Rabbi Avi Weiss, 1944-

Weiss is an author and activist who led the movement to free Soviet Jewry; ultimately, more than 1 million immigrants moved as the Soviet Union crumbled. He served as spy Jonathan Pollard’s personal rabbi and advocated his early release from prison. He has organized pro-Israel rallies and called out anti-Israel bias in the United States. His Open Orthodoxy movement has led to clashes with the Israeli Rabbinate over conversions.

Photo: Drew Kaplan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons