{"id":22592,"date":"2025-05-11T20:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T17:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=22592"},"modified":"2025-05-11T22:31:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T19:31:01","slug":"u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lee Zeldin, the first Jewish administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), affixed a <em>mezuzah<\/em> [a holy scroll attached to the doorpost] at the entrance to his office at the agency\u2019s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The New York Times reported on the ceremony over the weekend. It was attended by other members of the Trump administration as well as representatives from various Jewish organizations, and it received widespread positive responses.<\/p>\n<p>Zeldin, whose grandfathers were rabbis, explained that he wanted \u201cto give people a moment to step out of their routine, reflect, and think about the spiritual aspects of their day and lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jewish Pride in the U.S.<\/strong><br \/>\nLee Zeldin is a lawyer, a former U.S. Army officer, and a Jewish Republican politician. Born in 1980 in Long Island, New York, he served as a U.S. Congressman representing New York from 2015 to 2023. During his time in Congress, he was associated with the conservative wing of the Republican Party, supported strict immigration policies, advocated for strengthening ties with Israel, and opposed the Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22595\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22595\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-22595 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64-1536x1025.webp 1536w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-64.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lee Zeldin | Photo: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Zeldin is married and the father of two daughters. He openly integrates his Jewish identity into his public service. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York.<\/p>\n<p>Today, he serves as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration. Zeldin consistently incorporates his Jewish values into his professional work and is known for emphasizing the importance of spiritual values in public life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strengthening Ties with Israel<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring his time in Congress, Zeldin was known for supporting strong U.S.-Israel relations. He consistently opposed the Iran nuclear deal and emphasized his commitment to safeguarding Israel\u2019s security.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jewish Values in Everyday Life<\/strong><br \/>\nZeldin underscores the importance of maintaining a visible Jewish identity in the public sphere. In previous interviews, he explained that affixing a mezuzah is not merely a religious act but also a message of connection to Jewish heritage and a spiritual expression of <em>tikkun olam<\/em> (repairing the world) and public responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>The Jewish community in the United States expressed appreciation for Zeldin\u2019s openness in embracing his Jewish identity even while holding a senior position in the American government. According to community leaders, this step reinforces Jewish values and reflects Jewish pride in the public arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first Jewish administrator of the U.S. EPA Lee Zeldin affixed a mezuzah to the entrance of his office in Washington, proudly expressing his Jewish identity while in public service. Responses were positive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":22594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,129,85,65],"tags":[5475,3108,5472,3579,4310,5474,2688,5473,3676,1490],"class_list":["post-22592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-judaism","category-positive-moment","category-world","tag-jewish-community-usa","tag-jewish-identity","tag-lee-zeldin","tag-mezuzah","tag-republican-party","tag-tikkun-olam","tag-trump-administration","tag-u-s-environmental-protection-agency","tag-u-s-israel-relations","tag-washington-d-c"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.7 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first Jewish administrator of the U.S. EPA Lee Zeldin affixed a mezuzah to the entrance of his office in Washington, proudly expressing his Jewish identity while in public service. Responses were positive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Rega News Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"By Rega News Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Rega News Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3f9b86ab4cc807acf1c0839b1f1ac2ce\"},\"headline\":\"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\"},\"wordCount\":402,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Jewish community USA\",\"Jewish Identity\",\"Lee Zeldin\",\"Mezuzah\",\"Republican Party\",\"tikkun olam\",\"Trump Administration\",\"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\",\"U.S.\u2013Israel Relations\",\"Washington D.C.\"],\"articleSection\":[\"CULTURE\",\"JUDAISM\",\"POSITIVE\",\"WORLD\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\",\"name\":\"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency - REGA news\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp\",\"width\":768,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Mezuzah | Photo: Shutterstock\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/\",\"name\":\"REGA news\",\"description\":\"Get used to hearing well\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"REGA news\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ega.news-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ega.news-logo.svg\",\"width\":228.4,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"REGA news\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3f9b86ab4cc807acf1c0839b1f1ac2ce\",\"name\":\"By Rega News Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25250c8c3d1d34385fa41965bfcb445b6d59a9fc6ae46a480a8bac49eb507d67?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25250c8c3d1d34385fa41965bfcb445b6d59a9fc6ae46a480a8bac49eb507d67?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"By Rega News Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/author\/inonfar\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency - REGA news","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency","og_description":"The first Jewish administrator of the U.S. EPA Lee Zeldin affixed a mezuzah to the entrance of his office in Washington, proudly expressing his Jewish identity while in public service. Responses were positive.","og_url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/","og_site_name":"REGA news","article_published_time":"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"By Rega News Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"By Rega News Staff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/"},"author":{"name":"By Rega News Staff","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3f9b86ab4cc807acf1c0839b1f1ac2ce"},"headline":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency","datePublished":"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/"},"wordCount":402,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp","keywords":["Jewish community USA","Jewish Identity","Lee Zeldin","Mezuzah","Republican Party","tikkun olam","Trump Administration","U.S. Environmental Protection Agency","U.S.\u2013Israel Relations","Washington D.C."],"articleSection":["CULTURE","JUDAISM","POSITIVE","WORLD"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/","url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/","name":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency - REGA news","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp","datePublished":"2025-05-11T17:00:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-11T19:31:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1-76.webp","width":768,"height":512,"caption":"Mezuzah | Photo: Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/u-s-official-publicly-embraces-jewish-faith-at-federal-agency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"U.S. Official Publicly Embraces Jewish Faith at Federal Agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/","name":"REGA news","description":"Get used to hearing well","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization","name":"REGA news","url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ega.news-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ega.news-logo.svg","width":228.4,"height":96,"caption":"REGA news"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3f9b86ab4cc807acf1c0839b1f1ac2ce","name":"By Rega News Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25250c8c3d1d34385fa41965bfcb445b6d59a9fc6ae46a480a8bac49eb507d67?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25250c8c3d1d34385fa41965bfcb445b6d59a9fc6ae46a480a8bac49eb507d67?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"By Rega News Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/author\/inonfar\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22592"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22678,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22592\/revisions\/22678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}