Rabbi A. James Rudin

Rabbi A. James Rudin (he/him) is the former head of the American Jewish Committee’s Department of Interreligious Affairs and author of seven books, including The People In The Room: Rabbis, Nuns, Pastors, Popes, And Presidents. He served as a U.S. Air Force chaplain in Japan and Korea.

 

wannsee mansion berlin World War II
Holocaust

80 Years Since the Infamous Wannsee Conference

Rabbi A. James Rudin
 January 14, 2022
Eighty years ago on January 20, 1942, the infamous Wannsee Conference took place in a large lakeside three-story mansion in suburban Berlin. Fifteen Nazi German leaders attended the meeting that coordinated plans to "orderly execute" ---murder--- millions of Jews during World War II.
Major Philip Rudin shortly before the United States entered WWII
Holocaust

Reflections on the Significance of Pearl Harbor on American Jewry

Rabbi A. James Rudin
 November 29, 2021
December 7 marks the 80th anniversary of the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. The attack led to America's formal entry into World War II. What ensued would have a profound impact on Jews everywhere, including the American Jewish community.
How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion

How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion

Rabbi A. James Rudin
In How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion (Simon & Schuster), Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno asserts that even skeptics, not just believers, can draw strength and comfort from religion in their personal lives. "Science and religion," he writes, "have often been at odds. But if...
squrill hill book cover

Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood

Rabbi A. James Rudin
Shabbat morning, October 27, 2018 marked the day of deadliest antisemitic attack in American history at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mark Oppenheimer’s Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood (Knopf), focuses not on the killer, but on the reactions of Pittsburghers in general, and especially the responses of Squirrel Hill residents.