A Q&A with Charlottesville’s Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin

On Aug. 12, 2017 Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin of Charlottesville’s Congregation Beth Israel — the city’s only synagogue — confronted a nightmare in their backyard: the horrifying Unite the Right Nazi rally. T’ruah was the only major national Jewish organization with a presence at the counter-protests that day. T’ruah honored both rabbis...
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Neta Hamami Tabib Dror

Neta (she/her) comes to T’ruah with a long history as an activist, educator, and group facilitator of youth and adult groups dealing with issues of identity and social justice. As a Mizrachi woman, Neta teaches and lectures about traditional and social Judaism and has been a teacher of Torah and social justice at Bina since...
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Rachel (Braun) Rubenstein

Rachel Braun is a first year rabbinical student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University. Rachel grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended Chicagoland Jewish High School. She then got her BA at Washington University in St. Louis in International Studies with a focus on the Middle East and...
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Sarah Fort Sholklapper

Sarah Fort Sholklapper is a rabbinical student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University. A native of the DC area, she graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Government and International Politics, concentrating in the Middle East and North Africa, with the intention of going into foreign service....
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Buy Kosher Fair Trade Products

Bring human rights to your celebrations of Chanukah and Passover, to your synagogue kiddush, and more. Through partnerships with Divine Chocolate and Equal Exchange, we are proud to offer kosher fair trade Chanukah gelt, kosher-for-Passover chocolate, coffee, and more that come from companies committed to dignified working conditions and environmental sustainability. Proceeds from these purchases...
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Rabbi Jill Jacobs headshot

Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Rabbi Jill Jacobs (she/her) is the CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, an organization that trains and mobilizes more than 2,300 rabbis and cantors and their communities to bring a moral voice to protecting and advancing human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories. She is the author of...
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Gabby Tropp

Gabby Tropp (she/her) is a rabbinical and Jewish education student at Hebrew Union College, expecting to graduate in 2028. She grew up in Trumbull, CT, and graduated from Lafayette College with a BA in history and Spanish and a minor in Jewish studies. At Lafayette, Gabby took pride in leading the Friday minyan and was...
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