May 29–30, 2024
Hosted at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City
Greeting
Mark S. Anshan
Coordinator, Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism
Mark S. Anshan is a lawyer and a former Canadian diplomat, serving on several nonprofit boards. He provides legal, business, strategic and organizational advice to not-for-profits and charities.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mark served in the Canadian foreign service at the United Nations and the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm. Having served as a senior executive, chair and board member, he has been involved in managing and reorganizing several companies and nonprofits. He has extensive experience in management, strategic planning, governance and organizing businesses. He serves on several boards in the Canadian Jewish community and beyond. Mark is a past president of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, past president of ARZA Canada and past chair of ARZENU. He served on the Union for Reform Judaism board of trustees and as vice chair. He currently serves as a director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, Project Abraham and other organizations.
Prayer for the State of Israel and Prayer for the Hostages
Rabbi Cantor Samantha Natov
Associate Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Cantor Samantha Natov grew up in Dundas, Ontario. She holds a bachelor’s from McGill University and a master’s in musicology and ethnomusicology from the University of Virginia.
Following her time as a cantorial soloist in Toronto, Rabbi Natov came to New York to earn her degree in sacred music from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. After working as a cantor at congregations in New Jersey and Brooklyn, she decided to become a rabbi. Rabbi Natov was ordained by HUC-JIR in 2015 and joined Stephen Wise Free Synagogue a few months later in July 2015.
As associate rabbi at Stephen Wise, she oversees the congregation’s adult education programming and social justice work.
Introduction to Keynote
Rabbi Dan Reichenbach
Chaplain, NYU Langone Health
Rabbi Dan Reichenbach grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and was deeply engrossed in the Reform movement from his youngest years. He is a product of URJ Eisner and Kutz camps, NFTY GER, NFTY in Israel, and NFTY EIE (Heller High).
Dan graduated from Clark University in 2012 with a degree in Jewish history and then made aliyah and served proudly in the IDF as an infantryman in the Nahal Brigade. He saw combat in the summer of 2014 during Operation Protective Edge.
Dan received his master’s in religious education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2020, his master’s in Hebrew literature in 2022 and was ordained as a rabbi on May 5, 2024. Over the course of his education Dan had the opportunity to work at a number of reform congregations, including Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and most recently at Hevreh of Southern Berkshires. For the last year Dan has been engaged in three units of clinical pastoral education at NYU Langone Health, where he acted as a chaplain, providing spiritual care for people during their hospitalization.
Dan lives in New York City with his dog Chewbacca.
Keynote
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. With a fiery voice, a listening heart and a brilliant mind, Rabbi Hirsch articulates a clear vision for the survival and success of American Judaism while tending compassionately to the needs of his growing congregation.
In 2018, The Jerusalem Post named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year” and City & State praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews.
Prior to his arrival at Stephen Wise, he served for 12 years as executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Israel arm of the North American Reform movement. An accomplished teacher, author and public speaker, he is also a trained lawyer and a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. He is the host of the bi-weekly podcast “In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch” and his new book, “The Lilac Tree: A Rabbi’s Reflections on Love, Courage, and History” is available now wherever you get your books online.
Plenum I: Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism on College Campuses
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League
Jonathan Greenblatt is CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, the world’s leading anti-hate organization with a distinguished record of fighting antisemitism and advocating for just and fair treatment to all. Jonathan joined ADL in 2015 after serving in the White House as special assistant to President Obama and director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. He joined the government after a distinguished career in business as a successful social entrepreneur and corporate executive: he cofounded Ethos Brands, the company that launched Ethos Water (acquired by Starbucks in 2005), founded All for Good (acquired by Points of Light in 2011), and served as a senior executive at realtor.com (acquired by News Corp in 2014).
Since becoming CEO, Jonathan has modernized ADL while refocusing it on the mission it has had since its founding in 1913: to fight the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Under Jonathan, ADL has modernized its operations, innovated its approaches to counter antisemitism from all sides and enhanced its efforts to combat extremism in all forms.
Rabbi David Wolpe
Visiting Scholar, Harvard Divinity School
Max Webb Rabbi Emeritus, Sinai Temple of Los Angeles
Named “The Most Influential Rabbi in America” by Newsweek and one of the ”50 Most Influential Jews in the World” by The Jerusalem Post, and twice named one of the ”500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, David Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple.
Rabbi Wolpe previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and the University of California, Los Angeles. A weekly columnist for the New York Jewish Week and weekly Torah columnist for the Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Wolpe has been published and profiled in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, and The Atlantic, among others. He has been featured on The “Today” show, “Face the Nation,” “ABC This Morning,” and “CBS This Morning.” Rabbi Wolpe has also appeared prominently in series on PBS, A&E, History Channel, and Discovery Channel, and has engaged in widely watched public debates with Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and many others about religion and its place in the world.
