OUR TEAM

CEO of the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center since 2017, Stephen has served in senior leadership roles at leading institutions in the Jewish world including the 92nd Street Y, the 14th Street Y, Shalem College, and the JCC Association. He teaches and lectures around the world specializing in the nexus of religion and popular culture, and has published widely in print and on-line including contributions to Dylan at Play and Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen. His podcast Bob Dylan: About Man & God & Law is part of the Pantheon Podcast Network and his new book on the spiritual wisdom of Bob Dylan is slated to be released by Morgan James in early 2022. Stephen earned a doctorate in Midrash and Scriptural Interpretation from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as a Wexner Graduate Fellow and has been a Tikvah Scholar at the NYU of Law, a Mandel Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute, and a Revson Fellow at JTS.

Josh earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business and specialized in non-profit accounting in New York. He served as the Chief Financial Officer at a neighborhood house in NYC prior to moving to Israel in 2004. Josh held the dual role of CEO and CFO at a large tourism company in Jerusalem and in 2015, Josh founded The Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club Foundation, the first of its kind in Israel, where heserved as its Director. Josh, also known as The Sports Rabbi, teaches Zionism through Israeli sports and runs Israel sports adventures. Together with his wife, Sharona, Josh founded the non-profit organization, Torat Reva Yerushalayim.

Hila joins our team having recently served as the Training and Development Counselor at the Israel Civil Service Cadet Program, a unique initiative within the government sphere aimed at training an elite cadre of public service personnel. In her position, Hila oversaw the cadets’ personal and professional development, facilitated group learning and activities, and aimed to maximize human resources. Previously, Hila worked at the Milken Institute, where she served as operations manager, and served as the Associate Director of PresenTense. She also was employed as the director of TELEM, a youth program within the Jewish Community Relations Council in Boston. Hila holds MA degrees in Organizational Sociology  from Ben Gurion University of the Negev and in Jewish Folklore  from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Rob Kahn grew up in Portland, Oregon spending his summers at Camp Solomon Schechter and the rest of the year as a leader in the Bnai Brith Youth Organization.  After earning his degree from Brandeis University, Rabbi Kahn went to rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary and then served for sixteen years as a congregational rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis. In 2008, Rob made Aliyah with his family and settled in Jerusalem. Rob held the position of Education Director at Young Judaea Year Course for several years and is currently a freelance tour guide and facilitator and guide for Golda Och Academy’s programs in Israel, Neshama and Naale . Rob is married to Camille, proud father of Avinoam, Dalya, and Elle.  He loves mountain biking, hevruta learning, and experiencing new things.  

Grisha Kalpan has been responsible for FJC operations since 1994.  A technician by trade, Grisha brings expertise from large industries as well as the private sector and works tirelessly to ensure that the Center runs smoothly and efficiently every day.

Rabbi Marc Kaye brings over a decade of experience working with teens and young adults to cultivate stronger and more informed Jewish identity. Marc earned advanced degrees from the Institute of Education at University College London and received smicha from Beit Morasha.  Marc oversees the day school trips that visit Israel through FJC.

Elizabeth is a student of Jewish texts and tradition, as well as a skilled writer and translator. A graduate of Barnard College, she earned a B.A in Sociology and Jewish Studies, engaging with nuances of Jewish identity and practice in her senior thesis, “Nothing New Under the Sun: Models of Continuity and Discontinuity in Modern Observant Jewish Women.”
Since her Aliyah to Israel, Elizabeth has employed her skills to advance initiatives promoting religious freedom, gender equality, and inclusive Jewish spaces. In her role at the CY, she is passionate about connecting individuals and communities to vibrant Torah learning experiences. Liz can often be found studying Talmud at a Jerusalem cafe, exploring new music, or dancing in her living room.
Schedule a virtual “coffee date” to learn more about joining CY programming.

