Wise Responds: Judicial Reform Sparks Protests in Israel
Friends, We, like many of you, have been following the events in Israel with a mixture of concern and pride. Over the last two-plus months, we have watched Israelis—right and left, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi, secular and religious—take to the streets demanding the protection of their democracy. The ruling coalition's suggested judicial reforms have inspired the most powerful and widespread protest movement the country has ever seen. This weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's firing of Defense [...]
Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Hosting Series of Israel Webinars
As part of Wise's commitment to fostering ongoing discussions about events currently unfolding in Israel, we invite our community to register for a three-part Israel webinar series presented by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. In response to the ongoing debates about judiciary reform raging in Israel and the intensified political fractures of the moment, the Federation is offering a series of webinars featuring leaders in Israel who can offer on-the-ground [...]
Wise School Begins Spring with Strong Finishes in Debate and Odyssey of the Mind
The Wise School debate teams and Odyssey of the Mind teams have started the spring competition season off with a bang. All three Odyssey of the Mind teams finished second in regionals, and the Wise School debaters took home second place overall in their second tournament of the year. Wise School Debate The fifth- and sixth-grade debaters showed off their rhetorical skills in February at The Center for Early Education against six [...]
Stephen Wise Temple and Leo Baeck Families Partner for Purim Tikkun Olam
Before our Purimland Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 5, Stephen Wise Temple's Center for Youth Engagement families and families from Leo Baeck Temple Religious school joined for a special tikkun olam project. Together on the Wise campus, 110 people (34 families) partnered to observe the mitzvah of matanot laevyonim, gifts for those in need. Together, the two communities made 230 lunches, distributed to those experiencing food scarcity through Hang Out, Do Good, [...]
Search for Meaning With Beata Poźniak
In this International Women's Day edition of his Search for Meaning podcast, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts Beata Poźniak, a multitalented Polish-born filmmaker and artist who successfully lobbied Congress to officially recognize International Women's Day in the United States, celebrated every March 8. In this special episode, Poźniak discusses the immigrant experience and struggle with identity, the impact of growing up under Soviet rule [...]
Wise Mourns Loss of Disability Rights Advocate Judith Heumann
The Stephen Wise Temple and Schools community was saddened to learn last week of the passing of Judith Heumann, widely regarded as the mother of the disability rights movement. Heumann passed away in Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of March 4, 2023. Having just marked Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month, this loss is particularly painful. Heumann, who contracted polio at 18 months old, was at the forefront of major disability [...]