COMMUNITY/ACTIVISM

Eric Goldstein

CEO

The Orthodox former corporate lawyer who became an unexpected choice to lead America's largest Jewish federation announced in July 2025 he will step down June 30, 2026, after 12 transformative years. Under Goldstein's leadership, UJA distributed $336 million in grants for 2025 alone, including $134 million for Israel following October 7. In May 2025, he championed creation of the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism, the first such municipal office in the nation. "In 2014, UJA did not have a single line item in its budget for confronting domestic antisemitism," he noted. "Today, UJA is leading the charge." He steered the organization through COVID-19, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and surging domestic antisemitism following Charlottesville and Pittsburgh's Tree of Life massacre. President Linda Mirels and board chair Marc Rowan called him a "once-in-a-generation leader" whose "deep understanding of Jewish tradition—his Yiddishkeit—and sensitivity to the diversity of Jewish life enabled him to lead with authenticity and clarity."