1. THE 2012 WCJCC
GlobAl JEWISH
CONNECTIONS FELLOWSHIP
MEET THE FELLOWS >>

2. Dear WCJCC Fellows,
For the past 35 years, the World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers has demonstrated the
added value and benefits that stem from forging close ties with Jews in other communities around
the world. Yet, the Global Jewish Connections Fellows program is the first time a young leadership
group is being trained globally and long term, cutting across continents and cultures. We have been
inspired by this experience and thank you for joining this new journey.
It is our vision that Jews around the world will embrace Jewish peoplehood concepts. We believe
that each one of your projects will weave another piece in this fascinating tapestry. We thank our
sponsors and partners, the steering committee members and the mentors who have all helped
make a dream come true.
May you go from strength to strength,
Jane Gellman Ishie Gitlin Menachem Revivi Smadar Bar-Akiva
President Chair Chair of Advisory Committee Executive Director

3. 2012 WCJCC Fellows in Jerusalem

4. Alan, 37, was born in Guatemala and is now living in Mexico with his wife and son. He
has a degree in business management followed by an MBA. He has worked extensively
with his community in Guatemala all his life in many different areas, and after moving to
Mexico he joined the CDI and started working in the treasury department. Alan has his
own company focusing on the service industry and working with banks and other credit
companies operating in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.
VENTURE: A dating website for single and divorced Jewish people over 30 in Mexico.
Since the Jewish community in Mexico City is made up of many smaller communities
and members often say it is difficult to find a partner and get into a relationship, there
is a need for a website that will connect between them without the discomfort of go-
Alan Jaschkowitz ing to singles events aimed at this age group.
Mexico City, Mexico Mentor - Ishie Gitlin
Dov, 28, lives in Jerusalem. Born and raised in the United States, he has been involved
with Jewish leadership since middle school. As a youth leader, Dov has strived to bridge
the gap between different sects of Judaism and has worked to build a multi-denomi-
national dialogue. He moved to Israel in 2001 and currently resides in the the Armon
Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem with his daughters and wife. Dov attended Bar
Ilan University where he studied community leadership and informal education. He cur-
rently works with the Community Center in Early Childhood Education.
VENTURE: “Leb”- Lehipagesh Ba’kehila (Let’s meet in the Community) seeks to
create and support cross-denominational dialogue for young families while creating
and strengthening a connection with the local community center and a sister Jew-
ish community abroad (the Mid-Island “Y”). The vision is to cultivate a neighborhood
Dovy Singal community and a genuine feeling of peoplehood, openness, sharing and acceptance
Jerusalem, Israel among the different styles of Jewish life through a series of social and study meetings
that will culminate in a main event at the end of the year. Mentor - Lea Balas

5. Ezequiel is from Lamroth Hakol JCC in Buenos Aires. He is 27-years-old and has been
involved in the local community, first through his family, and during the last ten years,
through assisting in youth activities and programming. In 2008, he graduated with a
major in business economics and works for an international grain brokerage company.
VENTURE: Machane Am Echad (MAE) – While the end goal would be to develop
a worldwide Jewish summer camp in Latin America, the first step is developing joint
programs between JCCs around the world that focus on youth. As a next stage, youth
groups will visit each other and representatives from different communities will partici-
pate in a Jewish camp in Latin America. Finally, the possibility of developing a world-
wide Jewish camp in Latin America will be explored.
Ezequiel Hajnal Mentor - Diego Freedman and Sasha Friedman
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jenny (Batya) is 25-years-old and has an MA in economics. For the past 11 years she has
been actively involved in Jewish life in Odessa at JCC Migdal, volunteering with children
and teenagers, at Family Camps and in the Jewish Museum of Odessa.
VENTURE: A global website to which different communities and different organi-
zations will add their programs, so that the wide spectrum of JCC programs will be
available for all Jews worldwide. The website will also provide a forum for discussion of
Jewish topics.
Mentor - Alexender Elkin
Jenny Spektor
Odessa, Ukraine