Bex Stern Rosenblatt is the Conservative Yeshiva’s Faculty-in-Residence for the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, teaching Tanach, using the techniques of close-reading, theater, feminist readings, and traditional commentators. Bex also directs the CY’s recruitment efforts in North America. After finishing her B.A. in History and German at Williams College, Bex received a Fulbright Grant to Austria. She later earned an M.A. in Tanakh from Bar Ilan University and has also studied at the Conservative Yeshiva and Bina Jerusalem. Bex is the founder of Havruta Tel Aviv, an organization that facilitates guided pair-learning of the Tanakh.

Miriam Yifrach earned an MA in Linguistics from Boston University.  An impassioned pursuer of clear communication and organization, she serves as student liaison and manages the center’s administrative operations. Having spent much of her childhood in Israel, she returned recently as a full citizen and lives in Jerusalem.

Dr. Kulp is co-founder of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem where he has taught Talmud and halakhah for the last 20 years. Dr. Kulp’s English commentary on the entire Mishnah served as the basis for the Mishnah Yomit project, in addition to which he has championed the Daf Shevui program – the study of one daf of Talmud per week. He has so far completed commentary on two tractates and has begun a third.  Originally from Margate, New Jersey, Dr. Kulp spent his summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos & Camp Ramah in Canada and for the last ten summers, he has served as the scholar-in-residence at Camp Ramah in New England. He made aliyah in 1994 and currently lives in Modi’in with his wife, Julie Zuckerman, and their four children, where he is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironmans.

Rabbi Levy is the co-Rosh Yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva where he teaches talmud, halacha, liturgy and Jewish thought. He was ordained by Rabbi David Hartman z”l in 2000.  Rabbi Levy is a past chair of the Program at Limmud conference, was director of the NOAM youth movement in the UK and camp rabbi for many years, is active in the global Masorti Movement, and has been the rabbi of Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue, Britain’s first fully egalitarian traditional shul, since 2001.

Vered Hollander-Goldfarb teaches Tanach and Medieval Commentators at the Conservative Yeshiva and is a regular contributor to Torah Sparks, FJC’s weekly message on the weekly Torah portion. She received her M.A. in Judaic Studies and Tanach from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University and studied at Bar-Ilan University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Before making aliyah, Vered taught at Ramaz School and Stern College in New York.

Itai Green is born and raised in Jeruasalem. Currently pursuing degrees in Bible studies, Jewish Philosophy, and Kabbalah. In addition to teaching at the CY, he serves as a Bible teacher at the Leyada high school in Jerusalem. 

Ilana Kurshan teaches Talmud at the CY. She is the author of If All the Seas Were Ink (St. Martin’s Press, 2017) and Why is This Night Different From All Other Nights (Schocken, 2005). She has a degree in History of Science from Harvard and in English literature from Cambridge, and has worked in literary publishing both in New York and in Jerusalem – as a translator, a foreign rights agent, and as the Books Editor of Lilith Magazine. Since October 2020, Ilana has been a regular contributor to Torah Sparks, FJC’s weekly parashat hashavuah blog. 

Elisa Pearlman teaches Nussah Skills at the CY.  Born in London, England, she earned a B.Sc.(Ed) in Mathematics and Education. Elisa taught mathematics in high schools in London before making aliyah in 1998. Following her aliyah, Elisa studied at the  Pardes Institute and began her career teaching Torah trope shortly thereafter.  Elisa also teaches at the Anglican International School, where she has worked for the past thirteen years; and she has also been teaching Torah / Haftarah / Megillot to B’nei Mitzvah students for the past 20 years. Elisa lives in Jerusalem with her husband and three children, and enjoys singing with her A Capella group in her spare time.

Dr. Rav Alexandra (Eliora) Peretz recently received an orthodox smicha (Yoreh Yoreh) from Prof. Rav Daniel Sperber ( Israel Prize for Jewish studies) and Rav Herzl Hefter after three years of intensive studies at Beit Midrash Harel. This year Eliora has been awarded an advanced Torah fellow scholarship at the memorial foundation of Jewish culture in New York to research the mikvah ritual of the “Converting Bride”. For the last decade she has been teaching talmud, halacha and mussar to francophone Jews in various settings. Eliora completed her Ph.D. in Media Sciences at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She is an associate lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and part of a Research Think Tank at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute on Partnership Peace. She is a Research Consultant for the UN Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security, UNSCR 2250. Her research on the role of media during Transitional Justice processes and peace negotiations has been published in various top ranked peer review academic journals and collective academic publications.