Rabbi Wolpe, who has spoken all over the world — from Israel to India — is the author of eight books, including the national bestseller ”Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times.” His latest book, “David, the Divided Heart” was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards, and has been optioned for a movie by Warner Bros.
Eden Yadegar
Student, Columbia University-Jewish Theological Seminary
Eden Yadegar is a rising senior in the joint program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary double majoring in Middle East studies and modern Jewish studies with a concentration in political science. On campus, she serves as the president of Students Supporting Israel and an engagement fellow for Columbia/Barnard Hillel. She is passionate about shifting the narrative surrounding Israel and Zionism on campus through education and fostering open dialogue — something she feels the current campus environment lacks.
She regularly organizes conversations, rallies and tablings on campus with this purpose, and has hosted speakers including the son of the co-founder of Hamas, a delegation of Arab and Israeli peace activists, the chairman of Yad Vashem, survivors of the Nova festival massacre, and more. She has been featured on “60 Minutes,” CNN, and the Times of Israel, and recently addressed the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce’s roundtable with Jewish students impacted by antisemitism.
MODERATED BY
Rabbi Melissa B. Simon
Director of Israel Education, Hillel International
Rabbi Melissa B. Simon is the director of Israel education for Hillel International, a part of the Center for Jewish and Israel Education. She is in her 10th year in the Hillel movement, having served as the Hillel director and Jewish chaplain at Muhlenberg College and as the senior Jewish educator and Rabbi for North Carolina Hillel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she also received a master’s in religious education and a master’s in Hebrew letters.
A 2021 Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence, Rabbi Melissa has been named a Selah Fellow with Bend the Arc and a Rabbis Without Borders fellow with CLAL, a rabbinic fellow with JOIN for Justice’s clergy leadership and organizing program, a member of the senior educators cohort at M2, and a member of the Hillel educators cohort at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Plenum II: Zionism, Anti-Zionism and the Aims of Liberal Jewish Education
Dr. Andrew Rehfeld
President, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., is the 10th president in the 147-year history of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. As HUC-JIR president, Dr. Rehfeld leads the four-campus international institution of Jewish higher education and seminary for Reform Judaism. Dr. Rehfeld has bridged both the academic and Jewish worlds as Assistant and Associate Professor of Political Science with tenure at Washington University in St. Louis (2001 to 2019) and as president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis (2012 to 2019).
Andrew holds a doctorate in political science and a master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago and has held the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in the study and practice of federalism at McGill University. He has published on varied topics including democratic theory, voting rights, redistricting, and the political uses of the Hebrew Bible.
PANELISTS
Rabbi Geri Newburge
Senior Rabbi, Main Line Reform Temple
Rabbi Geri Newburge is the senior rabbi at Main Line Reform Temple. During her tenure as a rabbi, she has focused her efforts on pastoral care, building connections with youth, interfaith relationships, social action and crafting meaningful worship experiences.
Rabbi Newburge is also honored to be included on the national rabbinic advisory board for StandWithUs and the Jewish National Fund-USA Rabbis For Israel Advisory Committee. She previously served as the associate rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and she has spent time in leadership roles with the Delaware Valley Area Reform Rabbis and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Rabbi Newburge grew up in South Florida, graduated from the University of Miami (Go Canes!) with a bachelor’s in religious studies, and earned ner master’s in religion from the Claremont School of Theology. She was ordained as a rabbi from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Rabbi Newburge is married to Rabbi Eric Goldberg, rabbi educator at Congregation Shir Ami in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and they are the proud parents of their son Jay.
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh
Vice President for Jewish Engagement, American Jewish University
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh is vice president for Jewish engagement at American Jewish University, where she directs the Maas Center for Jewish Journeys and the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program. As part of her role, she supervises the Brandeis Collegiate Institute, the AJU Community Mikveh, and the Marriage for Life and Opening Doors courses. Ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Rabizadeh is thrilled to contribute her culture-merging sensibility toward creating meaningful and inclusive Jewish experiences at American Jewish University.
She previously served as director of student life at the University of California Los Angeles Hillel and the Simha and Sara Lainer Senior Jewish Educator and was also a Jewish Emergent Network Fellow at The Kitchen in San Francisco, as well as a Milken Community High School faculty member. Rabbi Rabizadeh holds a bachelor’s in political science with a minor in Hebrew from Boston University and a master’s in Jewish education and Hebrew literature from HUC-JIR.
MODERATED BY
Dr. Steven F. Windmueller
Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies
Dr. Steven Windmueller is professor emeritus of Jewish communal studies at the Zelikow School at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Previously, Dr. Windmueller had served as the Zelikow School’s interim director. He was a staff member of the American Jewish Committee and he directed the Albany, New York, Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation. During his tenure at HUC-JIR, Dr. Windmueller served for 10 years as the director of its School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and in 2005 was named dean of the LA campus.
