The T’ruah Israel Fellowship offers a select group of six students spending the academic year in Israel the opportunity for intensive study, experiential learning, development of a rabbinic voice, and cohort building. Fellows participate in monthly study sessions, special opportunities to see human rights issues on-the-ground (in addition to the regular Year-In-Israel program), and leadership training. Fellows also take leadership roles in guiding and facilitating the Year-in-Israel program for their fellow students.
- Scroll down or click to meet our current and past fellows.
- Watch a video about our Year-in-Israel program participants planting trees in a Palestinian village.
- Read an Associated Press article about our Year-in-Israel program.
- Watch Year-in-Israel program participants talk about their experiences.
- Listen to a podcast about our Year-in-Israel program.
Israel Fellows
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Abi Weber
Abi Weber, a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (expected graduation: 2021), was born in Philadelphia but soon became an enthusiastic Chicagoan. After graduating from Pomona College in 2011, she was a fellow in AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps. during which she worked at a non-profit organization that provides employment training and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Abi was a Leadership Fellow at Mishkan Chicago, a dynamic spiritual community that works to engage people on the fringes of Judaism, where she saw firsthand how Jewish connection can have a transformative effect on individuals and the world at large. After several years of working in the social justice field, Abi decided to continue on this path by becoming a Jewish leader. She is an alumna of SVARA: The Traditionally Radical Yeshiva; Camp Ramah in the Poconos; and many other fabulous Jewish organizations that helped shape her love of Judaism today.
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Alexandra Stein
Alexandra Stein is expected to graduate from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 2022. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and earned her B.A. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Yale in 2011. After working on the counseling team of a therapeutic high school as a participant in Avodah, Alexandra spent a year studying conflict resolution in Tel Aviv. Most recently, as the Independent Living Skills Coordinator at College Living Experience in Rockville, she has spent the past few years working with neurodiverse young adults who are starting college or work. She loves teaching, and is passionate about building communities that are empathic and social-justice oriented. When not at work or school, Alexandra can be found reading fiction, going on (easy) hikes, participating in protests, and visiting museums. -
Becca Richman
Becca is a rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, expected to graduate in 2019, and a resident of sunny, West Philadelphia. Born in Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Becca was raised by avid bicyclist parents and the activism-oriented Adat Shalom community. Becca is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied Child Development and Environmental Studies. As a student, Becca created the Brandeis Community Garden and co-founded the Brandeis Reconstructionist Organization. Becca also served Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in West Newton, MA as their Informal Education Coordinator for three years. After graduating, Becca worked at a housing partnership, where she managed federal housing vouchers, facilitated a client support group, and established a partnership with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC). Becca is a proud member of the Camp JRF community, where she was a camper, counselor, and Senior Staff. Becca's rabbinical path is rooted in her commitment to Jewish values, community building, and collaborative social justice. As a rabbi one day, Becca hopes to honor brokenness and redemption as holy parts of communal healing.
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Margo Hughes-Robinson
Margo Hughes-Robinson will graduate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2021. Prior to studying at JTS, Margo graduated from Clark University in Worcester, MA, where she graduated with degrees in Theatre and Jewish Studies, and at the Year Program at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. She is a passionate interfaith organizer and educator, teaching Jewish-Christian Bible classes and working with groups like the New York Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee and Standing UPtown for Justice. Growing up in a family that lived in New York, San Francisco, North Carolina and France, and more, Margo loves meeting and working with all kinds of Jewish communities. This summer, she served as the Global Teaching Fellow Central America, working with emerging Jewish communities in Guatemala and Costa Rica. In her spare time, Margo loves practicing acroyoga, writing, and traveling with her husband David (and sometimes their dog, Zelda!) -
Shani Abramowitz
Shani Abramowitz is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), expected to graduate in 2021. Before entering rabbinical school, Shani was a year-long fellow at Mechon Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva on the Upper West Side of New York. Shani was born and raised in Chicago, and attended Brandeis University, where she studied English Literature, psychology, and history. Shani has worked previously with J Street as a regional and Rabbinical school organizer, and is looking forward to learning, traveling, and growing with the T’ruah Israel Fellowship! -
Talia Stein
Talia is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College Rabbinical School, where she is also pursuing a Masters of Jewish Education and anticipates graduating in 2020. Talia grew up in the great city of Philadelphia before moving to Maryland to study economics and public policy at University of Maryland. After school, she moved to Chicago to participate in AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps. In AVODAH, Talia worked to organize clergy around workers' rights, and in particular, an increase to the Illinois state minimum wage. Before rabbinical school, Talia was living in Seattle enjoying all of the natural beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer and working at the Hillel at University of Washington. There, she ran Hillel's social justice and undergrad programming. When she is not working or in school, you can find her watching or playing football (Go Eagles), hiking, cooking, and exploring new cities.
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