Alieza Salzberg Yizhar teaches Talmud at the Conservative Yeshiva. She has studied at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Drisha, and Matan’s Intensive Talmud Institute. Alieza recently completed an MA in Midrash and Aggada from Hebrew University on the topic of legal narratives of virginity testing in the Talmud. She also holds an MA in Creative Writing from City College. In addition to teaching at the Yeshiva, Alieza also teaches courses in Jewish History and Literature at Rothberg International School at Hebrew University.

Daniel teaches Hasidut at the Conservative Yeshiva. He grew up in London and graduated from the universities of Cambridge (BA in Social and Political Sciences) and Warwick (MA in International Relations). He studied at Yeshivat Ein Tzurim, Maale Gilboa and Shvilei HaTorah and received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. Daniel is past Director of Jewish Life & Learning for Hillel at Stanford University and Director of the UJS-Hillel Culanu Centre for Cambridge University. As an artist-educator, he has performed and facilitated across the world and his songs have garnered tens of thousands of plays online. He is an accredited meditation teacher and teaches on meditation, spirituality, prayer and Hasidut for the Romemu Yeshiva. He is the founder of appliedjewishspirituality.org, an online platform for the exploration of Jewish spirituality.

Meira has many years of experience teaching Hebrew as a second language, having taught both in Ulpanim and Hebrew classes at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and also in online teaching. Meira received her Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Arabic language and literature, and completed her M.A. in Hebrew Language at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She also holds teaching certificates for primary and high school instruction. Meira has been working at Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center since September 2004.

Bracha has shared her passion for learning and teaching with teens, adults, and teachers. In Toronto, she was Instructor of Ethics in Jewish Living for the Florence Melton Adult Mini School of the Hebrew University. Bracha has also offered Synagogue Adult Education courses, led Tanakh home study groups and served as Spiritual Leader for the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Days). In Israel, she was a curriculum writer for the Jewish Values Project of the Melton Centre for Jewish Education and taught these materials to visiting teachers from the from throughout the Jewish world. Bracha is currently Rosh Chinuch of Ramah Canada. She holds an M.A. in Jewish Thought and Education from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Adam Frank is a Conservative rabbi who made aliyah to Israel from Atlanta, GA in 2001. He served as rabbi of Congregation Moreshet Yisrael, Jerusalem’s downtown Conservative synagogue, from 2005-2019. In addition to teaching, Rabbi Frank is an activist in the areas of both animal welfare and religious freedom in Israel.

Rabbi David Greenstein has retired from the congregational rabbinate but continues teaching. He has taught Talmud and Zohar in rabbinical seminaries in North America as well as at the Conservative Yeshiva and at Neve Schechter in Tel Aviv. His book, Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar, was published by Stanford University Press in 2014. Rabbi Greenstein was chosen as the Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellow at Harvard University for  2018-2019 academic year..

Rabbi Alan Iser received his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary and has a Masters degree in Near Eastern Civilizations and Languages from Harvard. He is a former pulpit rabbi and Hillel director. He currently is an Adjunct Professor of Theology at St. Joseph’s University, Villanova University and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Peta Jones Pellach has been on the faculty of Oded for a decade, since making Aliyah from Australia. There, she had a long career in education at all levels, as Director of Jewish Studies in a Jewish high school, teaching in the Florence Melton Adult Education Program, lecturing at Sydney University and as a co-founder of Limmud-Oz. She is also Director of Educational Activities for the Elijah Interfaith Institute and a co-founder of Praying Together in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Vernon Kurtz is Rabbi Emeritus of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Illinois. He has served in many leadership positions in the Conservative/Masorti worldwide movement, in Zionist organizations, in interfaith venues and is an associate member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Rabbi Kurtz is adjunct professor of Rabbinics at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago, a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, and the author of Encountering Torah: Reflections on the Weekly Portion. He and his wife Bryna made Aliyah in June 2019. Rabbi Kurtz is a member of FJC’s Amuta Board.