(JTA) — Rabbi David Saperstein tops Newsweek’s list of the 50 most influential American rabbis.
The 2009 list appears in the magazine, which hits newsstands Monday. Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism In Washington, D.C., replaces Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who topped the list since it was first compiled two years ago.
Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network; Yehuda Krinsky, global leader of the Chabad movement; David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College; Robert Wexler, president, American Jewish University; Shmuley Boteach, author, radio and TV host; Eric Yoffie, head of Reform movement; Uri Herscher, founder of Skirball Cultural Center; and Irwin Kula, co-president of CLAL, round out the Top 10. Five female rabbis are on the list.
The list was compiled by Jay Sanderson, CEO of JTN Productions; Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment; and Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The magazine also lists America’s Most Vibrant Congregations, listing choices by regional groupings.
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