Jewish Publication Society names new CEO

The Jewish Publication Society has named rabbi and author Barry L. Schwartz as its new CEO.


JPS - in Philadelphia -has been publishing biblical, scholarly and popular Jewish works in English for more than 122 years.

The company is also known for its Jewish history volumes covering many countries and topics.

From the press release:

Schwartz comes to JPS from Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he served as senior rabbi for the past 11 years. Rabbi Schwartz has served on the board of several nonprofit social justice organizations, and is especially active in Jewish environmental work.

“Barry has a passion for reaching out broadly to the Jewish community, whether through scholarly study, storytelling, or performing works of tikkun olam,” said David Lerman, president of the JPS Board of Trustees. “We look forward to his leadership in energizing our existing constituents as well as building bridges for JPS with new audiences.”

"Leading JPS into the digital age is the challenge of a lifetime,” Schwartz said. “The Jewish people have survived and thrived by studying and being inspired by Torah while the world around them changes, and our age is no different. I believe JPS will remain the source of choice for the next generation of life-long Jewish learners, publishing books of enduring quality.”

A dynamic speaker and prolific writer, Schwartz is the author of four books, a prize-winning short story, and scholarly articles that have appeared in the Journal of Reform Judaism, American Jewish History, and the Hebrew Union College Annual. His textbook, Jewish Heroes, Jewish Values, is used in more than 300 religious schools nationwide and Honi The Circlemaker: Eco-Fables From Ancient Israel is a series of folktales for children. His latest book, Judaism’s Great Debates, will be published next year.

Schwartz received his BA, magna cum laude, from Duke University, and an MA and rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College, New York, which recently awarded him an honorary doctorate for his 25 years of service to the rabbinate.

Maybe we can now convince JPS to publish Pere Bonnin's Sangre Judia in English?

JPS is the oldest nonprofit, multi-denominational publisher of Jewish works written in English.