Leading US Reform rabbi dies in plane crash

Rabbi Aaron Panken, one of the foremost figures in US Reform Judaism, died on Saturday when a plane he was flying crashed.

Rabbi Panken, 53, served as the 12th president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a four-campus seminary for Reform Judaism.

His plane reportedly crashed in a wooded area of New Jersey, about 70 miles north-west of New York City. A passenger was injured.

A statement released by the Hebrew Union College remembered Rabbi Panken as “a distinguished rabbi and scholar, dedicated teacher, and exemplary leader of the Reform movement for nearly three decades.”