Steve Gutow
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Steve Gutow is a rabbi
, lawyer
, community activist, and Jewish leader. He currently serves as the President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs
(JCPA).
relations, judicial independence and the security of Israel
. He has specifically led national initiatives to encourage the United States government to take firm stands against Iran
acquiring nuclear weapons, end the genocide
in Darfur
, maintain and enhance anti-poverty programs, and create a sustainable environment
.
in Wyncote, PA in 2003 and received the degree of Master of Hebrew Letters.
(NJDC). Founded in 1990, NJDC is the national voice of Jewish Democrats. Under his leadership, the organization formed chapters in more than two dozen communities around America. He also served as the chair and chief professional officer of the Texas Democratic party coordinated campaign in 1995-1996 as well as the leader of the 21st Century Democrats during that same period.
After his graduation from rabbinical school, Gutow served as the pulpit rabbi at the Reconstructionist Minyan of St. Louis, MO. He served in this position until 2005. During that time he was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Louis University Law School.
In August 2005, Gutow was named Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations. He became the organization's President and CEO in 2009.
Under Gutow's leadership, the JCPA has been a stalwart advocate of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship with a focus on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. JCPA has also become a central agency in combating hunger in America. Rabbi Gutow and JCPA launched the There Shall Be No Needy Among You initiative in 2007 to urge local, state and national leaders to advance legislation and programs to help provide food, shelter, additional work and educational opportunities for the nation's most vulnerable. Under Rabbi Gutow's leadership, the JCPA poverty campaign has implemented several efforts that have led to an increased national commitment to reduce poverty such as the "food stamp challenge," Fighting Poverty with Faith, and the "Childhood Nutrition Seders."
In 2009, Gutow announced the expansion of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
(COEJL) — a project of JCPA — and the launch of the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign under COEJL's aegis. This campaign seeks to increase the involvement of the American Jewish community in the nation’s climate change and energy debates.
Gutow is a former chair of the Dallas Jewish Community Relations Council and was the founding regional director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
's Southwest Region.
In 2010, Gutow joined the Board of the Washington, D.C. based Faith in Public Life, an organization founded following the 2004 presidential election to help shape public debates and advance faith as a positive and unifying force for justice, compassion and the common good.
He also served as chair from 2008 to 2009 and is now an executive committee member of the Save Darfur Coalition
, a U.S.-based advocacy group calling for international intervention in Sudan
, to try and stop the genocidal conflict there.
Gutow has served on the state board of the Texas Civil Liberties Union, the national board of the American Jewish Congress, as well as maintaining leadership roles in many other local and state organizations in Texas.
In 2001, Gutow was awarded both the Reconstructionist Student Association Prize for Social Action within the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the Rabbi Devora Bartnoff Memorial Prize for Spiritually Motivated Social Action.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, community activist, and Jewish leader. He currently serves as the President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is an American Jewish non-profit organization that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table organization of 14 other national Jewish organizations as well as 127 local Jewish federations and community relations councils...
(JCPA).
Background
Rabbi Gutow is a community organizer and Jewish community leader who has mobilized the Jewish community and built grassroots coalitions across faith groups to advocate on a broad range of issues including hunger, interfaithInterfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
relations, judicial independence and the security of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He has specifically led national initiatives to encourage the United States government to take firm stands against Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
acquiring nuclear weapons, end the genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, maintain and enhance anti-poverty programs, and create a sustainable environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
.
Education
A Dallas, Texas native, Gutow attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned an undergraduate degree in history in 1970, and a juris doctorate in 1977. He is a member of the Texas Bar Association and practiced with the firm of Gutow, Albach, and Blume in Dallas from 1980-1990. He graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical CollegeReconstructionist Rabbinical College
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of central Philadelphia. RRC is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and...
in Wyncote, PA in 2003 and received the degree of Master of Hebrew Letters.
Career
Gutow is the founding executive director of the National Jewish Democratic CouncilNational Jewish Democratic Council
The National Jewish Democratic Council works as lobbying organization for the country of Israel in the United States of America and the Democratic Party and its mission is to promote pro-Israeli policies within the Party, and to promote the Democratic Party within the jewish community.The NJDC is...
(NJDC). Founded in 1990, NJDC is the national voice of Jewish Democrats. Under his leadership, the organization formed chapters in more than two dozen communities around America. He also served as the chair and chief professional officer of the Texas Democratic party coordinated campaign in 1995-1996 as well as the leader of the 21st Century Democrats during that same period.
After his graduation from rabbinical school, Gutow served as the pulpit rabbi at the Reconstructionist Minyan of St. Louis, MO. He served in this position until 2005. During that time he was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Louis University Law School.
In August 2005, Gutow was named Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations. He became the organization's President and CEO in 2009.
Under Gutow's leadership, the JCPA has been a stalwart advocate of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship with a focus on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. JCPA has also become a central agency in combating hunger in America. Rabbi Gutow and JCPA launched the There Shall Be No Needy Among You initiative in 2007 to urge local, state and national leaders to advance legislation and programs to help provide food, shelter, additional work and educational opportunities for the nation's most vulnerable. Under Rabbi Gutow's leadership, the JCPA poverty campaign has implemented several efforts that have led to an increased national commitment to reduce poverty such as the "food stamp challenge," Fighting Poverty with Faith, and the "Childhood Nutrition Seders."
In 2009, Gutow announced the expansion of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is a leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States. It was founded in 1993 and is based in New York City.-External links:*...
(COEJL) — a project of JCPA — and the launch of the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign under COEJL's aegis. This campaign seeks to increase the involvement of the American Jewish community in the nation’s climate change and energy debates.
Gutow is a former chair of the Dallas Jewish Community Relations Council and was the founding regional director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
's Southwest Region.
In 2010, Gutow joined the Board of the Washington, D.C. based Faith in Public Life, an organization founded following the 2004 presidential election to help shape public debates and advance faith as a positive and unifying force for justice, compassion and the common good.
He also served as chair from 2008 to 2009 and is now an executive committee member of the Save Darfur Coalition
Save Darfur Coalition
The Save Darfur Coalition is an advocacy group calling for international intervention in the Darfur genocide in the Eastern African state of Sudan...
, a U.S.-based advocacy group calling for international intervention in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, to try and stop the genocidal conflict there.
Gutow has served on the state board of the Texas Civil Liberties Union, the national board of the American Jewish Congress, as well as maintaining leadership roles in many other local and state organizations in Texas.
Recognition
Gutow has been twice recognized as one of the nation’s most influential rabbis by Newsweek magazine, both in 2009 and 2010. He has also been recognized as one of the nation’s top Jewish leaders by the Forward.In 2001, Gutow was awarded both the Reconstructionist Student Association Prize for Social Action within the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the Rabbi Devora Bartnoff Memorial Prize for Spiritually Motivated Social Action.