The author of four books and numerous articles, Dr. Windmueller earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He recently served as the editor of a volume for USC’s Casden Institute and is now producing a volume analyzing 21st-century Jewish ideas. Dr. Windmueller serves as a fellow of the Jerusalem Institute of Public Affairs and as a board member of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State, Los Angeles. For the past six years, he has been on the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture faculty.
Special Announcements
Learn more about the Amplify Israel – Birthright volunteer trip for Reform Jews at reformbirthright.com.
Learn more, nominate a fellow or apply directly for the Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship at rabbinicfellowship.com.
Rabbi Dr. Tracy Kaplowitz
Israel Fellow, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Coordinator, Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism
Rabbi Tracy J. Kaplowitz, Ph.D., is the inaugural Marilyn G. and Joseph B. Schwartz Israel Fellow at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference coordinator. She came to Stephen Wise from JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, which ensures the quality of Jewish life for Jews in the U.S. military and the Veterans Administration.
An experienced spiritual leader and educator, Rabbi Kaplowitz served as a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and on the professional staff of both the Schechter School of Long Island and the Jewish Education Project. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and earned her doctorate in the sociology of education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Rabbi Kaplowitz is a member of both the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Rabbinical Assembly.
Songs of Loss, Resilience and Hope: Music in the Aftermath of October 7th
Cantor Irena Altschul
Cantor, Temple Israel of the City of New York
Cantor Altshul was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but spent her formative years in Israel and came to New York City as a graduate student. There she was drawn into synagogue life through her love of Jewish music.
Since her cantorial investiture in 2003, Cantor Altshul has served on the clergy team of Temple Israel of the City of New York and as the first invested Cantor at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston, Virginia, from 2007 to 2014. She holds a master’s in sacred music and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York. In addition to her cantorial studies, Cantor Altsul holds a master’s in music from Brooklyn College and a bachelor’s in music from Tel Aviv University.
A trained mezzo-soprano, her performance experiences have included appearances with the Russian Chamber Choir, the New York Brooklyn College Opera Theater, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Tel Aviv Philharmonic Choir. Cantor Altshul was also twice invited to sing at the president’s residence in Jerusalem. In addition to her work toward enriching the worship life of the Jewish community, Cantor Altshul partners with other synagogue professionals to teach adults and youth, perform life cycle events, make pastoral visits and be available to all people.
Cantor Altshul is an active member of the American Conference of Cantors. She and her husband, Dr. Mitya (Dmitri) Chklovskii, Ph.D., and their children, Sammy and Mark Chklovskii, reside on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Cantor Rabbi Luis Cattan
Cantor, Sutton Place Synagogue
Cantor Rabbi Luis Cattan, currently based at The Sutton Place Synagogue in New York City, holds a rabbinical ordination and a master’s in Jewish studies from the Academy for Jewish Religion. He is the immediate past president of the Cantors Assembly.
Cattan’s musical style, influenced by his Sephardic and Ashkenazic heritage, is shaped by his upbringing in Uruguay, where Ladino and Yiddish cultures were integral. Starting his musical journey at 11 in the synagogue choir, he later earned a bachelor’s in social communication sciences from the Catholic University of Montevideo. Following studies in Israel, he received Ḥazzanut training in Uruguay and Argentina, eventually becoming Head Ḥazzan at NCI, a prominent Conservative Synagogue in Uruguay.
In 2003, he moved to the United States, serving in Miami Beach and North Miami Beach, introducing innovative concerts and releasing the album “On the Wings of Prayer.” His distinctive blend of traditional and contemporary Sephardic and Ashkenazic melodies is featured in CDs by the Cantors Assembly and USCJ. You can listen to his music here.
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Scholar-in-Residence, UJA-Federation of New York
Rabbi Menachem Creditor serves as the Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence at UJA-Federation of New York and was the founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence. An acclaimed author, scholar and speaker with over 4 million views of his online videos and essays, he was named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. His numerous books and six albums of original music include the global anthem “Olam Chesed Yibaneh” and the post-October 7 two-volume anthology “Am Yisrael Chai.”
He and his wife Neshama Carlebach live in New York, where they are raising their five children.
Raya Creditor
Student, The Leffell School
Raya Creditor is an 11th grader at The Leffell School in Westchester, New York.
Cantor Galit Dadoun Cohen
Cantor, Temple B’nai Or
Cantor Galit Dadoun Cohen was born and raised in Ashdod, Israel. She earned her bachelor’sin music from the Ruben Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. She came to America to prepare for her master’s in music, which she received from City University of New York’s Brooklyn College. In 2010, Dadoun Cohen was ordained by Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Since then, she has served as the santor of Temple B’nai Or.
