cbst

On May 11, 2017 CBST hosted an urgent conference call about government-sponsored persecution of LGBTQ people in Chechnya.  Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum facilitated a conversation with presenters Lyosha Gorshkov, Co-President of RUSA LGBT, from New York City.

Ruthie Blum, author of the book "To Hell in a Handbasket: Carter, Obama, and the 'Arab Spring.'" A former senior editor at the Jerusalem Post, she is currently a columnist for the English edition of the Hebrew paper, Israel Hayom, and a feature writer for Israel21C, a Web magazine about Israeli inventions and innovations. Originally from New York, she has been living in Israel since 1977. She has four children, all of whom served in the IDF -- and one of whom participated in the ground invasion into Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.

Ohad Elhelo - Born in Ashdod, Israel, Ohad is studying economics and business at Brandeis University as a recipient of the prestigious Slifka Scholarship, awarded to only two students each year. Before commencing his studies, Ohad served in the IDF Special Forces unit, Egoz, and later became a combat intelligence officer in 2010, further leading a project that was nominated for the Head of Intelligence Prize for Creative Thinking. After his honorable discharge, Ohad was a campaign manager at Taykey, a Sequoiabacked international online advertising startup. Ohad has established a number of collaborative business endeavors, from a venture between Birthright and the Israeli MFA, to a project between Brandeis University and the Consulate General of Israel to New England targeting the promotion of coexistence in Israel. In August, upon his return from Operation Protection Edge, Ohad was invited to speak at the “Stop the Terror” rally in Boston, where he summoned thousands of individuals to rise to the challenge of building an “infrastructure of hope”, gaining thousands of followers through his famed speech. He was subsequently interviewed on various domestic and international TV channels and was covered in feature articles within The Boston Globe, The Times of Israel, and Ynet, among others. He currently lectures for a number of organizations and was recently inducted into the College100, a curated network that pairs emerging leaders with established titans to address some of our generation’s most pressing concerns.

Rabbi Mikie Goldstein, recently returned to Israel following his year at CBST as a Cooperberg Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern. After being ordained in June 2014 at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also earned an M.A. in Talmud, Mikie now serves as the rabbi of Kehilat Adat Shalom-Emanuel in Rehovot, Israel.

MK Nitzan Horowitz, a former journalist, is the second openly gay Knesset member in Israeli history. Horowitz was born in Rishon LeZion. He graduated the Tel Aviv University Law School. In his early journalistic career he served as a military affairs reporter during the 1982 Lebanon war, as well as the international news editor at Israel Army Radio. He then began working at Hadashot - an Israeli newspaper - as the foreign affairs editor. Next, he started his career at Haaretz, as the foreign affairs editor, and later as Haaretz correspondent in Paris and Washington D.C. and as chief foreign affairs columnist. When News 10 began broadcasting in 2002, Horowitz founded its international desk. He served as a board member of ACRI - the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. He was also active in environmental issues and received the Pratt Prize for environmental journalism. In 2008, he resigned from Channel 10 and became a candidate of the Israeli left-wing party, Meretz. Meretz won three seats in the 2009 Israeli elections, making Horowitz the second openly gay Knesset member in Israeli history. Horowitz resides in Tel Aviv with his life partner.