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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Feb 2017
I grew up as a child of a “Wexnerite” and it was through that lens that I decided to work professionally in the Jewish community. As the NYC Director for Community Engagement for Honeymoon Israel, I have the distinct privilege of supporting and connecting hundreds of couples in the NYC area to Jewish life in ways that are meaningful to them. Honeymoon Israel provides immersive trips to Israel for locally-based
Jan 2017
We are seeking a volunteer web master or programmer to assist / join our team: During the first Wexner Summit last year, a group of us chose to address the need for Jewish religious pluralism in Israel as a basic building block and tenet for strengthening the relationship between Israel and North American Jewry. The Summit was entitled “Stronger Together: Imagining the Israel-North American Jewish Community Relationship”. Within our group
Jan 2017
On Friday, January 20, 2017, I was in attendance as Donald J. Trump and Michael R. Pence were sworn into office as the 45th President and 48th Vice-president of the United States of America. I wasn’t there because Donald Trump had my vote for president (he did not). I was there because I prize the peaceful transfer of power that occurs every 4 to 8 years, because I respect the
I applied to the Wexner Service Corps in 2015 after hearing positive feedback from friends who had participated in the program previously. I was entering my junior year of high school, and I had never been on a service trip, let alone one with a focus on Jewish service. I spent two summers at Jewish camp during middle school, but, aside from religious school, that was the extent of my
This past Sunday, more than 1,200 people from all over the globe attended the 2017 Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference. Many “Wexner” faces attended the conference and among the esteemed presenters that facilitated exciting conversations and gave participants skills, resources and inspiration were Mijal Bitton (WGF Alum, Class 24), Zev Eleff (WGF Alum, Class 22), Michael Emerson (WGF Alum, Class 23), Dasi Fruchter (WGF Alum, Class 25), Ariel Groveman Weiner (WHP Member,
This past spring, we had the privilege to gather with 99 other Wexner alumni in Princeton, New Jersey for the Foundation’s inaugural Summit, entitled Stronger Together: (Re)Imagining the North American Israeli Relationship. From all four of Wexner’s programs, half of us Israeli and half North American, our cohort represents community, government and religious leaders eager to explore and take action on new ways of strengthening the current relationship between Israel
Apply now to be a Jewish Organizing Fellow! Early application deadline: January 25 Regular Application Deadline: March 1 JOIN for Justice’s Jewish Organizing Fellowship is recruiting for our year-long, paid community organizing training program in Boston. The Fellowship trains Jewish young adults (ages 21-30) to organize communities to effectively fight against structural injustice and inequality. If not already employed, Fellows apply for pre-approved full-time paid jobs as community organizers. We seek
Jan 2017
In photo: Elliot Goldberg, WGF Class 4, presents Karen Collum with a book of gratitude from WGF Alumni, and thanks her on behalf of the entire WGF Alumni community. At the 2017 Wexner Graduate Fellowship Alumni Institute, whose theme was “Eleh haDevarim: Words that Matter,” WGF alumni had the opportunity this week to express two words that matter: “Thank You,” and present Karen Collum with a book that includes a
Jan 2017
It might not have been a Monty Python sketch, but it was no less surreal. A group of about 40 Wexner Israel Fellows parading through Jerusalem’s Ultra-Orthodox Bukharim neighborhood on the fifth night of Hanukkah. Following (literally) in the footsteps of President Reuven Rivlin’s June 2015 admonition that Israel runs the risk of fragmenting into four distinct “tribes” — three Jewish ones: Secular, Ultra-Orthodox, National Religious and a fourth Arab one
Jan 2017
Aaron Panken, WGF Alum (Class 8) — Cincinnati, OH On January 3rd, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) was vandalized. The sign at the entrance to our Cincinnati Campus was defaced with a swastika. The paint was easily removed and the sign quickly repaired. The incident is under investigation by local police. For more than 140 years, HUC-JIR has been devoted to the values of pluralism, open dialogue