Rabbi Marc Schneier
President
For the past 30 years, Rabbi Marc Schneier has been a leader in helping to improve the relationship of ethnic groups and faith communities and is responsible for founding one of the most dynamic synagogues in the United States.
In 1989, Rabbi Schneier founded the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding originally to rebuild the historic Black-Jewish alliance in the United States and for the past 15 years, to build Muslim-Jewish relations globally.
Rabbi Schneier has always been a builder and a pioneer. In 1990, he founded The Hampton Synagogue and created a Jewish community in the Hamptons. Prior to starting the synagogue, the Hamptons was devoid of opportunities for Jewish life. Nearly 30 years since founding the synagogue, it boasts one of the largest philanthropic memberships in the country, hosts international and national politicians and celebrities and has become one of the foremost synagogues in the United States.
As a visionary, Rabbi Schneier trailblazed the field of Muslim-Jewish relations globally. Through his work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Palestine, Singapore, throughout Europe, South America and the Southern Hemisphere, Rabbi Schneier has pioneered dynamic programming and discussion among Jews and Muslims to remind them that they have more that unites them than what divides them.
He is considered to be one of the most influential Jewish figures in the Gulf and the Greater Muslim world.
In 2019, he was part of the Bahraini delegation and attended the Peace to Prosperity Summit held in Manama and was subsequently invited to witness the historic Abraham Accords ceremony at the White House in 2020.
In March 2022, Rabbi Schneier played a central role in facilitating the historic meeting between Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that took place in Ankara, ushering in a new era of Turkish-Israel rapprochement and reconciliation. This was the first visit by an Israeli head of state to Turkey since 2007.
He was appointed to the Steering Committee of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s World Conference on Dialogue convened by King Abdullah. Schneier has also been appointed to the Executive Steering Committee of the Multi-Religious Campaign Against Anti-Muslim Bigotry in the United States. He has been received by countless heads of state and addressed a handful parliaments. He is the first rabbi to be hosted by the King of Bahrain at the royal palace in Manama and by the Emir of Qatar at the royal palace in Doha among others. In 2023, he met with His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. In the previous year, he participated with His Holiness Pope Francis in two high-level interfaith conferences in Kazakhstan and Bahrain. The President of Indonesia also hosted Rabbi Schneier in 2014 as did the President of Albania in 2015.
He served as a member of the advisory forum of the KAICIID (King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue). He was appointed Special Advisor by the King of Bahrain to the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence based in Manama. He is also a trustee of the Baku Center for Interfaith Cooperation (BCIC).
Rabbi Schneier was the first rabbi to lead a Jewish congregational mission to a Gulf country when he brought members of the Hampton Synagogue to Bahrain in 2018. In 2019, Rabbi Schneier led the first-ever Evangelical Christian mission to Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority country. The National (UAE’s leading newspaper) named him as one of the five key religious figures in Abu Dhabi for Pope Francis’ historical visit.
In the last decade, he has keynoted the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) and global interreligious conferences in Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Oman, Spain, Ukraine and United Kingdom. Rabbi Schneier created and spearheaded the annual Weekend of Twinning’s of Mosques and Synagogues across the globe.
He initiated the annual meetings of the Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders (GEMJL) in Paris and Brussels – the first trans-European Muslim-Jewish body that allowed Muslim and Jewish leaders across Europe to respond rapidly in times of crisis and work together effectively to defend the rights of both communities. In that context, GEMJL led delegations of Muslim and Jewish leaders to Strasbourg and Copenhagen to meet high European and Danish officials to advocate for the right for Jews and Muslims to circumcise their sons and to maintain age-old ritual slaughter practices which are under attack in many European countries. In September 2014, GEMJL held a press conference in Brussels at which Afzal Khan, European MK and former Lord Mayor of Manchester appealed to Jews not to leave Europe, and various Jewish and Muslim leaders vowed to oppose any effort by members of newly ascendant right-wing parties to limit the religious and human rights of either Jews or Muslims. GEMJL is now under the umbrella of KAICIID as the Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council.
In addition, Rabbi Schneier led multiple unity missions to the United States by Muslim and Jewish leaders from Europe, South America and the Southern Hemisphere. He founded and led the first North American Summit of Rabbis and Imams held in New York in 2007.
Rabbi Schneier has also published two books. Sons of Abraham: A Candid Conversation about the Issues That Divide and Unite Jews and Muslims, co-written with Imam Shamsi Ali, which illuminates how each of its co-authors overcame the temptations of fundamentalism to embrace a more pluralistic version of faith. The book includes a joint commitment to build a global movement of Muslims and Jews committed to communication, reconciliation and cooperation. The foreword was written by former President Bill Clinton and was sponsored by the King of Morocco, His Majesty Mohammed VI. In addition to Arabic, English, French and Indonesian, Sons of Abraham is currently being translated for publication in multiple languages, including Azeri, Hebrew, Russian, and Turkish. He is also the author of Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Jewish Community, which documents Dr. King’s relationship with the Jewish community. Both books are used as inspirational and educational materials for students from different ethnic and religious groups to help them develop lasting relationships with their peers of other denominations.
Under his leadership, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding commissioned landmark surveys on interracial relations in the United States, including Black-Jewish relations, Muslim-Jewish relations and Evangelical Christian-Muslim relations.
Rabbi Schneier is the recipient of many awards, including: The Kelly Miller Smith Ecumenical Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; The NAACP Martin Luther King, Jr. “Measure of A Man Award”; The Ellis Island Medal of Honor; The Civil Rights Leadership Award in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; The New York State Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal; the American Civil Rights Education Services Civil Rights Award; the Interfaith Award from the Islamic Center of Long Island and the Jewish Agency Award for his leadership in Muslim-Jewish relations and Gulf-Israel relations; the “Children of Abraham” award along with Muslim World League’s Secretary-General Dr. Muhammad Al-Issa at the 40th annual Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples. In 2009, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In 2014, he was honored by the United States Congress for his ongoing efforts in strengthening the Black-Jewish alliance in America. Rabbi Schneier has served as President of the New York Board of Rabbis and Chairman of the World Jewish Congress, USA.
He has been named one of the 50 Most Prominent Jews in the United States by The Forward; one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek Magazine; and one of the most influential faith leaders in New York by City & State Faith Power 100. On JBS – Jewish Broadcasting Service, Rabbi Marc Schneier’s weekly Shabbat services from the Hampton Synagogue are televised nationwide on NBC Comcast to 76 million homes across America and millions online globally.
For his extraordinary efforts to strengthen Muslim-Jewish relations, Rabbi Schneier has recently been appointed, a first for a rabbi, as bi-weekly columnist for Arab News, the leading English-language newspaper in the Gulf published in Saudi Arabia.
Rabbi Schneier produced an award-winning film, Jinn, written by African-American Muslim director, Nijla Mu’mim. He also played a rabbi in Substance of Fire, a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Tony Goldwyn and Timothy Hutton.
Rabbi Schneier is a native New Yorker and was ordained by Yeshiva University. He currently divides his time between New York City and Westhampton Beach.
