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Arthur Schneier
Rabbi Arthur Schneier is the Spiritual Leader and Senior Rabbi of Park East Synagogue. He is internationally known for his leadership on behalf of religious freedom, human rights and tolerance, with specific interest in China, Russia, Central Europe and the Balkans. He is the Founder and President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (1965).
Rabbi Schneier was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 20, 1930. He lived under Nazi occupation in Budapest during World War II and arrived in the United States in 1947. He is married to Elisabeth Nordmann Schneier.
A Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Schneier is known for his pioneering role in the struggle on behalf of Soviet Jewry and the rebuilding of Jewish religious life in Russia, the Ukraine and Eastern Europe. He successfully negotiated the return of the Moscow Synagogue to the Jewish community and was instrumental in the restoration of the Ohel Rachel Synagogue in Shanghai. Rabbi Schneier was privileged to present the expatriate Jewish community of Shanghai with the first Torah scroll in more than 50 years, donated by Park East Synagogue.
Rabbi Schneier was one of three American religious leaders appointed by President William J. Clinton to start the first dialogue on religious freedom with President Jiang Zemin and other top Chinese leaders (1998.) Rabbi Schneier initiated the Resolution for the Protection of Religious Sites, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly (2001) and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Stockholm International Forum for the Prevention of Genocide, Sweden (President George W. Bush, 2004). He was appointed a member of the High-Level Group, United Nations, Alliance of Civilizations, by the Secretary General Kofi Annan and Ambassador of the AoC by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The Rabbi is a member of Council on Foreign Relations; Asia Society; United Nations Development Corporation; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Committee on Conscience; Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations; Joint Distribution Committee; HIAS; Honorary Chairman, World Jewish Congress American Section; Honorary President Religious Zionists of America.
Rabbi Schneier was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President William J. Clinton, citing him for "his service as an international envoy for four administrations" and as a Holocaust survivor, "devoting a lifetime to overcoming forces of hatred and intolerance." He was the recipient of U.S. Department of State Special Recognition Award for "...his ecumenical work in favor of mutual understanding, tolerance and peace...."
The Rabbi has received eleven honorary doctorates from U.S. and European universities. His alma mater, Yeshiva University, honored him by establishing the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs in 2004. He is Officer of the Legion of Honor, recipient of The Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star for Service to the Republic of Austria; Order of the Republic of Hungary; Dr. Karl Renner Prize of the City of Vienna; Order of St. Daniel of Moscow (Moscow Patriarchate, Russian Orthodox Church); Religious Liberty Award.
ARTICLES BY: Arthur Schneier
November 5, 2013 5:08 pm
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A Message to Hungary: Resist the Dissemination of Hatred
The below speech was delivered on behalf of Rabbi Arthur Schneier at the Conference on Jewish Life and Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Europe in Budapest, Hungary...
August 1, 2012 9:26 pm
Salzburg Music Festival Address by Rabbi Arthur Schneier
The following is a transcript of an address given by Rabbi Arthur Schneier at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, 2012. Your Eminence, Cardinal Schönborn,...
