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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
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
Jan 2017
One of the major goals of the Wexner Israel Fellowship is to strengthen the ties and understanding between Israel and the American Jewish community. Class 28, currently working towards their Masters degrees at Harvard’s Kennedy School, has therefore started a new tradition. We are conducting informal conversations on burning issues in Israeli society with prominent members of the Jewish community from the Boston area (many of them Wexner Heritage alumni).
Dec 2016
View the complete remarks of President Obama along with those of WGF alum Rachel Isaacs (Class 19) , during the evening Hanukah party. Rabbi Isaacs starts at about the 9 minute mark. To see a transcript of Rachel’s benediction, check out her own blog Jewish Waterville, by clicking here. View the complete remarks of President Obama along with those of WGF alum Steven Exler (Class 17) , during the
I’m four years old, with a pony-tail and a big smile. I sit in my dad’s old Renault car, he just picked me up from kindergarten and we are driving to Beer Sheva at the heart of Israel’s Negev desert. Even though at the time the city was not that big, it seemed huge to my four-year-old self. And as we drive up the main street of Beer Sheva,
Reposted with thanks to Times of israel Although the burkini affair was definitely put to rest by France’s highest administrative court, it left many Americans wondering about the level of islamophobia in France. Understandably, the media coverage relied heavily on the voices of influential French Muslim activists who have been at the forefront of the fight against islamophobia. The message of these activists has been especially damaging to the French
There are moments and meals that leave an indelible mark. For me, a semi-recent one was a breakfast meeting that I had with Wexner classmate Ron Beller (SF 14) and Noa Kushner, the seriously cool and brave Founding Rabbi of The Kitchen in San Francisco. This defining discussion took place in April of 2015 at a now-defunct diner in San Francisco — we were meant to be discussing The Kitchen’s
Dec 2016
Reposted with thanks to The Times of Israel Cohen was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. He was actually the son of a beloved Jewish Montreal family and the grandson of a religious man with whom he used to study the prophets — the Book of Isaiah to be exact — in the original Hebrew. But in his way, as much as rock and roll and
I know many in the Wexner network are working to fight BDS on campus, so I thought I’d share this article with the story of how my wife and I pushed back at the pro-BDS forces at UCLA. We have to shift the agenda on these campuses any way we can. This was my only leverage with the University so I used it. I’m sure there are many more creative
Nov 2016
After attending an absolutely shocking BDS seminar, I decided to create a pro-Israel comic to educate people through humor. Having worked as a prosecuting attorney, I appreciate zealous advocacy, however, through my life experience, I have come to see that often humor is actually more effective. When I argue facts that I feel unquestionably defend Israeli actions or policy in my own liberal community, people just tune me out and