Kurt Stone

I am an ordained rabbi who spends most of his time as a writer and college lecturer, teaching courses in political science, American history and cinema.

Kurt Stone is a rabbi, writer, lecturer, political activist, professor, actor, and medical ethicist. Educated at the University of California, the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and the Hebrew Union College, Stone holds a B.A. in American Political History, a Master of Hebrew Letters, and a Doctor of Divinity. A resident of South Florida for more than 25 years, he is currently spiritual leader of the North Broward Havurah in Coral Springs.

A student of American political history, Stone’s book, the best-selling "The Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill," investigates the lives, careers, and accomplishments of the 182 Jewish men and women who have served in Congress throughout American history. He is currently working on a new, updated edition, which will be published by Rowman & Littlefield in early 2008.

Before entering the rabbinate, Stone spent many years working in politics and journalism. He served on the staffs of United States Senator Mike Gravel (D-AK), California Governor Jerry Brown and the late California Assembly Speaker Jess Unruh. He has also served as a congressional campaign manager/press secretary and worked as a journalist/editor for Westinghouse Broadcasting, where he dealt with both the Watergate Hearings and the Patty Hearst kidnapping. His stories, articles and translations have appeared in publications from California to Australia.

For nearly 30 years, Stone has toured the world with his one-man rendition of Sholom Aleichem. Appearing as the “father of Yiddish literature,” Stone tells the story of his life – both Solomon Rabinowitz the man and Sholom Aleichem the writer. He has performed as Aleichem over 600 times. In 1995, he was named to the Advisory Board of the Sholom Aleichem Foundation in New York, an appointment he shared with Nobel Laureates Elie Weisel and Saul Bellow.

Stone teaches courses in American Political History, Biography and Cinema at both Florida Atlantic and Florida International University. Stone received Florida Atlantic University’s “Lecturer of Excellence” Award in April 2005.

A widely sought-after lecturer, Stone speaks on subjects ranging from “Tales From the Oval Office: Stories Behind the Men of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” and “The Literature of W. Somerset Maugham” to “1939: The Year Hollywood Could Do No Wrong,” and “Enemies in Our Midst: The History of Conspiracies in America.”

Anyone wishing to book Kurt should contact his agent, Art Galietti at One Take Productions, 954-493-7889, or onetake@bellsouth.net

Kurt sits on the Institutional Review Board and Committee on Medical Ethics of the Cleveland Clinic, Florida. He resides in Coral Springs, Florida with his wife, Anna Zamosc-Stone, a Jewish educator and arts-and-crafts specialist. The Stones have three children, three cats and a Chocolate Lab named Ginger Rogers.