Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Steven M. Cohen Resigns Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations

One of America’s leading Jewish sociologists has resigned from a Reform Jewish seminary amid sexual misconduct allegations.

The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion announced Wednesday that professor Steven M. Cohen had resigned. The college had opened a Title IX investigation against Cohen after several women accused him of sexual misconduct.

The allegations span decades and come from women who have worked with Cohen or associated professionally with him, as detailed an investigative article by The New York Jewish Week. They include inappropriate touching and grabbing, sexual propositions and advances, and inappropriate sexual remarks.

Five women in the article said Cohen sexually harassed them, while three others accused him of other kinds of sexual misconduct. He didn’t dispute some of the alleged conduct.

Cohen is also the director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, an electronic database based at Stanford University.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.