2011 Conferences
Here is a selection of the Limmud 2011 International Presenters:
1. Michelle Citrin
NYC based Singer/Songwriter, Michelle Citrin is known for her YouTube sensations, “20 Things to Do with Matzah,” and “Rosh Hashanah Girl”. Billboard Music named her a Top Songwriter. The Jewish Week included Michelle in its 2009 list of “36 Under 36: The Next Wave of Jewish Innovators.” (also Terri from Durban) who said: Known as the “little girl with a big voice” Michelle Citrin is a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter. With over 1.6 million hits, her videos, “Rosh Hashanah Girl” and “20 things to do with Matzah” have been called “YouTube sensations” and have landed a featured spot on Yahoo.com’s homepage. She’s been named one of Billboard Music’s “Top Songwriters,” ranked as a VH-1 “Song of the Year” finalist and will soon be releasing her new album. She offers a workshop on “how to lead a song circle” (perfect for camp), Friday Night Sing-a-Long Oneg and “Behind the Tube: Bring Your Project to Life!”
ARTS AND CULTURE
2. David Newman
Dean of the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben Gurion University in Israel and Editor of the “International Journal of Geopolitics”. Formerly from the UK, he has lived and worked in Israel since 1981. He writes a regular critical column in the ‘Jerusalem Post’. ISRAEL (David Newman’s visit is made possible by “Friends of Ben Gurion University” in South Africa).
3. Micha Odenheimer
Rabbi, writer and social activist. He has written on issues in the developing world for ‘Haaretz’, the ‘Washington Post’ and ‘Foreign Policy Magazine’. Since 2007 he served as a Founding Director of Tevel B’Tzedek, an Israeli-based organisation working with impoverished communities in Nepal and Haiti.
TIKKUN OLAM/TORAH/SPIRITUALITY
4. Barbara Spectre
The Founding Director of Paideia, the European Institute of Jewish Studies in Sweden, an academic institute established in 2001 through a grant of the Swedish Government that serves as a resource and stimulus for the renewal of European Jewish culture. She was formerly on the faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem, where she taught Jewish Thought, the Melton Center of the Hebrew University, and Yellin College of Education. Her area of research is Models of Response to the Holocaust in Christian and Jewish Theology. Her publications include: “A Theology of Doubt” (Hebrew) and, together with Noam Zion of the Hartman Institute, the two volume: “A Different Light: The Hanukkah Book of Celebration”. She is the recipient of the 2007 Max Fisher Prize for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, and the ICRF “2008 Women in Action” award.
TORAH/GENERAL INTEREST
5. Kay Andrews
Kay is one of the leading Holocaust educators in the United Kingdom. She was Head of Education of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) UK since 2005where she developed educational programmes and resources, including the BAFTA award winning Recollections: Eyewitnesses Remember the Holocaust. She also regularly led the Lessons from Auschwitz Project (LFA) – a large scale, four part project for post-16 students from across the UK, including a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. On her final LFA she guided a group of 15 faith leaders, including the Chief Rabbi and Archbishop of Canterbury. In January 2009, Kay moved to the newly formed Holocaust Education Development Programme at the world renowned Institute of Education, University of London (www.hedp.org.uk). She has also worked with Teachers’ TV to produce a series of lesson materials based around short films and has co-edited a special Holocaust related edition of Teaching History magazine (the national magazine of the Historical Association). Since 2005 Kay has been part of the UK delegation to the Task Force for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.
GENERAL INTEREST
5. Gerald Steinberg
Gerald Steinberg is President of NGO Monitor and Professor of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University. He has been published in the ‘International Herald Tribune’, ‘Financial Times’, ‘Wall Street Journal’ and ‘Haaretz’. Gerald has appeared on BBC, CNN, NPR and Al Jazeera and has addressed the Knesset and European Parliament. www.ngo-monitor.org ISRAEL (Gerald Steinberg’s visit is made possible by the “Israel Centre”)
