Albert Vorspan (February 12, 1924 – February 16, 2019) was an American author and long-time leader of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

. He was director emeritus of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. and served as senior vice president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the predecessor organization of the Union of Reform Judaism, at the time of his retirement in 1993. Vorspan was born in

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, Minnesota. He fought in the US Navy during World War II. In 1964, Vorspan was arrested and jailed with a group of Reform rabbis who at the request of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined in the civil rights protests in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

. In 1966, his criticism of the war in Vietnam was condemned by Sen. Thomas J. Dodd, a member of the

Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...

, as reflecting "a vociferous minority" rather than mainstream Jewish opinion. In 1988, at the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, he criticized Israeli government policy. In a series of diary entries published in the ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

'', he wrote, "Whether we accept it or not, every night's television news confirms it: Israelis now seem the oppressors, Palestinians the victims." In response,

Malcolm Hoenlein Malcolm Hoenlein was the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations from June 1986 until 2019. He was succeeded by William Daroff. He is the founding executive director of the Greater New Yo ...

, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations, accused him of "too much public posturing and too little private discourse."

Legacy

Union for Reform Judaism senior adviser Rabbi David Saperstein called Vorspan "one of the ''g’dolei hador,'' or ''great ones', of Jewish social justice work." URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs described Vorspan as "one of the towering giants of Jewish social justice."

Family

Several of Vorspan's family members are also active with social issues, many involving the

Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

. His brother, Max Vorspan, who died in June 2002, was an American rabbi, professor, historian, and administrator at the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU) is a Private university, private Jewish university in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2007 from the merger of the University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute. AJU's academic division includes ...

, and leader in the Los Angeles Jewish community. His nephew, Rabbi David Vorspan, is Founding Rabbi of Congregation Shir Ami in Woodland Hills, California, and Founding Rabbi of de Toledo High School in West Hills, California. His grandson, Emmett Vorspan-Stein, works with the municipal government of Cambridge, MA. Vorspan was married to Shirley Vorspan for 72 years until her death on August 27, 2018.

Books

* Albert Vorspan and David Saperstein. ''Jewish dimensions of social justice : tough moral choices of our time'' New York, NY.: UAHC Press, 1998. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vorspan, Albert 1924 births 2019 deaths 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American Reform Jews Jewish American non-fiction writers United States Navy personnel of World War II Jewish American anti-racism activists American anti–Vietnam War activists