The OU will honor Rabbi Schneier as well as 11 other outstanding rabbis and their congregations who have made unique contributions to Orthodox Jewish life in America. Rabbi Yosef Grunblatt, spiritual leader of the Queens Jewish Center in Forest Hills, NY – who will also be honored at the dinner – will be the keynote speaker.

"Rabbi Schneier is an impressive community and spiritual leader who has made an enormous contribution to Jewish life, " said Mandell I. Ganchrow, M.D., President of the OU.

Born in Vienna, Rabbi Schneier is internationally known for his leadership on behalf of human rights and religious freedom. A Holocaust survivor, his outreach extends far beyond the Park East Synagogue which he has served since 1962.

Rabbi Schneier was one of the pioneers in the struggle on behalf of Soviet Jewry and the revival of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. He has successfully negotiated the return of the Moscow Synagogue to the Jewish community and was instrumental in the restoration of the Ohel Rachel Synagogue in Shanghai. As part of President Clinton’s delegation to China, Rabbi Schneier was privileged to present the Ohel Rachel Synagogue with the first Torah scroll in more than 50 years, donated by the Park East Synagogue.

The "rabbi-diplomat" has met with top political and religious leaders all over the world to promote peace and tolerance. He has had ongoing contacts with prime ministers of Israel on vital issues affecting the State of Israel. Rabbi Schneier was among the select delegation of U.S. religious leaders to meet with China’s president and top governmental officials to open a dialogue on religious freedom. The Rabbi was also called in to assist with conflict resolution in the Balkans, provide his expertise in dealing with the situation in Kosovo and galvanize the American religious community to join in the humanitarian mission of supporting victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey.

Rabbi Schneier is founder of the renowned Appeal of Conscience Foundation, a coalition of business and religious leaders united on behalf of religious freedom and human rights throughout the world. Through the foundation, Rabbi Schneier strives to promote mutual understanding, tolerance and pluralism in emerging democracies and provide a voice of conscience to protect minorities at a time of increasing ethnic conflicts.

"We cannot overemphasize the importance of rabbis, synagogues and communal institutions working in tandem to insure a thriving Orthodoxy," said Rabbi Raphael B. Butler, Executive Vice President of the OU. "The Orthodox Union acknowledges the synagogue as the focus of Jewish communal life. Each community is built around a vibrant synagogue led by a dynamic rabbi. It is that leadership that we are proud to honor."

The honorees include: Rabbi Yosef Adler (Congregation Rinat Yisroel, Teaneck) Rabbi Moshe Bomzer (Congregation Beth Abraham Jacob, Albany); Rabbi Reuven Bulka (Congregation Machzikei Hadas, Ottawa); Rabbi Mark Dratch (Agudath Sholom, Stamford); Rabbi Joseph Grunblatt (Queens Jewish Center, Forest Hills); Rabbi Dr. Basil F. Herring (Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach); Rabbi Shaya Kilimnick (Beth Sholom, Rochester); Rabbi Zvulun (Sidney) Lieberman (Beth Torah Congregation, Brooklyn); Rabbi Yisroel Miller (Poale Zedeck Congregation, Pittsburgh); Rabbi Adam Mintz (Lincoln Square Synagogue, New York); and Rabbi Harvey Well (Or Torah Congregation, Skokie).

For dinner reservations, please contact Steven Karp at (212) 613-8134.