Shraga Simmons (born 1 July 1961) is an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, journalist, filmmaker, brand builder and leader in Torah-themed marketing. He is the co-founder of
Aish.com, the educational website and co-founder of
HonestReporting
HonestReporting (also Honest Reporting or honestreporting.com) is a non-governmental organization that "monitors the media for bias against Israel" and has been described by several news outlets as a "pro-Israel media watchdog group". The organiza ...
, the pro-Israel media watch group. He is also founder and director of the online Torah academy JewishPathways.com.
Biography
Simmons was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. After graduating from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
with a degree in journalism, he worked as a reporter for newspapers and magazines. In 1994, he received
rabbinic ordination
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
from the
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
of Jerusalem. He served three years as Director of Outreach for
Aish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah ( he, אש התורה, lit. "Fire of the Torah") is an Orthodox Jewish educational organization and yeshiva.
History
Aish HaTorah was established in Jerusalem in 1974 by Rabbi Noah Weinberg, after he left the Ohr Somayach yeshiva ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Jewish education
He was a close student of
Rabbi Noah Weinberg
Yisrael Noah Weinberg ( he, ישראל נח וינברג; February 16, 1930 – February 5, 2009) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and the founder of Aish HaTorah.
Early life
Noah Weinberg was born on the Lower East Side of New York in 1930. His ...
, served as his ghostwriter for 20 years, and co-authored the best-selling ''48 Ways to Wisdom''. He is often quoted as a rabbinical authority in print and online media. He is author of: LifeWisdom Series; the Discovery Seminar sourcebook; "
Ask the Rabbi" series featured on various websites; courses on Brachot, Middot, Jewish History; "Shraga's Weekly" on Chumash; reporting for Ami magazine and Mishpacha magazine; and hundreds of essays on spirituality, translated into 10 languages.
Pro-Israel activism
Simmons is an activist in matters regarding media bias relating to the
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by the ...
. In 2000, he co-founded HonestReporting.com, the pro-Israel media watch group. In 2012, he authored ''David & Goliath,'' a study of Western
media bias
Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of J ...
in
coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict. As a historical study of the years 2000–2011, the book is sourced with over 2,000 footnotes and includes statistical studies that claim to document a pervasive pro-Palestinian slant in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
,''
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and much of the British media.
[http://davidandgoliathbook.com]
In 2006 he produced a short film "Photo Fraud in Lebanon" which became the first Jewish-themed video to register 5 million views. In 2009 he produced a video which exposed glaring inconsistencies in
media coverage
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
of the
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...
.
In 2012 he wrote, directed and produced a short Internet film, ''The Red Line'', explaining the urgency of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
In 2017 he wrote, directed and produced ''Jerusalem: Unite or Divide?'', a film and marketing campaign to promote the 50th anniversary of reunified Jerusalem.
Books
*
Together with Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith of Aish.com, Simmons has co-edited four collections of articles which originally appeared on that website:
*
*
*
*
*
Articles
*"Antisemitism and the Holocaust" in
References
External links
David & Goliath: The Explosive Inside Story of Media Bias in the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictRed Line on Iran filmShraga Simmons websiteShraga's Weekly commentary on the parshaHow Terrorists Manipulate the Media (video analysis by Shraga Simmons)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Shraga
1961 births
Living people
Religious leaders from Buffalo, New York
Rabbis of Aish HaTorah
American Orthodox rabbis
21st-century American Jews