Rabbi, Beth Joseph Seminary, 1953. Ph. D., Harvard University, 1960. Professor, Department of Jewish Studies, City College, City University of New York, 1972-1979. President, CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, 1979-1997. President, Jewish Life Network, 1995-present. Editorial board, journal of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He also served as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 2000-2002. He has written extensively on the theory and practice of pluralism and on the theology of Jewish-Christian relations.

Publications include: Numerous books and articles on Jewish thought, religion and history. Co-ed., Confronting the Holocaust: The Impact of Elie Wiesel (1978), Theodor Roosevelt and Labor: 1900-1918 (1988), The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (1988), Living in the Image of God (1998), For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter between Judaism and Christianity (2004).