Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, U.S. Director for Interreligious Affairs

A senior community leader and authority on intergroup relations and politics, international affairs (particularly Israel, Europe, and South America), domestic security, and police reform, Rabbi Greenebaum held the position of Western Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1990 until 2006. He outreaches with a variety of interreligious leaders and has led several delegations of American Protestant and Catholic leaders to Israel as part of AJC’s institute that promotes a balanced understanding of Israeli history, culture and politics. His efforts on behalf of the diplomatic community earned him the prestigious French National Order of Merit in April 2006 by H.E. Jean-David Levitte, Ambassador of France to the United States.  Rabbi Greenebaum also advises elected leaders from both sides of the aisle, including the 2004 Platform Committee of the Democratic National Committee.

Rabbi Greenebaum’s experience derives partly from his service to the community on a variety of governmental boards, including the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California, and as an advisor to the California Legislature’s Joint Committee on Preparing California for the 21st Century. In addition, he has served the city as a member of the Board of Directors of Rebuild Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN), the Multi-Cultural Collaborative, and Warren Christopher’s Citizens for Law Enforcement and Reform (CLEAR). An expert in leadership recruitment and skills development, Rabbi Greenebaum has led training seminars for many religious and secular organizations and has taught at several universities.

Ordained in 1978 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Rabbi Greenebaum holds Master’s degrees in Hebrew Letters and in Jewish Communal Service from HUC-JIR and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Irvine.  He and his wife Tamara were married in 1972 and live in Los Angeles.