Before becoming a cantor, Dadoun Cohen sang opera and classical songs in Europe, Israel and the United States. In addition to her service to Temple Bnai Or, Cantor Galit serves the larger Jewish community through invitations to sing in concerts, festivals, and diverse projects throughout the United States. In honor of her 40th birthday, she gave an opera concert to raise funds to buy a grand piano for the Temple B’nai Or sanctuary. She is also scheduled to take part in the revival of the Jewish Opera Hannah, which will be performed in December of 2014. Along with her husband Joe, Cantor Galit shares the gratitude and endless joy of raising their three daughters Danielle, Naomi and Maya.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Rabbi, Temple Israel, Cape Town
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb is from Toronto, Canada and currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is the only female member of Temple Israel’s rabbinic team, and is the first woman to serve a congregation full time in Cape Town. Rabbi Gottlieb received ordination from Hebrew Union College, at the New York campus in 2010 and subsequently held pulpits in small congregations in New York, Boston and Toronto. She brings an infectious energy and love for Torah, music, social justice, teaching and prayer to her Rabbinic work. It has been particularly meaningful to be one of the first women rabbis in South Africa – to present a different perspective on what a rabbi is, does and looks like. Rabbi Gottlieb hopes to inspire women and girls to own their Jewish stories and experiences, and to embrace what it means to be empowered and educated Jewish women.
Rabbi Cantor Samantha Natov
Associate Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Cantor Samantha Natov grew up in Dundas, Ontario. She holds a bachelor’s from McGill University and a master’s in musicology and ethnomusicology from the University of Virginia.
Following her time as a cantorial soloist in Toronto, Rabbi Natov came to New York to earn her degree in sacred music from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. After working as a cantor at congregations in New Jersey and Brooklyn, she decided to become a rabbi. Rabbi Natov was ordained by HUC-JIR in 2015 and joined Stephen Wise Free Synagogue a few months later in July 2015.
As associate rabbi at Stephen Wise, she oversees the congregation’s adult education programming and social justice work.
Rabbi Elana Rabishaw
Rabbi, Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, Florida
Elana Rabishaw is a rabbi at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, Florida. She completed her studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in 2022, and most recently worked as a rabbinic intern at Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, California, before landing in Boca Raton. Rabbi Elana has worked at numerous synagogues throughout greater Los Angeles and as a student rabbi in Yakima, Washington. She also spent a summer working as a chaplain intern at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rabbi Elana spent her summers at URJ camp OSRUI in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. She loved summers in Wisconsin so much that she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!), where she earned her bachelor’s in community and nonprofit leadership and modern Hebrew. She earned her master’s in Hebrew letters from HUC-JIR in 2019, and her master’s in Jewish education in 2020.
She lives in Boca Raton, Florida, with her rescue doodle, Busby.
Bob Remstein
Founding Member, The Helfman Institute’s Composers’ Group
Bob Remstein has composed nearly 50 Jewish liturgical works, including a complete “Sacred Service”; the sermon in song, “Moses and the Rock”; and “A Heart of Wisdom,” a song he later arranged for full orchestra and chorus. A founding member of the Helfman Institute composers’ group, Bob wrote his “Hashkiveinu” for their opening concert, as well as two pieces for the Institute’s “David’s Quilt” concert in 2017 and one for the “Amazed” concert held in 2022 honoring the memory of Abraham Joshua Heschel. In 2021, he composed a setting of “Hanerot Halalu” for the Judaic Sacred Music Foundation. Bob is currently completing a set of four songs based on poems written in response to the October 7 attacks. He is an active pianist and keyboardist, serving as the staff accompanist for the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale, has scored video games for SceneIt, arranged music for the hit film, “Little Miss Sunshine,” and as co-leader of the lounge/electronica group Supercasanova, has produced tracks used on many TV shows.
Cantor Shirel Richman
Incoming Cantor, United Hebrew Congregation
Born and raised in Jerusalem, Shirel Richman was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in May 2024. Starting in July 2024, Shirel will serve as the cantor at United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis, Missouri.
Shirel was a Hebrew language teacher at HUC-JIR, and taught cantorial and rabbinical students. As a cantorial student herself, Shirel interned at Temple Emanu-El of Westfield, New Jersey, and was a song leader and educator at New York’s Central Synagogue while interning at Temple Israel of Staten Island.
Shirel has a master’s in vocal performance and an advanced certificate in music education from CUNY Brooklyn College. She also holds a bachelor’s in music performance from the Buchman-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. Shirel has taught music, Hebrew language and Judaic studies in New York and Boston Jewish day schools. She worked as a soloist in the Israeli Opera and she served as a “Musician of Excellence” and commander in the Israel Defense Forces. She has performed as a soloist in Austria, Canada, England, France, Israel, Switzerland and the United States.
