Allen Lipson

Allen Lipson (he/him/his) completed his first year of rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was the inaugural rabbinic intern at JTS’ Hendel Center for Justice and Ethics. After his T’ruah summer, he transferred to Hebrew College, where expects to be ordained in 2024. Previously a labor organizer at UNITE HERE, the hotel...
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Briah Cahana

Briah Cahana (she/her) is a rabbinical student at Yeshivat Maharat in Riverdale, NY, in the 2023 class. Her upbringing in Sweden, Toronto, and Montreal enabled her to become a quick adapter to and great enthusiast for new environments, languages, and cultures. Her parents — a rabbi and social worker duo — modeled for her the...
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Julie Fishbach

Julie Fishbach (she/her) is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, expecting to graduate in 2026. She grew up in the Bay Area, where she was active in Temple Isaiah’s youth groups, and worked as a counselor and Program Director at Camp Tawonga. She studied Sociocultural Anthropology and Theater at...
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Michaela Caplan

Michaela (she/they) believes strongly in the power of community organizing to usher in transformative change. She was introduced to the world of organizing through Jewish-led social movements and went on to work as a field organizer and as a regional field director on a 2020 presidential campaign and as a field director for a progressive...
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Ally Karpel

Ally Karpel (she/her) is a rabbinical student at the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College, expecting ordination in 2026. Ally grew up in Dallas, TX and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018 with a degree in speech-language pathology. There, she served as president of the University Interfaith Council and co-founded...
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Matthew Berman

Matthew Berman (he/him) is an incoming rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, expecting to graduate in 2027. Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, Matthew attended The Ohio State University with a major in Political Science and double minors in Music and Jewish Studies. After graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, he took a gap...
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Julie Fishbach

Julie Fishbach (she/her) is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, expecting ordination in 2026. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked as a counselor and Program Director at Camp Tawonga. She studied Sociocultural Anthropology and Theater at UC San Diego, and completed coursework in...
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Ending the Occupation

 “Cry with a full throat without restraint; Raise your voice like a shofar!” -Isaiah 58:1  Our approach to ending the occupation is grounded in human rights and a belief that all Israelis and Palestinians are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of the Divine, and should be treated with dignity and compassion.  As rabbis and...
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Holding the Administration Accountable

Jewish history has taught us that fascism arrives slowly, through the steady erosion of liberties. And we have learned that those who attack other minorities will eventually come to attack us. To our great dismay, we learned this truth again when, during the last election campaign, antisemitism rose to the fore, along with racism, Islamophobia,...
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Torah 20/20

This year’s Torah cycle, 5780, will accompany us through a high-stakes year in American life. Between October 2019 and October 2020, Torah 20/20 will bring Jewish wisdom to the most urgent questions of democracy in America. Fifty-two Jewish leaders and thinkers–including rabbis, writers, political leaders, and artists–will explore democracy and questions of how to build a just...
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