6. 2012 WCJCC fellows visit to Davidson Center in Jerusalem

7. The best word that can fully describe Maxim is “almost.” He has almost graduated, he
is almost funny and almost won “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in Bulgaria. He is now
working for the Jewish community in Bulgaria, which sometimes takes almost all of his
time. Maxim is the educational coordinator for the Beit Shalom JCC where he is respon-
sible for the Jewish content of programming for all ages, from two days old to 65-years-
old. His hobby is searching for Jewish values in extraordinary places (one of his latest
articles was about how to teach Jewish values through the Angry Birds game).
VENTURE: Better Late helps adults in Bulgaria who were never able to celebrate a
bar/bat-mitzvah finally complete this right of passage. The program will also include
ways to connect with other Jewish communities.
Maxim Delchev Mentor - Julia Dandalova
Sofia, Bulgaria
Michal Rusin, Adv. is deputy human resources director of the Raanana Municipality. She’s
a board member of Migvanim Community Centers – Ramat Hasharon’s chain of JCCs.
Michal is also a board member of the Takdim Community Foundation, and a member of
the Ramat Hasharon municipal drug and addiction prevention committee as well. She is
a mother of two teenagers.
VENTURE: From Slavery to Freedom is a website with personal or family stories of
Jews from different communities around the globe regarding the theme of slavery to
freedom. After collecting the stories, a group Hagaddah will be created.
Mentor - Shelley Kedar
Michal Rusin
Ramat Hasharon, Israel

8. Pazit is a New York-based media producer, mother and educator, dedicated to identity-
based projects. For the past four years she has been volunteering as the Chair of Israe-
liness.org, a family program celebrating the Israeli identity of children who are growing
up outside of Israel. Among her award-winning media projects are a documentary short,
“A Personal Touch”, a mobile game for smoking cessation “Lit2Quit,” and an independent
feature film “Failing Better Now,” She earned a BA in journalism and art history from the He-
brew University in Jerusalem, an MA in film and television from Bournemouth University
in England, an MBA in media management from Metropolitan College of New York, and is
currently pursuing a doctorate in communication and education at Columbia University.
VENTURE: Jface Docs will form a Jewish documentries film festival that will take
Pazit Levitan place simultaneously in different Jewish communities around the globe, dealing with
issues related to Jewish identity and Jewish diversity.
New York City, NY Mentor - Marty Maskowitz
Shira is from New York City, but originally from Philadelphia, PA. She has been involved
with the JCC in Manhattan since 2009, serving on their Leadership Council for young
professionals. After an inspiring Birthright Israel trip in 2010, she left the corporate world
to pursue a career in the Jewish non-profit sector. She currently works at the JCC in Man-
hattan as an assistant director of program marketing.
VENTURE: Birthright without Borders is a unique birthright experience that aims
to connect Jews from New York and Argentina to help them understand and further
develop their own Jewish identities living in the diaspora. These new friendships will
be a source for them to explore different ways to be Jewish in their own countries.
Mentor - Liz Fisher
Shira Kaiserman
Philadelphia, PA

