Henry Siegman is one of the most senior and respected religious leaders and policy experts within the American Jewish community. Born into a Jewish family in Germany, he immigrated to the United States as a child to escape Nazi persecution and eventually became an ordained rabbi. This singular background inextricably linked his Jewish identity to the pursuit of justice, granting him a unique moral authority to scrutinize the political actions of modern states through the lens of core Jewish ethics.
In terms of professional achievements, Siegman served for many years as the Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress (1978–1994) and was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) for over a decade. He is the President Emeritus of the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP) and is widely recognized as one of the most authoritative analysts of the Middle East peace process. His influence spans the religious, academic, and foreign policy spheres, and his incisive political critiques, frequently published in the New York Review of Books, have made him a key intellectual bridge between theological morality and realpolitik.
Driven by a steadfast commitment to Jewish concepts of justice, Siegman evolved from an establishment leader into one of the most trenchant critics of Israel’s occupation. He has candidly argued that Israel’s control over the occupied territories has devolved into a de facto state of apartheid, warning that such policies threaten the very moral survival of the Jewish people. He is a firm supporter of Palestinian self-determination, maintaining that peace without justice is merely a cloak for oppression. He also participated in the 2025 petition, “Global Jewish Call on the UN and World Leaders to Sanction Israel.”