Presenters: S

Cassy Sachar

Cassy studied fine art, specialising in bookbinding, before completing her MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL. She specialised in art and design librarianship before joining her professional experience with her enthusiasm for Jewish learning as the senior librarian at Leo Baeck College.

Beth Saffer

Beth Saffer is the Head of Older People Programmes at World Jewish Relief, where she leads the organisation supporting thousands of older Jewish people living in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Georgia. She is a Russian speaker and previously worked for the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre and Chernobyl Children's Project (UK).

Tanya Sakhnovic

Originally from Belarus, Tanya is Rabbi at Nottingham Liberal Synagogue. She works closely with Nottingham Citizens, is a co-founder and trustee of the Jewish-Muslim charity Salaam-Shalom Kitchen, and represents Liberal Judaism on the steering group for Eco-Synagogue. She regularly speaks on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio Nottingham.

Paul Salahuddin Armstrong

Paul Salahuddin Armstrong is the Managing Director of the Association of British Muslims and Muslim Chaplain at the University of Birmingham. A US State Department IVLP alumnus, Associate of St George’s House, member of the Naqshbandi order and Nahdlatul Ulama, Paul respects all mainstream religions and has worked in interfaith nearly two decades.

Stav Salpeter

Stav Salpeter is a Norwegian-Israeli researching International Law in Scotland. She is an Education Board Member at the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and Founding Co-President of the Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue Society EUPIDS: an award-winning initiative with affiliated branches across the world. Stav holds the 2020 UJS Interfaith Activist Award.

Mich Sampson

Mich is a singer, ba'alat tefillah and choir director. She has the fabulous job of working with communities from as far north as Edinburgh to as far east as East London (!) to develop their confidence in using music to create ruach. As Director of Music at Finchley Reform Synagogue, she is currently missing her choirs and eagerly awaiting the time to see them again in 2021.

Laura Samuels

Laura discovered that she was a BRCA 1 mutation carrier in 2015. BRCA has has also affected Laura's family. In 2016 at the age of 27, Laura was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer. After being cancer free for two and a half years, Laura had a recurrence. Thankfully, she is clear again. On 4th December, Laura had a preventive breast surgery to get rid of her high breast cancer risk.

Jonathan Sarna

Jonathan is University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and directs the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. He chairs the Academic Advisory & Editorial Board of the Marcus Center, American Jewish Archives and is chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Leah Sarna

Leah Sarna is a Rabbanit and the Associate Director of Education and Director of High School Programs at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology. She loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah with Jews in all stages of life.

Noa Sattath

Noa Sattath is a rabbi and the Director of Israel Religious Action Center, the social justice arm of the Reform movement in Israel. She is charged with leading the staff of the organization, developing and implementing social change strategies in the fields of separation of religion and state, women's rights, and the struggle against racism.

Charles Savenor

Charlie Savenor is the director of congregational education at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. He graduated from Brandeis University, JTS Rabbinical School, and Columbia University Teachers College. Charlie writes on parenting, leadership, and Judaism in the 21st century. Charlie lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Hannah Teddy Schachter

Hannah Teddy Schachter is a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem researching the relationship between queens and the Jews in medieval Europe. Interested in gender, art, and social history, she holds a BA in German Studies from Clark University (USA) and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Hochschule für jüdische Studien Heidelberg (Germany).

Tal Schneider

Tal Schneider, Diplomatic & Political Correspondent, Globes Business Newspaper. Former D.C. Correspondent for Maariv Daily (2004-2009), and political blogger running her own political blog “The Plog” (2010- 2017).

Amos Schonfield

Amos is founder and director of Our Second Home, a youth movement that empowers refugees and migrants to flourish in the place they call home. He is also the volunteer coordinator at Student Action for Refugees, where he speaks across UK campuses about the challenges in the UK asylum system.

Martin Schubert

Martin Schubert is a mindfulness teacher in Berlin, Germany. With a background in Marketing and Journalism, he offers communication workshops in addition to personal growth retreats in Europe and Asia. In 2019 he published the audio course "7 Yogic Principles for Men". Now he is working to support Jewish communities with methods of resilience.

Moses Seitler

Moses Seitler is an educator who specialises in asylum, migration and human rights. He delivers workshops and lectures for René Cassin, the Jewish voice for Human Rights, and works with displaced young people at Refugee Support Network. He is an ambassador for the Ben Azzai Programme and an alumnus of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University

Emma Sevitt

Emma is a Canadian living in London. She is a long time Limmud-nik and history teacher specialising in US Civil Rights. She enjoys creating innovative Jewish ritual for life cycle events. She is thrilled to be presenting this session with her father, a Brit living in Toronto. She just got married in August 2020 in the middle of the pandemic!

Peter Sevitt

Peter is a founding member of Limmud Toronto and an avid long life informal Jewish Learner. He recently retired from the Limmud NA Board and from his professional practice as a CPA. He has presented at past Limmuds. In August 2020 his daughter Emma got married during the covid crisis in the UK and they are both thrilled to be presenting together.

Limmud Shabbat Team

The Limmud Shabbat Team has been working to create the Limmud Shabbat experience at Festival this year. Shabbat Shalom!

