[1][25] It attracted star speakers from politics, arts, and culture, including six Israeli prime ministers, the former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, the former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, the singer Boy George, the football player Diego Maradona, and the actor Jon Voight.

[26][1][25][14] The society's members included Cory Booker, Maurizio Giuliano, Michael Benson, and Eric Garcetti[23][1][27][28] Some Orthodox patrons became concerned about the percentage of non-Jewish members, and after Schneerson died in 1994, Chabad UK leadership asked Boteach to remove non-Jewish students from the society; others wanted Boteach to exclude gay students.

[29][30][27] Later in 1994, after Boteach refused to cancel a speaking event featuring Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, he and Chabad split over the issue.

[12] Lubavitch leadership objected to the prime minister speaking, because Schneerson before he died had opposed Rabin's peace deal proposal.

[34][35][36] While he had received the support of England's Chief Rabbi, whose office issued a statement saying Boteach was an "imaginative talent... prepared to take risks in order to communicate an authentic Jewish message to a new generation," Boteach wanted to "spare Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks problems with his rabbinate and the London Beit Din" according to media reports.

This is quite a rarity—especially when you consider the animus that most Hassidic and Haredi Jews feel toward Jesus.... All in all I admire his ... willingness to talk about a subject that has remained a forbidden topic of discussion in Jewish circles of all denominations... one can argue that Shmuley's Kosher Jesus should serve as a meaningful first step for many Jews wishing to promote a more truthful and meaningful dialogue with the Christian community.

[35][69] The series, which ran for two seasons on the TLC network, was a reality show in which Boteach counseled dysfunctional families and gave advice to struggling couples about their relationships and parenting.

[74] It was a non-fiction original series, which introduced troubled teen high school dropouts to mentors, in order to inspire the teenagers to turn their lives around.

[87] In March 2000, Boteach entered into an agreement with MatchNet (the creator of online dating site Jdate) to become its spokesman for three years, for an annual salary and stock options.

[88] In March 2024 Boteach engaged in a public feud with the conservative commentator Candace Owens over her alleged antisemitic remarks and her support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.

[96] Jackson said: "Our goal is simple: to recreate the parent-child bond, renew its promise, and light the way forward for all the beautiful children who are destined one day to walk this earth.

[102][103][104][105] In the tapes, Jackson spoke of his childhood scars and demanding father, the price of fame, his friendships with Madonna and Brooke Shields, married life, his relationship with children, his shyness, his fear of growing old, spirituality, and racism.

[109] Boteach published a second related book in 2010, entitled: Honoring the Child Spirit: Inspiration and Learning from Our Children, in conversation with Michael Jackson.

[115] The organization is founded on the belief that Judaism, with its emphasis on perfecting the world and celebrating life, can help America address some of its greatest challenges, such as high divorce rates, teenager alienation, depression, and increasing ignorance and materialism.

It has placed ads condemning celebrities that criticize Israel or support Palestinians including Lorde,[118] Natalie Portman,[119] Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid,[120] Secretary of State John Kerry's work towards the 2015 Iran nuclear deal,[121][122] Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib,[123] and U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar for her anti-Zionist remarks.

[124] In 2015, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for agreeing to speak to Congress about Iran's nuclear program without coordinating with the Obama administration.

[125] The World Values Network placed an ad in The New York Times in response that read "Susan Rice has a blind spot: Genocide", and said that her action had "injected a degree of partisanship" that is "destructive of the fabric of the relationship" between the US and Israel.

[128][129] Speaking to CNN, he said the purpose of the ad was to bring attention to his perception that the United States government has ignored genocides in the past, and continues to do so.

"[137] Lipa rejected what she characterized as "the false and appalling allegations" and said that WVN used her name "shamelessly" to "advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentations.

[5] Boteach writes of three "pillars of lust" that he believes ensure an exciting marriage: unavailability ("Eros thrives in the shadows"), mystery (keeping some things private), and sinfulness (being novel and risqué in couples' sex lives; "anything that makes you more hooked" is permissible in the bedroom).

[148][149][150][151] Boteach wrote in a 2010 Wall Street Journal op-ed column on homosexuality that he does not deny that there is a biblical prohibition on male same-sex relationships, and a commandment for men and women to marry and have children.

[152][43][153] Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Boteach said "I utterly reject and find it sickening when people believe that this is some kind of punishment from God - that really upsets me.

"[5][154] He also said that he found it: "very upsetting when religious leaders don't shut down their synagogues, churches, or mosques because they believe that prayer is more important than preserving life.

"[165] In a June 2014 column for the Jerusalem Post, Boteach heavily criticized the US Presbyterian Church after it voted to divest from three American companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions) doing business in Israel.

The Church described the divestment as "a last resort, as a matter of faithful stewardship, when it becomes apparent that an investment can no longer be part of a constructive partnership for good.

[171] The community has received sustained criticism for maintaining a shrine to Baruch Goldstein, the mass murderer who perpetrated the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.

In 2016, he co-authored a viral Wall Street Journal opinion piece with actress and former Playboy model Pamela Anderson, in which they called online pornography a "public hazard of unprecedented seriousness".

"[183] The two also wrote a book together, Lust for Love (2018), about how meaningful, passionate sex has been declining, and calling for a new sensual revolution that emphasizes partners connecting in the bedroom.

[185] In November 2016, Boteach wrote a piece in The Hill defending Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon after his appointment to the White House was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

[186] In December 2022, in response to increasing instances of racism and antisemitism in the United States, Boteach, Reverends Al Sharpton and Conrad Tillard, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Carnegie Hall Chairman Robert F. Smith, and Elisha Wiesel joined to host 15 Days of Light, celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in a unifying holiday ceremony at Carnegie Hall.