Karen Rivo
Reform Movement Lay Leader
An active member of the Reform movement since growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina, Karen taught religious school, served as a nurse at Camp Coleman, and attended URJ Kutz Camp. In Miami Beach, Karen was president of Temple Beth Sholom, her family’s sacred center for God, Torah and Israel. She became an bat mitzvah as an adult and graduated from the Florence Melton School.
Currently, Karen serves on the boards of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and the Union for Reform Judaism, where she was the founding chair of the URJ’s Israel Leadership Network.
A Temple Beth Sholom 2003 summer trip to Israel was a pivotal moment in Karen’s family’s life. Dozens of trips to Israel followed and in 2018, Karen and husband Marc made aliyah, becoming dual Israeli-American citizens, sharing their soulful work between Miami and Safed. Today they are proud supporters of Bar Ilan University Medical School initiatives in Safed to improve community health in the Galil.
Karen and Marc are parents of Jessica Rachel, a Pardes graduate and teacher at Temple Beth Am Reform Day School, and Julie Aviva, a family physician. Their greatest joys are their granddaughters Ayla Malka and Liel Antonia.
Rabbi Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak
Senior Rabbi, Temple Shalom of Succasunna, New Jersey
Rabbi Cantor Serebro-Litvak is the senior rabbi at Temple Shalom in Succasunna, New Jersey.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, she made aliyah with her entire family to Israel, where she pursued her undergraduate studies at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv University. After graduating, she moved to the United States and enrolled at Jewish Theological Seminary’s Miller Cantorial School, becoming the first woman from the former Soviet Union to graduate from JTS.
Rabbi Inna served as the cantor at Temple B’nai Or in Morristown, New Jersey, and Temple Beth Am in Parsippany, New Jersey. While at Temple Beth Am, she earned her rabbinic ordination and master’s in Jewish studies from the Academy for Jewish Religion.
She is married to Anatoly Litvak, and they have two daughters, Emily and Abigail. In her free time, Rabbi Inna enjoys hiking, practicing yoga, going to theaters, listening to audiobooks, and learning French.
Cantor Lizzie Shammash
Cantor Lizzie Shammash has served congregations in the Philadelphia area since 2007, most notably Tiferet Bet Israel from 2007 to 2020. She divides her time between pulpit work as a visiting cantor and artist-in-residence, creating and performing concerts, leading retreats and working with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality as a faculty member of the Clergy Leadership Program and teacher of the weekly Jewish Online Yoga Studio, creating embodied practice to companion weekly Torah portions, holidays and liturgy. She has been a yoga practitioner for 30 years and is certified both as a yoga teacher and a teacher of Jewish mindfulness.
She began her career as an opera, concert and recital singer and has performed at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Marlboro Festivals and as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra, among others. Cantor Shammash has recorded extensively for the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, including recordings of Yiddish art songs, Yiddish theater songs, liturgical repertoire, and contemporary compositions by American composers. She travels nationally with Divas on the Bima, a group she co-founded with three colleagues. She holds degrees from Brown University, Manhattan School of Music, Boston University Opera Institute, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She makes her home in Philadelphia with her husband, David Reed.
Cantor Daniel Singer
Cantor, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Cantor Daniel Signer is as comfortable singing 18th-century classical liturgical repertoire or leading the congregation in traditional Hasidic or Sephardic melodies as he is performing Jewish pop a cappella with Six13 or singing roles with the Yiddish theater. He has served as the cantor of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue since 2006. “A singing community” is one of Cantor Singer’s major goals, and together with Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, he has implemented a revolutionary model of worship for the congregation.
Cantor Singer majored in music and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin in Superior and holds master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in sacred music from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in Jerusalem and Manhattan. Before entering the cantorate, he was voice department chair, opera workshop director, and head start coordinator at the Flint School for the Performing Arts, and a resident artist with the Toledo Opera and other regional and international vocal arts programs including the Israel Vocal Arts and Brevard Music Center. Cantor Singer is a member of the American Conference of Cantors and the Cantor’s Assembly.
Cantor Shimon Smith
Cantor + Director of Music and Youth and Family, Romemu
Shimon Smith is the cantor and director of music and youth and family at Romemu in Manhattan.
Having grown up in Israel, Shimon served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces for five years where he received the presidential award for outstanding soldier. After his service, he became a Jewish Agency shaliach in the U.S. for two years and, upon his return to Israel, he studied music at the Rimon School for Music and Jazz. Shimon holds a bachelor’s in history and Jewish studies, and became a full member of the Cantors Assembly in 2024.
