Sheldon Zimmerman

Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman (born 1942) is a former rabbinic leader in Reform Judaism. He is a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In 2000, Zimmerman was suspended from the CCAR after an inquiry regarding inappropriate sexual conduct revealed a pattern of predatory behavior, including fondling and kissing a teenager.[1][2] He subsequently resigned as the 7th president of HUC-JIR which he had led from 1996–2000.

Background and career

Rabbi Zimmerman was born in Toronto, Ontario and attended the University of Toronto. He was ordained from HUC's New York Campus in 1970 and is the 11th generation of rabbis in his family.[3] His son, Rabbi Brian Zimmerman, currently the regional director for the Union for Reform Judaism's Southwest region, is the 12th.[4] His other son Coach David Zimmerman is currently the Athletic Director and Varsity Boys Basketball coach at Yavneh Academy of Dallas.

Zimmerman served as the senior rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City from 1972–1985 and Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas.[1] He then served as the 7th president of HUC-JIR from 1996-2000 until his resignation after the allegations that were made against him.

After leaving HUC, Zimmerman worked as executive vice president of the popular Birthright Israel program. In 2003, United Jewish Communities (UJC) hired Zimmerman as vice president of Jewish Renaissance and Renewal.[5]

In 2012, Sheldon's book The New Family Prayerbook was published.[6]

He served as the rabbi of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons for nearly 10 years, until his retirement in the summer of 2017.[7]

Zimmernman then served as scholar-in-residence at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas from 2017 until his firing in 2021.[8][9]

Misconduct

Zimmerman was suspended by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) in 2000 after what was described as inappropriate “personal relationships” that violated ethical codes. Shortly after this, he resigned as president of the HUC-JIR, the Reform movement's seminary.[10][11]

The CCAR later reinstated Zimmerman's credentials in 2005.[12]

In 2020, a former congregant of Zimmerman (at Central Synagogue, where Zimmerman had served as senior rabbi from 1972-1985) reported that she had also been subjected to predatory sexual behavior during his time in the congregation. This led to a new investigation being conducted, which led to additional reports of sexually predatory behavior by Zimmerman.[13][14][15]

In the aftermath of the announcement from Central Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El of Dallas fired Zimmerman from his position with the congregation in May 2021.[16] The CCAR and HUC both stated in early 2021 that they are continuing to investigate the allegations.[17]

On November 3, 2021, Hebrew Union College published a report of an investigation made regarding past reports of sexual misconduct at HUC, which included three accounts of such conduct by Zimmerman.[18][19][20]

References
  1. Wiener, Julie (December 8, 2000). "Facing sex accusations, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman quits". Northern California Jewish Bulletin.
  2. Asaf Shalev (2021-08-11). "The Reform movement is investigating itself over history of rabbinic sexual misconduct". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  3. HUC Press Release Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Kay, Sheryl "Much-loved rabbi will relocate for new post" Tampa Bay Times Jan. 8, 2006. Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  5. UJC press release
  6. "Review of The New Family Prayer Book by Sheldon Zimmerman, Illustrations by Sharon L. Wechter" Rosselbooks.com
  7. Winkler, Jon "Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman says goodbye to Jewish Center of the Hamptons" (Mar. 30, 2017) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  8. Erickson, Bethany "Temple Emanu-El fires rabbi after 'credible' sexual misconduct allegations" PeopleNewspapers.com (May 10, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  9. "Letter to Temple Congregation on April 28, 2021" TEDDallas.org (April 28, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  10. "A top rabbi was suspended by the Reform Movement in 2000, his former synagogue now knows why" (April 28, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  11. "Report of investigations into allegations of misconduct at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion" Hebrew Union College (Nov. 3, 2021), p. 28 Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  12. Rosenblatt, Gary "A rabbi's accuser wanted me to tell her story. Here's why it took 20 years" New York Jewish Week (May 26, 2021) (Accessed Dec. 5, 2021).
  13. "An important message from Central Synaoguge" (April 27, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  14. "A top rabbi was suspended by the Reform Movement in 2000, his former synagogue now knows why" (April 28, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  15. Dreyfus, Hannah "Reform rabbinic giant disciplined or inappropriate relationships now accused of 'sexually predatory behavior'" The Forward (April 27, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  16. Torralva, Krista M. "Dallas temple fires rabbi after 'credible' sexual misconduct allegations emerge" The Dallas Morning News (May 6, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  17. Boigon, Molly "'This was no coverup': Inside the investigation of Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman" The Forward (May 17, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  18. "Report of investigations into allegations of misconduct at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion" Hebrew Union College (Nov. 3, 2021), p. 28 Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  19. Das, Bidisha "Report details decades of abuse at Reform rabbinical college" The College Post (Nov. 22, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.
  20. Lewis, Kaitlin "Decades of sexual harassment, misconduct found at Hebrew Union College" Cincinnati.com (Nov. 20, 2021) Accessed Dec. 5, 2021
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