Girl Scouts at Wise donate over $2,000 from cookie sales to Ukrainian refugees
Two troops of Girl Scouts headquartered at Stephen Wise Temple have donated over $2,000 from their Girl Scout Cookie sales to Ukrainian refugees. At the start of each meeting of Girl Scout Troop 71925, the girls recite the Girl Scout Promise. Troop leaders Sharhzad Ghodsian and Dorit Warner have strived to connect that promise with the teachings and values at the heart of Judaism. One of those values: tzedakah. After selling 3,361 [...]
UCLA’s Jared McBride discusses future of Ukraine
As part of Stephen Wise Temple's response to the Ukraine crisis, our clergy has enlisted experts in international relations, humanitarian aid, foreign policy, and history to educate and inform our community. On Tuesday, April 5, UCLA professor and historian Jared McBride, Ph.D., joined Rabbi Josh Knobel for our latest Wise Webinar to discuss the future of Ukraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7b6jiEOQQ An adjunct history professor at UCLA, Prof. Jared McBride, Ph.D., is a [...]
Wise-sponsored plane of Ukrainian refugees lands in Israel
With the help of Stephen Wise Temple and Schools, a plane full of of Ukrainian refugees has landed in Israel as part of United Hatzalah's Operation Orange Wings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE-t92qvxus At 2:17 p.m. (local time) on Thursday, 147 Ukrainian refugees boarded cars, busses, and vans as they departed United Hatzalah of Israel's field hospital and command center in Kishinev, Moldova, headed for the airport. They had fled their homes in haste, [...]
US Senate confirms Deborah Lipstadt as antisemitism envoy
On Wednesday, Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt—a familiar face to the Stephen Wise Temple community—was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as President Joe Biden's Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism, ending an eight-month confirmation process. Professor Lipstadt has engaged in four public dialogues with Rabbi David Woznica, most recently in July of 2020. “Dr. Lipstadt is a highly respected historian and extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful on matters of antisemitism," Rabbi Woznica said. [...]
Stephen Wise Temple & Schools Ukraine fundraising efforts featured on CBS
Two weeks ago, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback received a call from a congregant, Dina Aspen. Having seen the community's Wise Webinars with experts in international relations and foreign policy, and the Wise community's Ukraine response, she had a proposal. On top of education and general advocacy, she said, the Wise community could take direct, focused action. They could save lives. The result was a campaign to raise funds for [...]
Video: Stephen Wise Temple and Schools and B’nai Jeshurun raise over $200k for Ukrainian refugees
As part of Stephen Wise Temple's response to the Ukraine crisis, our clergy has enlisted experts in international relations, humanitarian aid, foreign policy, and history to educate and inform our community. On March 28, Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosted a briefing from Moldova, featuring a team from United Hatzalah of Israel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqZ9DeVP0YA Over the last two weeks, Stephen Wise Temple and Schools, in partnership with Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New [...]