page_title: Shmuel Herzfeld
section_title: Activism
hierarchical_section_title: Shmuel Herzfeld / Activism
caption_attribution_description: English: Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld delivers the opening prayer as guest chaplain at the United States House of Representatives on Friday, May 23, 2014
context_page_description: Shmuel Herzfeld is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi. He is the Senior Rabbi of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue in Washington, DC. He is a teacher, lecturer, activist, and author.
context_section_description: Herzfeld is a Jewish Orthodox activist. He has been vocal on many issues, including Israel activism, Jewish outreach, the threat of anti-Semitism, gay rights, and the plight of the agunah. Herzfeld is currently the Vice President for Amcha - the coalition for Jewish concerns, a grass-roots coalition which engages in pro-Jewish activism.
  In 2008, The New York Times published a Herzfeld op-ed piece. This article attracted media attention in NPR, other newspapers, and many blogs.
  Herzfeld has been outspoken regarding the problem of the agunah, appearing in a front-page article in The New York Times in January 2011. This article generated a significant amount of media attention and put a spotlight on the agunah crisis within Orthodox Judaism.
  Herzfeld has also been vocal regarding antisemitism in Europe, particularly in France. In early January, 2015, after the deadly terrorist attacks at a kosher supermarket in Paris, Herzfeld published an op-ed in the Washington Post arguing that the U.S. should do whatever it can to welcome European Jews to the United States. Herzfeld continues to speak out in support of European Jewry, and marched with the French Ambassador at a rally in early 2015.
  Herzfeld is a critic of Donald Trump and his presidential campaign. During Trump's speech to the annual AIPAC Conference in 2016, Herzfeld stood and shouted out: "Do not listen to this man. He is wicked. He inspires racists and bigots." Herzfeld later wrote: "With every cell in my body I felt the obligation as a rabbi to declare his wickedness to the world."
caption: Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld delivering the opening prayer as guest chaplain at the United States House of Representatives on May 23, 2014
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