Saperstein Confirmed As International Religious Freedom Ambassador

In a roll call vote yesterday, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Rabbi David Saperstein to be Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.  The vote was 62-35. All but one of the "Nay" votes were cast by Republicans.  As reported by The Forward, Saperstein is the first non-Christian to hold the international religious freedom ambassadorship.  Some conservative Christian groups had opposed Saperstein, who has been director of Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center, because of his disagreement with the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision and his generally liberal views on other issues. (The Blaze, July 29, 2014).