Steven Burg is a rabbi and chief executive officer of Aish, a Jewish education and outreach organization. He previously led the eastern division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, overseeing its Museum of Tolerance in New York. He also was managing director of the Orthodox Union and international director of its NCSY youth movement.
DI has documented statements by Steven Burg on Antisemitism, Israel, and Political Violence. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Aish CEO Rabbi Steven Burg criticized Abdul El-Sayed's response to the Temple Israel attack as inadequate, saying El-Sayed could not fully condemn it and was 'explaining away the terrorists.'
“El-Sayed couldn't even fully condemn it... He was kind of explaining away the terrorists. Everything we see from him just breeds evil and hate.”
Burg directly condemns El-Sayed's response to the Temple Israel attack as inadequate and as effectively explaining away the attackers, extending the case's existing criticism from a new named religious leader.
After the Temple Israel attack, Abdul El-Sayed condemned antisemitism but linked the assailant’s actions to an Israeli airstrike that killed relatives, describing violence as a cycle. Critics said it rationalized the attack or shifted responsibility; El-Sayed denied justification and later apologized for adding context.
