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 [...]
Stephen Wise Temple Senior Cantor Emma Lutz’s Installation: Full Video
On Friday, March 25, 2022, the Wise community witnessed Senior Cantor Emma Lutz‘s Installation in a stirring Shabbat service at Katz Family Pavilion and Nahmias Plaza, an event covered by the Jewish Journal and the Los Angeles Daily News Cantor Emma was joined in her celebration by colleagues, mentors, and friends from throughout the country. Cantor Richard Cohn, the Director of Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at the Hebrew Union [...]
Jordan B. “Gorf” Gorfinkel educates Stephen Wise Temple and Wise School students about the Jewish morality of superheroes
Jordan B. "Gorf" Gorfinkel helps a Wise School sixth grader craft a panel for their graphic Megillah on March 17, 2022. Standing in Zeldin-Hershenson Hall, Malka Clement watched the man who changed the face of "Batman" comics gush over the artwork of one of her students. Wise School's Director of Judaic Studies began to cry. "I'm so moved," she said. "I just watched how transformative Gorf's workshop was with one [...]