy, we have an obligation to participate in the public formulation of policy that represents our collective approach to social problems.”
YNET: ‘People turn to me, broken: Whats happening to our Israel?’
Aug 11, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discusses how recent events in Israel — including a controversial new nation-state law and the detention of a rabbi for performing a non-Orthodox wedding — are affecting the relationship between the American-Jewish community and Israel.
Yediot America (Hebrew): ‘People turn to me broken: What’s happening to our Israel?’
Aug 3, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discusses how recent events in Israel — including a controversial new nation-state law and the detention of a rabbi for performing a non-Orthodox wedding — are affecting the relationship between the American-Jewish community and Israel.
Mosaic Magazine: The Answer to the Israel-Diaspora Malady Lies Not in Better Organizations But in More Committed Jews
Jul 26, 2018
Mosaic Magazine asked our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, along with former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and MK Michael Oren, Elliott Abrams, and Allan Arkush, to respond to Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy’s thoughtful essay, “Can American and Israeli Jews Stay Together as One People?”
Maariv (Hebrew): The American-Jewish community has a hard time dealing with developments in Israel
Jul 25, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch responds to a series of troubling events in Israel — including a controversial new nation-state law and the detention of a rabbi for performing a non-Orthodox wedding.
NY Jewish Week: For Liberal Jews, ‘Israel Has Lost Its Way’
Jul 25, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch responds to a series of troubling events in Israel — including a controversial new nation-state law and the detention of a rabbi for performing a non-Orthodox wedding.
Makor Rishon (Hebrew): Disengagement plan: the Reform movement is moving away from Israel
Jun 3, 2018
Our Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch criticized the Reform movement’s response to American recognition of Jerusalem: “Except for the extreme left, all the Zionist parties in the Knesset support the embassy move. The statement that was published does not represent me, and certainly not all members of the Reform movement.”
Al-Monitor: Can Netanyahu Scratch Americans from Jewish Roster?
Jan 17, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch responds to friction between progressive American Jews and the Israeli government.
Jewish News Syndicate: Reform Movement Retreating From Opposition to Trump’s Jerusalem Decision
Jan 1, 2018
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is credited for challenging the URJ’s opposition to the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Religion News Service: Was Trump Right About Jerusalem?
Dec 19, 2017
A column by Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin highlights an op-ed by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch that urges leaders of the Reform movement to clarify their response to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
JTA: My Reform Colleagues Were Wrong On Jerusalem
Dec 18, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch urges leaders of the Reform movement to clarify their response to President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Maariv: A Desperate Struggle: Benjamin Netanyahu Prepares for the Last Battle for his Political Life
Dec 17, 2017
A popular Israeli newspaper showcases Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and his perspective on religious pluralism in Israel. (In Hebrew)
JTA: How a Kids’ Book on Palestine Ensnared This Manhattan Store in a Political Crossfire
Dec 4, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch talks to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the synagogue’s stance towards a local bookstore that supported a controversial children’s book.
West Side Rag: Rabbis and Bookstore Owner Break Bread After Split Over Palestine Book
Dec 3, 2017
An article highlights the productive dialogue between our rabbis and Book Culture’s co-owners about the word “intifada” and the children’s book, “P Is for Palestine” — and showcases the bookstore’s statement against terrorism and the BDS Movement.
YNET (Hebrew): Why Does Israel Turn its Back On American Jewry?
Oct 10, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch elaborates on the theme of his Yom Kippur sermon in a popular Israeli news outlet.
New York Jewish Week: Reform Jews at Crossroads on Israel
Oct 4, 2017
In an op-ed, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch urges American Reform Jews to fund and support a stronger progressive movement in Israel.
New York Jewish Week: Rabbis to Tiptoe Around Trump
Sep 13, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch comments on his decision to address the Trump presidency in his Rosh Hashanah sermon.
New York Jewish Week: New ‘Portal’ on Jewish Learning
Aug 23, 2017
Our Religious School’s Portals program, which brings our experienced teachers to families’ homes for one-on-one learning, is featured.
Maariv: Netanyahu Proves He Does Not Care About American Jews
Jun 28, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is quoted in an article in a popular Israeli newspaper about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to halt a project that would have allowed men and women to pray together at the Western Wall. (In Hebrew)
New York Daily News: Why We Cannot Close Our Doors to Refugees
Jun 28, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch draws on the synagogue’s recent refugee relief mission to Greece and Germany and responds to President Trump’s travel ban.
New York Times: Bernie Sanders’s Criticism of Israel
Apr 19, 2017
“Don’t attack Israel, and Israel will not attack you,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch wrote in a letter published in the New York Times.
The Times of Israel: This Passover, Let Us Step Into the Shoes of the Refugee
Apr 6, 2017
“This year in particular, in the aftermath of a deadly chemical attack in Syria, Passover offers a call to action to all Americans to defend human dignity and uphold our common humanity,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch wrote in the Times of Israel.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Not Just Prayers
Mar 10, 2017
“Judaism is a faith that believes in action, in making the world a better place through policy,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said in an article that highlights the synagogue’s recent social action work.
YNET: Ambassador Nominee Apologizes, As Rabbis Call for Fair Hearing
Feb 15, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch responds to President Trump’s controversial pick to serve as US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
The Times of Israel: Making America Great
Jan 26, 2017
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch reflects on the real meaning of national greatness.
City & State New York: Manhattan Borough 50
Oct 3, 2016
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is praised as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews.
