Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced last week that Rabbi Meir Soloveichik has been appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bipartisan federal government entity that monitors, analyzes, and reports to the government on religious freedom abroad.
“We are thrilled to welcome Meir Soloveichik’s appointment to the Commission,” USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck said in a statement. “The experience he brings to USCIRF will be instrumental in continuing the promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad.”
Rabbi Meir Soloveichik serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. He is also director of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University.
Soloveichik has a strong background in academia and has lectured internationally to diverse audiences on topics relating to faith in America, the Hebraic roots of the American founding, Jewish theology, Jewish-Christian relations, and more.
The rabbi attended Yeshiva University where he received his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He received his PhD in religion from Princeton University and is a Senior Scholar at Tikvah, a think tank and educational institution in New York City.
In 2018, Soloveichik was awarded the Canterbury Medal for his work on behalf of religious liberty by the Becket Fund.
“Meir Soloveichik brings a wealth of knowledge on religious freedom issues that will benefit the Commission greatly,” USCIRF Vice Chair Eric Ueland added. “We look forward to working with him to further advance USCIRF’s mandate.”
USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.
