Shraga Simmons (born 1 July 1961) is an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

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 ...

, journalist, filmmaker, brand builder and leader in Torah-themed marketing. He is the co-founder of Aish.com, the educational website and co-founder of HonestReporting, the pro-Israel media watch group. He is also creator of the online Torah study site, Aish Academy.

Biography

Simmons was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. After graduating from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

with a degree in journalism, he worked as a reporter for newspapers and magazines, specializing in entertainment. He led marketing campaigns for various politicians, entertainers and professional athletes. In 1994, he received rabbinic ordination from the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Jerusalem. He served three years as Director of Outreach for Aish HaTorah in

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, ...

Jewish education

He was a close student of Rabbi Noah Weinberg, served as his ghostwriter for 20 years, and co-authored the best-selling ''48 Ways to Wisdom''. In 1997, he was selected to run the Aish internet site, serving as editor for 25 years. He is often quoted as a rabbinical authority in print and online media. He is author of: LifeWisdom multi-volume Torah study curriculum; the Discovery Seminar sourcebook; "

Ask the Rabbi Ask the Rabbi is a term used in Jewish newspapers and on Jewish websites for responsa, known as ''Shut'' (Hebrew: שו"ת, literally Q&A), the traditional term for correspondence with rabbis, usually on a Halachic basis. This phrase is often us ...

" series featured on various websites; courses on Brachot, Middot, Jewish History; "Shraga's Weekly" on Chumash; and hundreds of essays on spirituality, happiness, success, Jewish holidays, lifecycle and history, translated into 10 languages.

Zionist activism

Simmons is an activist in matters regarding media bias relating to the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

. In 2000, he co-founded HonestReporting.com, the pro-Israel media watch group. In 2012, he authored ''David & Goliath,'' a study of Western

media bias Media bias occurs when journalists and news producers show bias in how they report and cover news. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an ...

in coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict. As a historical study of the years 2000–2011, the book is sourced with over 2,000 footnotes and includes statistical studies that claim to document a pervasive pro-Palestinian slant in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and much of the British media. In 2006 he produced a short film "Photo Fraud in Lebanon" which became the first Jewish-themed video to register 5 million views. In 2009 he produced a video which exposed glaring inconsistencies in media coverage of the

Gaza flotilla raid Ships of Gaza flotilla raid, Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with thirty woun ...

. In 2012 he wrote, directed and produced a short Internet film, ''The Red Line'', explaining the urgency of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In 2017 he wrote, directed and produced ''Jerusalem: Unite or Divide?'', a film and marketing campaign to promote the 50th anniversary of reunified Jerusalem.

Books

* *. Simmons has co-edited five collections of articles which originally appeared on Aish.com: * * * * *

Articles

*"Antisemitism and the Holocaust" in

References

External links

David & Goliath: The Explosive Inside Story of Media Bias in the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictRed Line on Iran filmShraga Simmons websiteShraga's Weekly commentary on the parshaHow Terrorists Manipulate the Media (video analysis by Shraga Simmons)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Shraga 1961 births Living people American Zionists Religious leaders from Buffalo, New York Rabbis of Aish HaTorah American Orthodox rabbis 21st-century American rabbis