Marvin (Moshe Chaim) Hier (born 1939 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) is the dean and founder of the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

, its Museum of Tolerance and of Moriah, the center's film division. He has been a Track II diplomacy contributor to the genesis of the Abraham Accords.

Early life

Hier was born in 1939 in

. His Jewish parents came from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

; his father worked as a lamp polisher after arriving in New York in 1917. Hier grew up on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

attending the Rabbi Shlomo Kluger Yeshiva on Houston Street for elementary school and the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School for high-school and six years post-high school. Hier received smicha in 1962 from Rabbi Mendel Kravitz,

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School.

Career

In the 1960s, Hier served as assistant rabbi and, in 1964, became

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

of Congregation Schara Tzedeck in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. In 1977, following a visit to Holocaust sites in Europe, Hier came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to create the

. Under his leadership, the center has become one of the foremost Jewish

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

agencies in the world, with a constituency of more than 400,000 families. The center maintains offices throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Hier is the recipient of two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

—as co-producer and co-writer for the 1981 documentary ''

Genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

'', about the Holocaust, and as co-producer of the 1997 documentary '' The Long Way Home'', which offers new insights into the critical post

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

period between 1945 and 1948 and the suffering of the tens of thousands of refugees who survived the Holocaust. In 1990, he wrote and co-produced the award-winning ''Echoes That Remain'', a documentary on pre-

European Jewish life, and in 1994, Hier produced and co-wrote, ''Liberation'', the first production of Moriah Films. Under Hier's direction, the Wiesenthal Center has served as consultant to Steven Spielberg's epic '' Schindler's List'', and ABC Television's miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel, '' War and Remembrance''. He is the recipient of an honorary degree and, in 1993 was made a Chevalier in the Ordre National du Mérite by French President François Mitterrand. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' describes Hier as the following, "Hier is one phone call away from almost every world leader, journalist and Hollywood studio head. He is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Museum of Tolerance and Moriah Films." In 2007 and 2008 Marvin Hier was named the most influential rabbi in America by ''Newsweek''. Hier founded the Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles and was the dean of the school until the 2006–2007 school year. Hier helped to propagate the 2006 Iranian sumptuary law hoax, declaring the fictitious law to be "absolutely true" when contacted by Canadian journalist Douglas Kelly to verify the story. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

appointed Hier to serve on the honorary delegation to accompany him to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in May 2008. In 2009, he criticized Vatican cardinal Renato Martino over his comment that the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

was a "big concentration camp". He later criticized the lifting of the excommunication of bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Society of Saint Pius X. In 2009 ''

'' named him # 2 on its list of "50 Influential Rabbis." A $100 million Museum of Tolerance and Human Dignity, a project of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in

run by Marvin Hier, is set to be built in Jerusalem, Israel. In 2013, '' The Forward'' called Hier the "most overpaid" executive of a Jewish non-profit. Hier's family received nearly $1.3 million in 2012 from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. In 2017 Hier welcomed the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles together with Rabbi Abraham Cooper paving the way for the Abraham Accords. He gave an invocation at the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump. He has participated in fundraising events for Trump's 2020 reelection. He was "the first Orthodox rabbi ever to give a benediction at an American president's inauguration". He cited Psalm 137: "By the rivers of Babylon ... We wept as we remembered Zion. If I forget thee, Oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.Ariane Mandell
"Zion remembered in Rabbi Heirs-benediction for President Trump"
''Jerusalem Post'', 20 January 2017." In 2019 Marvin attended the Peace to Prosperity conference in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. During the June 25–26 economic conference in

Manama Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...

, Hier praised the government of Bahrain saying, "If every Arab country were to be like Bahrain, the Messiah would arrive!"

Personal life

Hier resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He has two sons and eight grandchildren.

References

External links

*
Hier's entry
with the Simon Wiesenthal Center

by Nick Taylor, excerpt from chapter 4 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hier, Marvin 1939 births Living people American people of Polish-Jewish descent American Zionists Producers of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners Film producers from New York City 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis The Holocaust and the United States Simon Wiesenthal Center Orthodox rabbis from New York City

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links