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Feb 2009
Allison Shapira is the coordinator of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program based at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. She can be reached at: ashapira@wexner.net Last month at the Harvard Kennedy School, former Ecuadorian president Jamil Mahuad spoke in Professor Brian Mandell’s advanced negotiation workshop. With humor and humility, President Mahuad explained how he once negotiated a peace treaty with Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori over a small plot of
An alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program (Class 18), Charlie is currently studying in Jerusalem as a third-year rabbinical student at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Previously, he served with distinction in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF. He can be reached at chschwartz@jtsa.edu A swift, strong punch to the stomach. That’s how it felt, returning to Israel after my final Wexner Institute as a Fellow. Not long after landing
Jan 2009
Gidi Grinstein, an alumnus of the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program, is Founder and President of the Reut Institute, a Tel-Aviv based policy and strategy group, which has been called one of Israel’s leading think tanks. Between 1999-2001, he served in the Bureau of the Prime Minister as the coordinator of the Israeli delegation for the negotiations with the PLO. He can be reached at gidi@reut-institute.org. The ISRAEL 15 Vision calls
Jan 2009
Evan Muney, a Wexner Heritage alumnus from San Francisco, is a partner in Camp Kimama, an international Jewish camp in Israel. He also volunteers his time with the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation’s “Israel and Jewish Peoplehood Commission,” which works with Israelis on projects that connect the two communities with each other and promote Jewish Identity and Pluralism and help provide equal opportunity for all Israeli citizens. He is planning
Jan 2009
Tricia Hellman Gibbs, MD, is a member of the 2008 San Francisco Wexner Heritage group and co-founder of the San Francisco Free Clinic, a clinic providing free care to the medically- uninsured. She is also a former member of the United States Ski Team and, along with her husband, Dr. Richard Gibbs, 1998 California Family Physician of the Year. She can be reached at triciagibbs@comcast.net It was February of 1977,
Jan 2009
Robb Mann is an alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program. He is President of Henry-Lee and Company, a Chicago based apparel design and sourcing company. He is the former Chairman of United Jewish Communities’ National Training Department. Rob lectures throughout North America teaching others how to share their passion for Jewish communal involvement. He can be reached at robm@henry-lee.com As Chairman of United Jewish Communities’ National Training department I’ve taught
Jan 2009
A few weeks ago on a snow day when school was canceled, I was home with my kids “What to do? What to do?” I asked myself before popping in the DVD of “The Ten Commandments.” Yes, those Ten Commandments directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Charleston Heston. I hoped that at a running time of 220 minutes it would keep them busy for the entire morning. To my
Jan 2009
Rabbi Andy Koren, an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program, is Assistant Rabbi and Director of Religious Education of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, NC. He can be reached at AKoren@tegreensboro.org It hit me when I was on the phone with a high school senior. I was calling to recruit him for a Mitzvah- work trip to New Orleans. His response: “Definitely. I hear so many of my friends at
Jan 2009
Michael Jordan (Meir Yaacov) Halbert is a leader in Toronto's Orthodox community and sits on Boards of various Jewish educational institutions, including a counter-missionary organization called Jews for Judaism. He has led successful US public school literacy initiatives and is currently focused on Canadian counter-terror legislation. He can be reached at mjh@timberlineq.com My wife Iris and I recently returned from a trip to Israel with another couple. They’re friends; he
Joel Alperson, a Wexner Heritage alumnus, is the United Jewish Communities’ National Interfaith Campaign Chair and president of Omaha Fixture International in Omaha, NE. He can be reached at joel.alperson@omahafixture.com. So often, when I come across a Jew who has questions about Judaism or the Jewish community, my first instinct is to suggest a book. The problem is that the person I’m talking to has to remember my suggestion and