In Israel, Shimon was a leader in the pluralistic Jewish world, leading music in rallies and protests for a more egalitarian Jewish society together with the IMPJ, Women of the Wall, and other Jewish pluralistic organizations. He was the cantorial soloist and head of the b’nai mitzvah program at Beit Daniel Tel Aviv for 13 years before moving with his family to the United States, where he spent a year as an artist in residence at Temple Emanuel in Westfield, New Jersey, before moving to New York City.
Shimon is a celebrated Jewish rock radio artist. His original songs are featured in many transcontinental music publications and can be found on Spotify and other streaming services. Shimon also dubs voices for characters in the Israeli versions of cartoon movies and TV shows and has been the Israeli voice of characters such as Scar, Thanos and Hefty Smurf. He is also one of the Israeli voices of Waze.
Shimon lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan with his wife Rebecca, daughter Lily, and dog Lucy.
Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot
Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot is best known for her joyful spirit, soulful singing and passion for Jewish learning. In her 21st year at Temple Judea of Tarzana, California, and jointly ordained as rabbi and cantor, Alison is dedicated to revitalizing worship, integrating the ancient sounds of Jewish tradition with contemporary music, and making the beauty and joy of Jewish texts and liturgy accessible to all.
Alison’s training includes master’s in sacred music and Hebrew letters, as well as her double ordination, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institue of Religion, a bachelor’s from Wesleyan University, and certificates from British American Drama Academy in London, William Esper Studios in New York, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Alison is currently a visiting instructor at HUC-JIR in LA.
She has served on the executive council of the Cantors Assembly, and the board of directors of StandWithUs, Rabbis United and AKLA, and she is an active leader in the American Conference of Cantors and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Alison has worked as an actress in New York and London and was awarded a Spielberg Fellowship to teach Jewish theater.
A native of the San Fernando Valley, Alison resides in Porter Ranch with her husband, Michael, and children Jacob, Abby and Daniel.
Cantor Natalie Young
Cantor Natalie Young is an award-winning composer whose music is being used by communities all over the world. Her gift for writing beautiful and memorable melodies has made prayer experiences accessible for worshippers young and old. The power of music is something she takes seriously — not just in her music writing, but also in how she connects with people and crafts services as a cantor. Natalie proudly serves as the cantor at Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois. She is also privileged to be able to share her musical gifts and teachings with communities as a cantor/composer-in-residence throughout the year.
Plenum III: Our Social Justice and Interfaith Partnerships
Amanda Berman
Founder and Executive Director, Zioness
Amanda Berman is the founder and executive director of the Zioness Movement, where she works to empower and activate Zionists on the progressive left to stand proudly in social justice spaces as Jews and Zionists. She is also a civil rights attorney who previously worked to fight antisemitism legally, spearheading such groundbreaking initiatives as the international action against Kuwait Airways for its discrimination against Israeli nationals, and the dual cases against San Francisco State University for its constitutional and civil rights violations.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD from the Cardozo School of Law. Amanda writes on Jewish and civil rights issues, is a media contributor across various mediums and outlets and speaks publicly before diverse audiences.
She is the recipient of Hadassah’s prestigious Myrtle Wreath Award and the Algemeiner listed her as one of the top “100 people positively contributing to Jewish life” in 2018.
Rabbi David Saperstein
Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, Union for Reform Judaism
For 40 years, Rabbi Saperstein directed the Religious Action Center, representing the Reform Jewish movement to the U.S. Congress and administration. From 2015 to 2017 he served as the U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom and served from 2019 to 2020 as the president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Currently he serves as senior advisor for policy and strategy to the Union for Reform Judaism. Over the years, he has also served on four federal advisory committees (chairing two of them) on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues.
During his career, Rabbi Saperstein has served on and chaired several of the boards or executive committees of over 20 national inter-religious, civil rights, and social justice coalitions and organizations including the NAACP, Common Cause, People for the American Way, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, the National Religious Partnership on the Environment, the World Faith Development Dialogue, Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, and the Latino-Jewish Advisory Council. Rabbi Saperstein has received significant recognition and appreciation for his leadership (including a Uniters Award from the White House in September 2022) in such broad-based coalitions both within progressive coalitions and “strange bedfellow” bipartisan left-right coalitions.
Amy Spitalnick
CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Amy Spitalnick is the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the national convener of Jewish coalitions working across communities to build a just and inclusive American democracy. She previously served as executive director of Integrity First for America, which won its groundbreaking lawsuit against the neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and other hate groups responsible for the violent events that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.
Amy also serves as a senior advisor on extremism to Human Rights First, on the advisory board of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, and on Bedrock’s national leadership council. She has extensive experience in government, politics and advocacy, including as communications director and senior policy advisor to the New York attorney general and spokesperson and advisor to the New York City mayor. She has also worked for a number of federal, state and local officials, campaigns and advocacy organizations, including as J Street’s first press secretary.
