Rabbi Douglas E. Krantz

Rabbi Douglas E. Krantz has dedicated his career as a congregational rabbi to the development of a healthy and integrated Jewish identity discovered and nurtured within the context of the congregational community. Rabbi Krantz loves to teach; he works with the Bar and Bat Mitzvah students, teaches the ninth grade and confirmation classes, teaches at Friday night Shabbat Services, and adult education courses. The rabbi looks for formal and informal teaching opportunities as the most effective vehicle for the transmission and development of Jewish identity.

Rabbi Krantz rarely closes the doors to his office; he encourages people to come in and talk; he reaches out within the congregation. The rabbi has worked closely with the congregational committees to break down the artificial barriers which have for too long separated the religious school experience from the sanctuary and Shabbat services, and segregated services by age groupings, some for children, others for adults. Rabbi Krantz believes in the family approach to the development of Jewish identity; all of our services are family-oriented and involved in a cross-generational exploration of our Jewish identity.

The rabbi has made efforts to reach out to the larger community, to African Americans and to Arab Americans, as an integral part of teaching Jewish values and how they are lived out in the context of our larger community. Rabbi Krantz has identified himself with the causes of social justice and with the institutions which work for the promotion of civil rights and peace in both the United States and in Israel.

Rabbi Douglas E. Krantz was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 10, 1948. He was raised in Los Angeles where he attended the public schools and graduated from high school in 1966.

Rabbi Krantz went on to the University of California at Berkeley. While at Berkeley, he participated in anti-war marches and was witness to the senseless violence so much a part of that era. In 1970 he received his A.B. Degree in History.

In 1970 Rabbi Krantz entered rabbinic school and moved to Jerusalem, Israel, where he spent his first year of rabbinic study at the Hebrew Union College Biblical and Archaeological School.

In 1971 Rabbi Krantz returned to Los Angeles and continued his studies for the rabbinate at the Hebrew Union College campus. While in Los Angeles, Rabbi Krantz was the rabbinic intern at Leo Baeck Temple. In 1973 he received a Master of Arts Degree in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College. In 1974 Rabbi Krantz moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for his final year of study for the rabbinate.

While in Cincinnati, Rabbi Krantz served as student rabbi, on a bi-weekly basis, for Temple Beth El in Anniston, Alabama. In June 1975 he was ordained a rabbi in Cincinnati.

Upon ordination, Rabbi Krantz moved to New York City and served as the Assistant Rabbi of Temple Israel of the City of New York until 1978. From 1975-1979 Rabbi Krantz served on the Executive Board of Breira -- A Project of Concern in Israel-Diaspora Relations, a group advocating Palestinian rights. While in New York City, Rabbi Krantz was active as a member of the Professional Education Committee on the Commission of Jewish Education of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and as a member of the Levites (a Manhattan clergy fellowship).

In 1978, Rabbi Krantz enrolled in a doctoral program at New York University and spent a year studying Jewish literature while serving as rabbi, on a part-time basis, of Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia, New Jersey.

In 1979 Rabbi Krantz moved to Armonk, New York to serve as rabbi of The Association of Armonk Jewish Families, which shortly thereafter changed its name to Congregation B'nai Yisrael.

In 1981 Rabbi Krantz was appointed by the President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis to the Joint Commission on Social Action of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Rabbi Krantz serves on the Executive Board of the Jewish Peace Fellowship.

Rabbi Krantz is active in social causes and was arrested while protesting both on behalf of Blacks in South Africa and Jews in the Soviet Union. In 1988 he traveled to the Soviet Union to meet with Jewish families in need of support from abroad.

In 1987 Rabbi Krantz was appointed Vice Chair of the Centennial Endowment Fund of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In 1988 Rabbi Krantz was appointed Chair of the Justice and Peace Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Vice Chair of the Social Action Commission of Reform Judaism, and to the Domestic Affairs Committee of the Synagogue Council of America. In June of 1993 the rabbi relinquished the Chair of the Justice and Peace Committee and the position of Vice Chair of the Social Action Commission.

In 1990 Rabbi Krantz agreed to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Friends of Israeli Civil Rights and Peace, now called Meretz USA. In 1991 he was Secretary of the Board of Trustees and in 1992 was elected President and Chair of the Board, a position he held until recently. He continues to serve the organization as a Board Member of Meretz USA.

In 1993 Rabbi Krantz received his state certification as an Emergency Medical Technician and joined the Armonk Independent Fire Department; he completed the New York State course in the essentials of fire fighting and currently serves as a volunteer EMT-Firefighter in Armonk.

In 2001 Rabbi Krantz was elected to the Board of Directors of American Friends for Peace Now.

Rabbi Krantz serves as Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Yisrael. He, his wife Joan, and their youngest child Benjamin live in Armonk, New York. Their older children live away from home. Jonathan Isacoff is married to Ann Roberts who is a pediatrician in Philadelphia, where Jon is in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer, who is married to Alex McNealey is currently living in San Francisco and managing a portfolio for Franklin Templeton Investments.