9. Shlomi, a Jerusalemite, is 44-years-old, married and has three children. Shlomi is an
independent businessman in the field of Photography. He is involved in import and
marketing, advertising, PR, photography of conferences, medical photography and
computer graphics. For the past ten years, Shlomi has been an active volunteer in the
administration committee of the Gilo Community Center, and for the past two years
he has served as Chair of Gilo’s Education Forum. He is a graduate of the educational
leadership course for community administration and was twice elected its outstanding
volunteer. He is also a graduate of the EU Common Leadership Course in Brussels and
the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.
VENTURE: School2School will connect schools in Gilo, Jerusalem and North Carolina
through focusing on Hebrew language study and at the same time, create connections
Shlomi Amsalem between the two communities.
Jerusalem, Israel Mentor - Aviva Dvir
Tamar is from Jerusalem and a mother of two. She is a member of the Board of the
French Hill Community Center and active in organizing cultural activities for young fam-
ilies in the community. She is also a member of the Parents’ Association for the bilingual
Hand in Hand School (mixed Jewish-Arab education) that her children attend. Tamar is
also active in “Yerushalmim”, a movement dedicated to fostering, encouraging and sup-
porting the continuation of a pluralistic community in Jerusalem.
VENTURE: Leaders on the Hill is a lay leadership training course that is specifically
targeted at young volunteer activists. This course is relevant to the upcoming demo-
cratic elections to the Board of Directors of the Community Council of French Hill in
Jerusalem which will be held in the coming months.
Tamar Brody Mentor - Michael Ganor
Jerusalem, Israel

10. Tanya is deputy director of the Jewish Welfare and Community Center “Eva”, in St. Pe-
tersburg. In 2004 she graduated from St. Petersburg State University from the math-
ematical linguistics department of philological faculty. She was a member of the Co-
ordination Board of the Youth Human Rights Movement from 1999-2001. Since 2001
she has been working at Eva, first as coordinator of the children’s creative studios and
later as deputy director. In 2007, she graduated from the Lehava youth leadership train-
ing program and became more involved in Jewish educational activities. She has de-
veloped a project called “Ir Ahuva - The Beloved City” that runs a study course for tour
guides of Jewish St. Petersburg and offers free Jewish city tours for the community.
VENTURE: Jewish PeterGlobe is developing a Jewish scavanger hunt in St. Peters-
burg that highlights the Jewish history of the city and how this history is connected to
Tanya Lvova the global Jewish world today, showing the great contribution of St. Petersburg’s Jew-
St. Petersburg, Russia ish community to the modern Jewish world. Mentor - Maksim Meltsin
Wayne, a lifelong New Yorker, resides in Staten Island with his wife, Cathy, and three sons.
Wayne is a certified public accountant with a local specialized practice. Wayne tries to in-
still the desire for volunteerism and community service upon his sons by being an active
member in his community. He is an officer and member of his synagogue’s Board of Di-
rectors, his son’s little league baseball coach, a volunteer paramedic for a local volunteer
ambulance service, and involved in a number of other local organizations. As a former
member of its Board of Directors, Wayne continues to be heavily involved with the Jewish
Community Center of Staten Island by participating in numerous committees.
VENTURE: Vayehi Ohr - Let There Be Light will foster awareness of Jewish heritage
among teens from different JCCs around the world by utilizing the study of the Ho-
locaust. The heightened appreciation will hopefully lead to increased involvement in
Wayne Greenberg their local Jewish community and with other Jewish communities worldwide. This,
Staten Island, NY in turn, will create a pool of worldwide Jewish leaders which will carry the concept of
Worldwide Jewish Peoplehood into the future. Mentor - Vicki Roitman

11. The “Global Jewish Connections Fellows program” is a new and unique program initiated by the World Confederation of Jewish
Community Centers- in partnership with the UJA Federation of New York, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israel New York
Connections office and PresenTense. The program is designed for young (25-45) volunteer leaders from Jewish Community Centers
who have been involved in Tri Center or dual partnerships through UJA Federaton of New York. The program trains Jewish leaders
to acquire a global Jewish perspective and to become social entrepreneurs in their own local community. The 12 fellows represent
New York, Israel, Argentina, Mexico, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine. The program consists of online study, an intensive seminar in
Israel and Budapest, a personal project developed with the help of a personal mentor. It is supervised by a worldwide Steering
Committee.
Program Director: Smadar Bar-Akiva; Program Coordinator: Neriya Segerman; PresenTense Liaison: Michael Podberezin

12. Thank you to our sponsors and donors for supporting
the 2012 WCJCC Global Jewish Connections Fellowship.
Le a r n m o re at w w w. wc j cc. we e bly.com