Albert vorspan biography

American author (1924–2019)

Albert Vorspan (February 12, 1924 – February 16, 2019) was an American author and long-time leader of Reform Judaism. He was director emeritus of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism.^[1][2] and served as senior vice president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the predecessor organization of the Union of Reform Judaism, at the time of his retirement in 1993.^[3]

Vorspan was born in St.

Paul, Minnesota. He fought in the US Navy during World War II.^[4]

In 1964, Vorspan was arrested and jailed with a group of Reform rabbis who at the request of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined in the civil rights protests in St. Augustine, Florida.^[4]

In 1966, his criticism of the war in Vietnam was condemned by Sen.

Thomas J. Dodd, a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security, as reflecting "a vociferous minority" rather than mainstream Jewish opinion.^[5