Amy frequently appears in national media and has been awarded various fellowships and honors, including being named a Women inPower Fellow at the 92nd Street Y, a Truman National Security Project Fellow, a City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star, and a New York Jewish Week 36 Under 36 Changemaker. She graduated from Tufts University.
MODERATED BY
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe
Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe serves as senior rabbi for Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. He also serves as co-chair of the Chappaqua Interfaith Committee and sits on Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s President’s Rabbinic Council and AIPAC’s National Rabbinic Council, and is a fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Leadership Initiative. Before arriving at Temple Beth El, Rabbi Jaffe served as rabbi and education director of Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, where he sat on the boards of the Jewish Community Federation’s Peoplehood Commission, the San Francisco Interfaith Coalition and the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis and wrote a column for J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, and later served as education director for URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, California. He received his bachelor’s in philosophy and history from Duke University and studied abroad at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Prior to his ordination, Rabbi Jaffe served student pulpits in Great Falls, Montana, and Las Vegas and he spent a year working as the education director of Temple Beth Torah in Fremont, California, and creating the San Francisco Bureau of Jewish Education’s Teen-to-Teen program.
Greetings from the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
David Bernstein
Deputy Director General, Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
David Bernstein was born and grew up in San Francisco, California, where he was president of Congregation Sherith Israel’s youth group and taught at its Sunday school, was active in NFTY, and attended Camp Swig (now Camp Newman) as a camper, counselor and associate director.
David made aliyah in 1979 and was a founding member of Kibbutz Yahel, the first Reform movement kibbutz in Israel, where he met his wife Nirit. From 1988 to 1992, David served as central shaliach to the North American Reform movement. Upon returning to Israel, David left began a 20-year career at the Jewish Agency for Israel, during which he served as director of the partnership and overseas relations department and was a founder and director of the Partnership 2000 project, which partnered 45 Israeli cities and regional councils with Jewish communities throughout the world.
David volunteered as an activist in the Israel Reform and Progressive movement, as chair of his congregation, Birkat Shalom at Kibbutz Gezer, and as chair of the national general assembly of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. In 2014, David joined the senior professional team of the IMPJ as Deputy Director General. In the World Zionist Organization David has served in a number of volunteer positions on behalf of ARZENU, the federation of world Reform Zionist movements. In June 2021, David was appointed to the executive of the World Zionist Organization, and recently to the board of trustees of Karen HaYasod.
David has an undergraduate degree in history and economics from Pitzer College and an MBA from University of California Berkeley.
Plenum IV: New Paradigms for Israel Education
Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer
President, Shalom Hartman Institute
Yehuda Kurtzer, Ph.D., is president of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Yehuda is a leading thinker and author on the meaning of Israel to American Jews, on Jewish history and Jewish memory, and on questions of leadership and change in American Jewish life.
Dr. Lesley Litman, RJE
Director of the Executive MA Program in Jewish Education,
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Lesley Litman, Ed.D., RJE, is the director of the executive MA program in Jewish education and coordinator of faculty instructional support at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She also consults The iCenter in the area of curriculum design and professional development in Israel education with a particular emphasis on infusing Israel in Jewish day schools.
Rabbi Dr. Laura Novak Winer, RJE
Director of the Master of Educational Leadership Program,
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, Ed.D., RJE, is director of the Master of Educational Leadership Program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a member of the School of Education faculty, based on the Skirball Campus in Los Angeles.
MODERATED BY
Saul Kaiserman
Emeritus Director of Lifelong Learning, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
Saul Kaiserman, RJE, is a doctoral candidate in Jewish education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Previously he served for 15 years as the founding director of lifelong learning at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York.
Plenum V: Visions for the Future
Rabbi Meir Azari
Founder, Senior Rabbi + Executive Director, The Daniel Centers of Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Rabbi Meir Azari is the founder of Tel Aviv’s Beit Daniel, where he has served for the past 33 years. Over the last three decades, Beit Daniel has become The Daniel Centers — four congregations spread across the greater Tel Aviv-Jaffa area. Rabbi Azari served as the executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism from 1986 to 1989. He served twice as the chairperson of MARAM (Israeli Council of Progressive Rabbis) and is a current board member of the Jewish Agency for Israel, where he serves as deputy chair of its evaluation and measurement committee. In 2017 Rabbi Azari received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College. He also received the International Humanitarian Award from the World Union for Progressive Judaism and Women of Reform Judaism at the 2017 URJ Biennial in recognition of his contributions to progressive Judaism in Israel and around the world.
Rabbi Azari has published two books: one discussing the origins and customs of Israeli Independence Day and another presenting Reform Judaism to Hebrew speakers through a set of essays.
