Rabbi Marvin Hier – SWC Founder and Dean Emeritus

Rabbi Marvin Hier is the Founder and Dean Emeritus of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) and its Museum of Tolerance (MOT). He founded the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ) in 1993 - now in its final stages of construction in Jerusalem. In this capacity, Rabbi Hier and his senior team have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the institutions he has supervised and directed.

Rabbi Hier founded Moriah Films, the Center’s film division, in 1980, and has served as Moriah Films’ executive producer, and holds the distinction of being the only Rabbi who is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the recipient of two Academy Awards®. His personal relationships with many of Hollywood’s industry leaders has resulted in 40 years of National Tribute Dinners which have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the SWC.

Rabbi Hier was the first Orthodox rabbi in American history to be invited to deliver an invocation of a Presidential inauguration, and the first American to be chosen by the government of Israel to light the Torch of Remembrance on Israel’s Independence Day. He is also a recipient of two honorary Ph.D’s.

Since its creation in 1977, Rabbi Hier has directed and implemented, together with senior colleagues, all the goals, policies, and programs, including the worldwide social action activities of the SWC. Rabbi Hier was recently invited to join The Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) Advisory Board. The Genesis Prize, which is often referred to as the Jewish Nobel, annually awards $1 million to Jewish people who have attained recognition and excellence in their fields.