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Religious Action Center
The Religious Action Center (RAC) is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The Religious Action Center is operated under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, a joint body of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism. It was founded in 1961. Consistent with the political and social concerns of Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center played a key role in important political events of the American civil rights movement, the struggles of Soviet Jewry, as well as the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur. It hosted several meetings at which the groundwork for the various pieces of legislation, including the Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Acts, were laid. It also shielded civil rights marchers who were attacked by District of Columbia police. Aside from its community organizing and direct advocacy work, the Religious Action Center has also been a hub of social justice ...
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Massachusetts Avenue NW
Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it. Appearing in Peter Charles L'Enfant's original plan, Massachusetts Avenue crosses three of Washington's four quadrants. It intersects every major north–south street and passes numerous Washington landmarks. It is a landmark itself, long considered the northern boundary of the downtown as well as home of Washington's Embassy Row. Massachusetts Avenue is tied with Pennsylvania Avenue as the widest road in the District, at . The two roads run in parallel through much of the city, Massachusetts about seven blocks north of Pennsylvania. Massachusetts Avenue was long Washington's premier residential street, as Pennsylvania was once its most sought-after business address. Both streets were named after states with prominent roles in the American Revolution: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The historic distric ...
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Seminar
A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to participate. This is often accomplished through an ongoing Socratic dialogue with a seminar leader or instructor, or through a more formal presentation of research. It is essentially a place where assigned readings are discussed, questions can be raised and debates can be conducted. Etymology The word ''seminar'' was borrowed from German (always capitalized, as a common noun, as ''Seminar''), and is ultimately derived from the Latin word ''seminarium'', meaning "seed plot" (an old-fashioned term for “seedbed”). Its root word is ''semen'' (Latin for "seed"). Overview The term ''seminar'' is also used to describe a research talk, often given by a visiting researcher and primari ...
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Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2B) and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW. The circle is named for Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont. The traffic circle contains the Dupont Circle Fountain in its center. The neighborhood is known for its high concentration of embassies (many along Embassy Row) and think tanks (many along ...
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American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. History The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States. The Society's library, archives, photograph, and art and artifacts collections document the American Jewish experience. They are housed in the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. The society has administrative offices in both New York, New York, and in Boston, Massachusetts. It has served as a public educational and interpretive function by publishing a journal, a newsletter, monographs and reference works on the American Jewish experience. In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $2 ...
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Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.M. Philip Lucas, "Martin Van Buren as Party Leader and at Andrew Jackson's Right Hand." in ''A Companion to the Antebellum Presidents 1837–1861'' (2014): 107–129."The Democratic Party, founded in 1828, is the world's oldest political party" states Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s. The party is a big tent, and though it is often described as liberal, it is less ideologically uniform than the Republican Party (with major individuals within it frequently holding widely different political views) due to the broader list of unique voting blocs that compose it. The historical predecessor of the Democratic Party is considered to be th ...
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Lobbying In The United States
Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is a highly controversial phenomenon, often seen in a negative light by journalists and the American public, with some critics describing it as a legal form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion.Robert Reich, June 9, 2015, Salon magazineRobert Reich: Lobbyists are snuffing our democracy, one legal bribe at a time Retrieved May 30, 2017, "...This second scandal is perfectly legal but it's a growing menace ... the financial rewards from lobbying have mushroomed, as big corporations and giant Wall Street banks have sunk fortunes into rigging the game to their advantage...."Mike Masnick, April 12, 2012, Tech DirtIs Lobbying Closer To Bribery... Or Extortion? Retrieved May 30, 2017, While lobbying is subject to extensive and often c ...
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The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large national audience. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. Financier Eugene Meyer (financier), Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1933 and revived its health and reputation, work continued by his successors Katharine Graham, Katharine and Phil Graham (Meyer's daughter and son-in-law), who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post'' 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Subsequently, in the best-known episode in the newspaper's history, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the American press's investigation into ...
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San Diego Jewish World
The ''San Diego Jewish World'' is a publication that covers Jewish-interest news and cultural affairs in the San Diego, California, area and international Jewish news.'''' The ''World'' was founded in 2009 by Donald and Nancy Harrison and was published by The Harrison Enterprises. It has correspondents throughout the United States, Israel, and in countries with large Jewish populations. The ''World'' staff is composed of volunteers many from the former '' San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage'' and the '' San Diego Jewish Times''. Its main competitor is the ''San Diego Jewish Journal The ''San Diego Jewish Journal'', headquartered in Sorrento Valley, San Diego, California, is a Jewish magazine founded in October 2001 by Dr. Mark Moss and Mark Edelstein, and first published in December 2001. Their intent was to create a magaz ....'' In November 2021, Jacob Kamaras bought the publication and began to serve as its editor and publisher. References Jewish magazines published in ...
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United States Ambassador-at-Large For International Religious Freedom
The United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is the ambassador-at-large who heads the Office of International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. The position was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The first ambassador at large was Bob Seiple who served from 1999 to 2001. He was succeeded by John Hanford who served from May 2002 until January 2009. Suzan Johnson Cook served in the role from May 2011 to October 2013. On July 28, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Rabbi David Saperstein for the position. On December 15, 2014, the Senate confirmed him to the office, making him the first non-Christian to hold this post.Dias, Elizabeth"Obama Nominates Rabbi to Religious Freedom Post", ''Time'', July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.Campbell, Kay"Rabbi David Saperstein confirmed as U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom", AL.com, December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
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Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and previously worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering politics. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. In 1988, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the ''Harvard Law Review''. After graduating, he became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Turning to elective politics, he represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate from 1997 until 2004, when he ran for the U. ...
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President Of The United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The power of the presidency has grown substantially since the first president, George Washington, took office in 1789. While presidential power has ebbed and flowed over time, the presidency has played an increasingly strong role in American political life since the beginning of the 20th century, with a notable expansion during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In contemporary times, the president is also looked upon as one of the world's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower. As the leader of the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP, the president possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power. Article II of the Constitution establis ...
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David Saperstein (rabbi)
David Nathan Saperstein is an American rabbi, lawyer, and Jewish community leader who served as United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. He previously served as the director and chief legal counsel at the Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center for more than 30 years.Official biography
from rac.org.


Early life and education

Saperstein was born in New York City. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from , Master of Hebrew Letters from