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Pictured: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on election night, monitoring the close results in his situation room. It was a very intense transition from the Harvard Kennedy School’s intellectual haven as a Wexner Israel Fellow, to the hot and complicated politics of Jerusalem. During my Wexner Fellowship last year, trying to figure out how I would leverage my new learning and pay it forward through my next job, I met with
A few weeks back I ended my term as president of The JTA. But great news, our new president is now Wexner Heritage Alum (NY 1) David Eisner. This makes for the fourth Wexnerite in a row as president of The JTA. So Danny Krifcher (DC 03) begot Elisa Bildner (Metrowest NJ) who begot David Rudis who begot David Eisner. All of us are still trying to answer Les' challenge,
Oct 2013
Pictured: Rodney Freeman, WHA LA/Bank of America, and his wife Beth at the finish line of the Tour de Summer Camps A couple of years ago while cycling down the coast of California, I thought of creating a cycling event for our community to help send every child that wants to experience Jewish Summer Camp, to do so regardless of their family's financial capabilities. Jewish camping has proven to me
Slingshot has released its ninth annual guide to North America’s top 50 innovative Jewish organizations and a number of organizations directly influenced by Wexner Alumni were recognized. The following organizations and/or their leaders have received professional development from our own Wexner Graduate Fellowship and Wexner Heritage programs, including organizations in the Slingshot ’13-’14 and in the supplements. They are: Wexner Graduate Fellowship and Alumni Ask Big Questions AVODAH:
Oct 2013
Students from San Francisco's Jewish Community High School of the Bay use moving images to express their feelings and reactions to the Holocaust, in Kol HaOt's powerful 'Processing Yad Vashem and Mt. Herzl Cemetery' workshop. I recently had the privilege of teaching an adult Birthright-style group from St. Louis. When the group first booked Kol HaOt’s ‘Mapping the Journey’ program three years ago, it was unchartered territory for the Jewish Federation
Oct 2013
The Denver/Boulder community is so pleased that the Wexner Heritage Program is returning to our area. The program is made possible through a partnership between JewishColorado (formerly known as the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado) and the Rose Community Foundation. Several Denver/Boulder Wexner alumni, and other alums who have made the wise decision to relocate to Denver, gathered this past week at the home of Irit and Art Waldbaum
Oct 2013
Can there be anything new about the Zionist dream? This question has troubled me for the 46 years that I have been living in Israel. As a student and lecturer of Modern Jewish History and an active participant in Israeli life, one is sometimes overcome by the conviction that dreaming just has no place in our contemporary world. The Middle East is in turmoil, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict only becomes more
Oct 2013
Some of the Wexner Mishpacha who attended the day. Top Row: David Rosenn, (Class 5), Marty Linsky (Faculty), Megan Goldman (Class 22), Jill Jacobs, (Class 11), Amber Powers, (Class 9), Cindy Chazan (Staff), Rafi Rone, (Class 10). Bottom row: Ruthie Warshenbrot (Class 23, Staff), Yehuda Kurtzer, (Class 15), Julie Finkelstein (Class 23), Justin Rosen Smolen (Class 23), David Bryfman, (Class 17) The energy and urgency was palpable as change-makers dedicated
Oct 2013
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's passing last Monday caused a dramatic outpouring of public grief in Israel. With a deep sense of irony, it reminded me of another Israeli mass mourning, that of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which took place 18 years ago. There is a world of difference between the assassination of a serving Prime Minister in midlife and the death of a 93-year old rabbi. Yet the similarity of the numbers of
Oct 2013
Rabbi Avi Weiss is my rav. While the terms rabbi and rav are often used interchangeably, a rav often denotes a personal spiritual guide. Rav Avi, a title widely embraced by his congregants and admirers, is my religious mentor, friend, and confidante. He inspires me as well as thousands of others by raising a voice of moral consciousness to individuals or governments that persecute Jews and other minorities. He is