Ilana Drake
Student, Vanderbilt University
Ilana Drake is a rising senior at Vanderbilt University majoring in public policy studies and English. Ilana is an alumna of Seeds of Peace where she gained experience in domestic and international dialogue. Her experience at Seeds led to her focus on building community and the importance of dialogue. At Vanderbilt, Ilana serves on the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy Student Advisory Board and is part of the Interfaith Scholars Program.
Rabbi Samantha Kahn
Senior Associate Rabbi, Congregation B’nai Israel of Boca Raton, Florida
Rabbi Samantha Kahn strives to instill Jewish excitement, provide guidance, offer counsel, and uncover Jewish passions for all. She is an experienced educator, pastor, advocate and preacher.
Rabbi Kahn is a proud member of the inaugural class of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Amplify Israel Fellowship. A longtime Israel-lover and advocate, you can read more from Rabbi Kahn on her Times of Israel blog.
She is a millennial, a Zionist, a meaning-seeker, an equality-endorser, a bigotry-opposer, a mindfulness advocate, a social justice champion and silly social media fan (find her on TikTok @prettyflyforarabbi).
Rabbi Kahn is honored to serve as the senior associate rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, Florida, and to focus her talents and passions on working with the Women of CBI and the social justice team, fighting for reproductive freedom with the Religious Action Center in Florida.
Rabbi Kahn is happily married to Matt Kahn, the Southeast regional director of American Friends of Shalva. She is a devoted mother, wife, sister and friend, and she is most content when she sees her daughters Roey and Stella Mae giggling.
Andrew Keene
Vice Chair, World Union for Progressive Judaism
Andrew Keene is the vice chair of finance for the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the global parent organization of Reform, progressive, liberal, and reconstructionist Jewish communities. He has served on the board of WUPJ since 2015 and is one of the organization’s representatives to the United Nations.
Rabbi Josh Weinberg
Vice President, URJ for Israel and Reform Zionism
Executive Director, Association of Reform Zionists of America
Rabbi Josh Weinberg is the vice president of the URJ for Israel and Reform Zionism and the executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America. He was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Israeli rabbinic program in Jerusalem and currently lives in New York.
Rabbi Dr. Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi
Senior Rabbi, Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation
Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Ph.D., an American-Israeli leader, author, and public speaker, is the inaugural senior rabbi at Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation in Baltimore. Ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Rabbi Sabath also holds a doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She teaches Jewish leaders around the world through the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and the Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood.
MODERATED BY
Michael Laufer
National Board Chair, American Zionist Movement
Michael Laufer has been active in leadership within the Reform movement for many years. Earlier this year, he completed 16 years of service on the Union for Reform Judaism board, where he also served two terms on the URJ Oversight Committee. Long involved in the movement’s Israel work, Michael is a long time ARZA board member, a former ARZA Vice-Chair and the former chair of the Reform movement’s 2015 World Zionist Congress election campaign. He also serves on the executive board of ARZENU, the political voice of Reform, Progressive and Liberal Religious Zionists within the World Zionist Organization. He was a member of the Reform Pension Board for nine years, a member of Rabbi Rick Jacobs’s transition team, and a member of the World Union of Progressive Judaism’s NA Advisory Board, as well as a past president of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan.
Next Steps + Closing Summary
Mark S. Anshan
Coordinator, Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism
Mark S. Anshan is a lawyer and a former Canadian diplomat, serving on several nonprofit boards. He provides legal, business, strategic and organizational advice to not-for-profits and charities.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mark served in the Canadian foreign service at the United Nations and the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm. Having served as a senior executive, chair and board member, he has been involved in managing and reorganizing several companies and nonprofits. He has extensive experience in management, strategic planning, governance and organizing businesses. He serves on several boards in the Canadian Jewish community and beyond. Mark is a past president of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, past president of ARZA Canada and past chair of ARZENU. He served on the Union for Reform Judaism board of trustees and as vice chair. He currently serves as a director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, Project Abraham and other organizations.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. With a fiery voice, a listening heart and a brilliant mind, Rabbi Hirsch articulates a clear vision for the survival and success of American Judaism while tending compassionately to the needs of his growing congregation.
In 2018, The Jerusalem Post named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year” and City & State praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews.
Prior to his arrival at Stephen Wise, he served for 12 years as executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Israel arm of the North American Reform movement. An accomplished teacher, author and public speaker, he is also a trained lawyer and a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. He is the host of the bi-weekly podcast “In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch” and his new book, “The Lilac Tree: A Rabbi’s Reflections on Love, Courage, and History” is available now wherever you get your books online.
Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism is sponsored by Amplify Israel: A Stephen Wise Free Synagogue initiative. Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is a 501(c)(3) religious organization (Tax ID #13-1628215) and any donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowable by law.
