--- title: "Catholic Biblical Association elects first Jewish president, Amy-Jill Levine" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/media/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/media/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine" category: "Media" area: "United States" published: "2026-08-15T15:45:59.075Z" source_reported: "2026-08-14T17:29:10.000Z" updated: "2026-08-15T15:45:59.075Z" trust_score: 35 critic_score: 34 hype_score: 15 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-15T18:15:05.327387+00:00" --- # Catholic Biblical Association elects first Jewish president, Amy-Jill Levine *The 90-year-old New Testament scholar becomes the first non-Christian to lead the organisation in its history* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 35 of 100, higher is better. Trust 35 because multiple outlets confirm the election but no named sources or documents are provided. - Craft 34 of 100, higher is better. Critic 34 as context is given but no quotes, and content reads like a press release. - Hype 15 of 100, lower is better. Hype 15; language is factual with minimal sensationalism despite one outlet’s speculative phrasing. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish New Testament scholar, was elected president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America in August 2026, the first non-Christian to hold the role. - The appointment follows a career in which Levine has written on Jewish-Christian relations and the New Testament, including works like *The Jewish Annotated New Testament*. - Left-rated outlets highlighted Levine’s personal history and scholarly contributions, while right-rated digests focused on her views on Jesus, abortion and homosexuality. - No centre-rated outlet reported the story, and none of the digests below mention Levine’s age or the specific date of her election. The Catholic Biblical Association of America elected Amy-Jill Levine as its president in August 2026. Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament, is the first non-Christian to lead the organisation. The association, founded in 1936, is a professional society for Catholic biblical scholars. Levine, 90, has written extensively on the New Testament from a Jewish perspective. Her works include *The Misunderstood Jew*, *The Bible With and Without Jesus* and *The Jewish Annotated New Testament*. Religion News Service reported that Levine’s interest in Christianity began when she was six years old, watching Pope John XXIII’s funeral on television. Her mother told her the pope was "a friend to the Jews", which Levine later said influenced her view of the Catholic Church. The election was covered by eight outlets, none of which published a full report. The digests agree that Levine is the first Jewish scholar to hold the presidency, but they diverge on the significance of her views. NxRstudios, an unrated outlet, claimed Levine denies that Jesus is the Messiah and supports abortion and homosexuality. No other outlet corroborated or disputed these claims. ## What the coverage left out No centre-rated outlet reported the story. None of the digests below mention the date of Levine’s election or the length of her term as president. The right-rated digests do not include Levine’s age, her childhood memory of Pope John XXIII, or her scholarly works beyond her identity as a Jewish New Testament scholar. ## Who covered it Shares of the 4 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 50% (2) - Centre: 0% (0) - Right: 50% (2) 5 of 9 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-15T18:15:05.327387+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 11 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-15T18:30:07.900Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The two left-rated digests, from Religion News Service and National Catholic Reporter, led on Levine’s historic appointment as the first Jewish president of the Catholic Biblical Association. Both mentioned her scholarly work, including *The Jewish Annotated New Testament* and *The Misunderstood Jew*. Religion News Service’s digest included Levine’s childhood memory of Pope John XXIII’s funeral, framing her election as part of a broader narrative of Jewish-Catholic relations. ### Centre No separate framing summary. ### Right - The two right-rated digests, from LifeSiteNews and The Jewish Chronicle, led on Levine’s identity as a Jewish scholar elected to lead a Catholic organisation. The Jewish Chronicle’s digest quoted Levine as saying she was "stunned" by her nomination. LifeSiteNews’s digest, which cited an unrated outlet, noted that Levine aims to address what she sees as misrepresentations of Judaism in Christian texts. Neither digest mentioned her age or the specific date of her election. - NxRstudios, an unrated outlet, published claims that Levine denies Jesus is the Messiah and supports abortion and homosexuality. These claims appeared only in its digest and were not repeated in any of the rated reports. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 1 - mixed: 1 - high: 2 - unknown: 5 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Religion News Service](https://religionnews.com/2026/08/14/amy-jill-levine-elected-first-jewish-president-of-catholic-biblical-association) — A Jewish scholar of Jesus makes history as president of the Catholic Biblical Association - [LifeSiteNews](https://lifesitenews.com/episodes/jewish-scholar-elected-president-of-catholic-biblical-association-frank-wright) — Jewish Scholar Elected President of Catholic Biblical Association – Frank Wright - [The Jewish Chronicle](https://thejc.com/news/usa/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-d57bq89t) — Catholic Biblical Association elects first Jewish president - [catholicculture.org](https://catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=70397) — Jewish scholar elected president of Catholic Biblical Association of America - [actssocial.com](https://actssocial.com/news/jewish-scholar-elected-to-lead-catholic-bibl) — Jewish scholar elected to lead Catholic Biblical Association - News - ActsSocial - [catholicbiblical.org](https://catholicbiblical.org/news/amy-jill-levine-new-cba-president) — Amy-Jill Levine Announced as New CBA President - The Catholic Biblical Association - [nxrstudios.substack.com](https://nxrstudios.substack.com/p/jew-made-president-of-catholic-biblical) — Jew Made President of Catholic Biblical Association, Will Edit Antisemitic Bible Verses - [stjameshopewell.org](https://stjameshopewell.org/amy-jill-levine-elected-first-jewish-president-of-catholic-biblical-association) — Amy-Jill Levine elected first Jewish president of Catholic Biblical Association - Catholic Church Saint James (Saint James) - [National Catholic Reporter](https://ncronline.org/news/amy-jill-levine-elected-first-jewish-president-catholic-biblical-association) — Amy-Jill Levine elected first Jewish president of Catholic Biblical Association ## Questions **Who is Amy-Jill Levine?** Amy-Jill Levine is a Jewish New Testament scholar and the first non-Christian elected president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. She has written books on Jewish-Christian relations, including *The Jewish Annotated New Testament*, and is 90 years old. **What did outlets disagree on in their coverage?** Outlets diverged on the significance of Levine’s views. Left-rated digests highlighted her scholarly work and personal history, while NxRstudios, an unrated outlet, claimed she denies Jesus is the Messiah and supports abortion and homosexuality. No other outlet corroborated these claims. **Did any centre-rated outlet cover the story?** No centre-rated outlet reported on Levine’s election as president of the Catholic Biblical Association. The story was covered only by left- and right-rated outlets, as well as unrated ones. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/media/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Catholic Biblical Association elects first Jewish president, Amy-Jill Levine", https://mediabias.news/media/catholic-biblical-association-elects-first-jewish-president-amy-jill-levine