I accepted the job as executive director of Hillel Milwaukee just over a year ago because of my passion for Jewish learning, my love of building supportive Jewish communities, and my desire to have an impact on the future of Judaism by strengthening the next generation of Jewish leaders. And though Zionism and a love […]
After Oct. 7, Jewish students at University of Wisconsin-Madison found themselves acting as ambassadors for the Jewish people. Many times, their non-Jewish, not-involved friends on campus asked them to explain what was going on in Israel and Gaza. Jewish students gave their best answers, but in these kinds of conversations, they also learned something. The […]
Despite advice to the contrary from loving family, she became an educator. Even though Erica (Bass) Fishbach’s grandmother – a Milwaukee Public Schools educator and librarian for many years – tried to deter her from going into teaching, Fishbach couldn’t help but follow her heart and soul into education. As a young girl, Fishbach was […]
I signed up for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Solidarity Mission to Israel because I wanted to bear witness to the atrocities of Oct 7. As a second-generation speaker for The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, I teach students to bear witness to Nazi atrocities. I needed to go. I wanted to bear […]
The work of psychotherapists and other mental health counselors has seen rising importance in recent years, especially since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. On May 13, Israeli Eitan Spiegel, who performs such services, will visit Milwaukee to discuss his work as part of the annual commemoration of Yom HaZikaron. The day serves as Israel’s […]
To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. In his 1790 letter of reply to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, George Washington echoed the words of first generation Jewish-American Moses Seixas who had penned them as part of a congratulations and query to the newly inaugurated first U.S. president with the aim of […]
Sarah Langer said she felt lost after the Oct. 7 attack in Israel by Hamas. The events of that day resulted in about 1,200 deaths and about 250 people being taken hostage, according to news reports. As the war continued, Langer said she felt compelled to act. Originally from Glendale, Langer now lives in Chicago, […]
This is Lori Fisher’s second year teaching sixth and seventh grade at Congregation Sinai, but don’t let that fool you; she is no stranger to teaching or to Sinai! Fisher says she practically grew up there. Her mother, Marsha Fensin, was the cantorial soloist at Sinai for many, many years, and Fisher spent the first […]
At first, she walked alone. In January, Liya Chernyakova walked with posters calling attention to the hostages held by Hamas. She walked alone, through the streets of Milwaukee’s east side, from the Urban Ecology Center to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee union, and back. “I taped posters to the front of my coat, and in back, […]
“Freedom Song” is a musical performance unlike just about all others. For one thing, it combines the story of a family and their struggle with addiction with the telling of the Exodus story. For another, all people involved are in some stage of addiction recovery. Frequently performed nationwide, the show will come to Milwaukee for […]