Rabbi Gary Greenebaum Named AJC's U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs ...

Oct 19 2006 10:09AM
Associated Press

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum Named AJC's U.S. Director of
Interreligious Affairs
To: National Desk, Religion Reporter
Contact: Kenneth Bandler, bandlerk(At)ajc.org or 212-891-6771,
Michael Geller, gellerm(At)ajc.org or 212-891-1385,
both of the American Jewish Committee
NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /U.S. Newswire/ Rabbi Gary Greenebaum has
been appointed U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs for the
American Jewish Committee.
"I cannot think of a more important time in the history of the
U.S. for this kind of work," said Greenebaum. "I look forward to
following in the footsteps of Rabbis Marc Tanenbaum and James
Rudin, who pioneered AJC's landmark efforts in interreligious
affairs."
Greenebaum will work closely with Jerusalem-based Rabbi David
Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs,
and chairman of the International Jewish Committee on
Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC).
Greenebaum, who has served as director of AJC's Los Angeles
Chapter since 1990, has broad experience in working with a
variety of faith and ethnic groups in the U.S. He led several
delegations of American Protestant and Catholic leaders to Israel
as part of Project Interchange, AJC's institute that promotes
understanding of Israeli history, culture and politics.
"AJC is fortunate to have Rabbi Gary Greenebaum at the helm of
our interreligious activity in the U.S.," said AJC Executive
Director David A. Harris. "He will make valuable contributions to
furthering our goal of strengthening the ties we share with other
faith communities."
Greenebaum is a frequent contributor to the opinion pages of
the "Los Angeles Times," "La Opinion," the "Jewish Journal of
Greater Los Angeles" and the "Daily News." He also has been a
regular guest on KCRW's "Which Way LA?" and KPCC's "AirTalk."
Greenebaum was appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles in 1993
to be president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners,
a position he held for two years.
Earlier this year, Greenebaum was honored with the French
National Order of Merit, presented to him by Ambassador Jean-
David Levitte, France's ambassador to the U.S.
Ordained in 1978 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion in Cincinnati, Greenebaum holds masters degrees in
Hebrew Letters and in Jewish Communal Service from HUC-JIR and a
bachelor's degree in English from the University of California,
Irvine. He has taught at several universities, including San
FranciscoStateUniversity, University of Judaism, and Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.