Remembering Professor Marshall Breger
Professor Marshall Breger,
Dear friend of Luke10 , Professor Marshall Breger, passed away on August 3, 2025, in Silver Spring, MD.
Marshall, a peace-loving Jewish professor at the Law School of Catholic University was opposed to war and an active participant in the field of interfaith dialogue. Throughout his life, he made valuable contributions both as a professor at the Catholic University and as a member of interfaith dialogue groups.
Luke 10, The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, The Interfaith Center of New York City and friends of Marshall Breger held a memorial honoring his life and contributions to interfaith dialogue and international peace on September 25, 2025, at the Interfaith Chapel of the Church Center for the United Nations.
Rev. Doug Hostetter
The program began with remarks by Reverend Doug Hostetter, who first gave a brief introduction to the Luke10 and Pax Christi International and then spoke about Marshall Breger’s character and his peace-building efforts.
Esther Breger
Ms. Esther Breger, Marshall Breger’s daughter, spoke about her father’s personality, life, and peacemaking efforts, sharing several memories and expressing gratitude to the organizers of the ceremony.
Rabbi Professor Ephraim Isaac
Rabbi Professor Ephraim Isaac, reflected on his acquaintance with Marshall, his position among peace-loving Jews and his efforts to build understanding with Muslims—especially Shi’a Muslims. He concluded his remarks with a prayer for Marshall’s soul.
Imam Elahi
The next speaker was Imam Elahi from The Islamic House of Wisdom, Michigan , who spoke about the significance of interfaith dialogue in Islam, reminding the audience, through recitation of Qur’anic verses, of the command to friendship and understanding other faiths .
Rev. Dr. Chloe Beyer
Reverend Chloe Breyer, of the Interfaith Center of New York, mentioned her previous interfaith work with Marshall Breger and offered several Christian prayers.
Dr. Ezra Tzfadya
Dr. Ezra Tzfadya, Marshall Breger’s student and friend, shared memories illustrating the depth of his thought and vision regarding friendship and interfaith understanding. Dr. Tzfadya also read Professor Robert Destro's message about the life and thoughts of Marshall Breger.
Finally, Dr. Mehrabadi, the director of the Interests Section of Iran in Washington DC, spoke of his personal acquaintance with Marshall Breger and about the vital role of interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Mehrabadi
Mohammad Hussain Elahi
The memorial ceremony beautifully demonstrated how war and bloodshed can be prevented through mutual respect among religions which can pave the way for friendship and peace. The event concluded with a recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an by a young student, Mr. Elahi.
Photograph of the interfaith group of speakers gathered to remember Professor Marshall Breger.
Biography
Marshall Jordan Breger, 78, died on August 3, 2025, in Silver Spring, MD, surrounded by his beloved wife and daughters. A longtime law professor at Catholic University of America and former senior official in the Reagan and Bush Sr. administrations, his expertise ranged from administrative procedure to the legal status of Jerusalem.
Born in New York to Miles and Beatrice Breger, Marshall grew up in Rego Park, Queens. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania then studied at Oriel College, Oxford University, where he met his wife Jennifer by asking her for directions to the Oxford Jewish Society. He returned to the U.S. and graduated from Penn Law School in 1973.
After teaching at University of Texas-Austin and SUNY-Buffalo law schools, he moved to Washington, DC, in 1982 for a fellowship at the Heritage Foundation. A year later, Marshall joined the Reagan White House as special assistant to the president and liaison to the Jewish community. For six years he served as chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent federal agency charged with improving administrative processes. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush appointed him Solicitor of Labor, the chief lawyer of the Labor Department.
Marshall joined CUA law school in 1994, and for 30 years taught classes on administrative law, constitutional law, and legal issues in the Middle East peace process. He published books on independent federal agencies, Vatican-Israel relations, and holy sites in Israel-Palestine. Often described as larger than life, he was passionate about free speech, rule of law, and Muslim-Jewish dialogue.
After travelling to Iran in 2002, he spearheaded the "Abrahamic Dialogue,” bringing together Iranian senior clerics and American religious scholars for regular meetings over 20 years. In 2010 and 2013, Marshall organized trips for U.S. and international imams to tour Auschwitz and Dachau, leading to statements condemning Holocaust denial as against Islamic values."