Release Date: August 7, 2026
It is with great excitement that I share with you that our new Executive Director, Rabbi Loren Sykes, begins his tenure with MERCAZ USA today, August 7, 2026!
The hiring of Rabbi Sykes comes after an extensive interview process, which was conducted in cooperation and conjunction with the Rabbinical Assembly, as Rabbi Sykes is actually beginning two complementary jobs within the movement. One is Executive Director of MERCAZ USA, and the second is the inaugural Director of Israel Education and Engagement for the Rabbinical Assembly on behalf of our movement.
Those of us who know Rabbi Sykes know that, throughout his career, he has shown immense passion for both Conservative Judaism and the State of Israel. The influence from his years as a Camp Ramah Director is still felt around the movement. Rabbi Sykes has also spent a number of years living in Israel, where his work gave him a familiarity with the ins and outs of the World Zionist Organization. With the menschlichkeit, passion, and Torah that he brings to his work, we know that Rabbi Sykes will be a wonderful Executive Director for us and Director of Israel Education and Engagement for the Rabbinical Assembly.
In addition to offering words of welcome to Rabbi Sykes, I want to thank our partners in the Rabbinical Assembly with whom we are blessed to work. Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal and Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg are both cherished friends and colleagues. In this moment, when Zionism is so often attacked with alarming regularity by those whom we used to think of as supporters, it is even more sacred to know that our movement is working together to promote the Zionist idea and dream. Our partnership with the Rabbinical Assembly in this work and in this hiring is one that has been coming for some time. We look forward to many years of success working together.
Finally, as we welcome our new MERCAZ USA Executive Director, I want to continue to offer words of gratitude and thanks to Sarrae Crane, our former Executive Director, who retired at the end of 2025. Sarrae continues to be a friend and cherished colleague in this work, as she is still very much involved in the work of the American Zionist Movement. Many of you made generous contributions to MERCAZ USA in her honor, and while it has taken much too long to hold our Zoom gathering for that occasion, a separate email announcing that event will be in your inboxes in the coming days.
Please join me in welcoming Rabbi Loren Sykes to the MERCAZ USA family. May we all go from strength to strength together!
Sincerely,
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik
President, MERCAZ USA
Shalom!
Thank you, Rabbi Skolnik, for your warm welcome!
I am honored to begin serving as Executive Director of MERCAZ USA and, in a complementary role, as inaugural Director of Israel Education and Engagement for the Rabbinical Assembly. Together, these roles will enable me to strengthen MERCAZ USA’s representation at the World Zionist Congress and to reinforce a robust, centrist Zionism within Conservative Judaism, one that is respectful of and makes room for a wide range of viewpoints.
As Executive Director, I will focus on advancing our mandates and impact within the WZO and other National Institutions. I look forward to building on the strong work of Sarrae Crane and the MERCAZ USA team, in the US and abroad. I am eager to partner with our executive committee, board of directors, and movement partners as we begin work now toward even greater success in future WZO elections.
In my complementary role at the Rabbinical Assembly, I will partner with RA leadership to create meaningful pathways for our congregants and constituents, educators, camp directors, clergy, and lay leaders to engage more fully with Israel’s culture, history, and current realities through the unique prism of our Movement. To achieve this goal, I will create new resources, surface and aggregate existing ones, and provide a platform for thinkers, authors, artists, content creators, and others to share their Israel with those who are thirsty for it.
To succeed in both roles, I will spend my first months listening: to MERCAZ USA and RA leadership; to colleagues, rabbis, cantors, camp directors, and educators across our movement; and to as many members as I can reach. I want to hear what people already have and value, what they still need, and what Zionism and Israel mean for them today, each in their own words. Once I have a clear understanding of the needs, priorities, concerns, and hopes within our Movement, I will add my perspectives, and then the work of creating, partnering, and building will begin.
I am excited to partner with you on this crucial work to ensure a vibrant, vital, and sustainable Israel, along with an ever-growing group of committed, knowledgeable, and engaged Conservative Zionists.
Shabbat Shalom,
Loren