Zahavit Shalev

Zahavit is a rabbi at New North London Synagogue (Masorti) where she runs the conversion programme, and looks after young families. She loves feminist Biblical and Talmud criticism, 90% dark chocolate, and singing in crowds. She (almost) always says yes to requests for rabbinic coffees/chats.

Angela Shapiro

Angela Shapiro is a member of the Gathering the Voices Association.

Alan Share

Alan has lived a life unplanned. His shop, initially rejected, grew to a have a turnover over £300m. Now retired, Alan holds an MA in Law from Oxford with three years at the Bar and three years as an executive of the Liberal Party. As governor of a special school, he wrote "Death of a Nightingale" and now "Kafka's Cycle: Slow Death of a Complaint".

Carole Shaw

Carole started performing at the age of six, entertaining local children with her sister. She has been presenting solo comedy shows since 1992 appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006 and 2019, and the Brighton Fringe in 2019 and 2020. In 2020 she debuted in Australia performing in Perth and Adelaide, and performed at South Africa's National Arts Festival, in Boulder USA and Whangerai New Zealand. She will be returning to Australia in February 2021. When not performing Carole is a linguist.

Shai Shen-Orr

Shai Shen-Orr is the co-founder and chief scientist of CytoReason and a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion—where he directs the laboratory of Systems Immunology and Precision Medicine. Shai develops new analytical methodologies for human immune monitoring and its use for precision medicine and drug development.

Sybil Sheridan

Sybil Sheridan is a long time participant and presenter at Limmud. She is the new executive director of the Lyons Learning Project - an independent progressive Jewish learning forum. With a long career as a congregational rabbi behind her, she currently serves the Newcastle Reform Synagogue and runs a distance learning programme for the Reform Judaism Bet Din.

Colin Shindler

Colin Shindler was the first professor of Israel Studies in the UK, and is the honorary president of the European Association of Israel Studies. He is the author of 10 books on Israel including the best selling History of Israel (Cambridge University Press, 2008, 2013). Most important of all, he attended the first Limmud conference in 1980.

Michael Shire

Michael Shire is a rabbi and the Academic Director of the Master's in Jewish Education at Hebrew College Boston. He is a regular teacher at Limmud and LimmudBoston, particularly focusing on little known historical and educational gems of Jewish life!

Hana Siková

Hana Šiková is a Masters student of sociology from Prague. She is a resident of Moishe House Prague and leads the only Jewish Scout group in the Czech Republic. She looks for unexpected connections between Judaism, history, science and philosophy. The core issues of her programs in the community are ecology, sustainability and ethics.

Esther Sills

Esther is a programme manager at the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) where she leads on Social Action. Esther has a BA in Social Policy and Law and is passionate about using creative models to challenge injustice.

Alan Silman

Alan is Professor of Epidemiology at and Senior Research Fellow at Green College, Oxford University. He was previously Medical Director of Arthritis Research UK and before that Director of the Epidemiology Research Unit at Manchester University. He has written over 500 research articles and several textbooks.

Judith Silver

Judith is a composer, singing facilitator and performer, and the founder of Companion Voices. She's a familiar face and voice at Limmud and especially loves to co-present with Mich Sampson and Zöe Jacobs.

Jon Silverman

Jon Silverman is Professor of Media & Criminal Justice at the University of Bedfordshire. As BBC Home Affairs Correspondent, he won the Sony Gold Award for his exclusive investigations into Britain’s Nazi war crimes inquiries. These played a role in the prosecution of two Belorussian Nazi collaborators. He is writing a book on the subject.

Susan Silverman

Susan Silverman is a rabbi, writer and activist. She is the founding director of Second Nurture: Every Child Deserves a Family -- and a Community which helps communities prioritise fostering and adoption among their families. She is the author of Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World (Da Capo Press).

Robert Simmons

Robert Simmons is the Chair of Limmud Festival 2020! He loves volunteering and community organising and cannot wait to meet you all in a zoom room soon.

Philip Simon

Former Jewish Comedian of the Year Philip Simon is a stand up comedian, writer and actor who's worked on Mock the Week and TaskMaster. Before lockdown he gigged throughout the UK, Europe, Israel, America, New Zealand and Scandinavia. He’s also the host of the lockdown kid’s show School’s Out Comedy Club & weekly chat show podcast Jew Talkin’ To Me?

Raymond Simonson

Raymond is CEO of JW3, the UK's only Jewish Community Centre and arts venue of its kind. He was Limmud’s first full time executive director and holds a BA in Jewish History and an MA in Applied Anthropology and Community & Youth Work. In a voluntary capacity he sits on various community advisory boards and mentors young leaders

Ramie Smith

Rabbanit Ramie Smith was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat, the first Orthodox institution granting ordination to women, in New York. She was the assistant Rabba at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and taught Talmud at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles. Rabbanit Ramie spent 3 years hosting and producing the podcast “The Joy of Text” which explored sexuality and Jewish text. She has taught over 100 Kallahs and is the co-founder and executive director of the organization GETToutUK which is working to help Agunot one their journeys towards freedom.

Limmud Social Programming

Created by Limmud programming volunteers, these sessions are designed to give you space to relax, meet other participants, and enjoy some time out from the intensities of this year's awesome programme.

Naomi Soetendorp

Naomi is Practice Education Manager for an inner London council, specialising in reflective practice and critically reflective supervision. Naomi previously co-founded Wandering Jews and Grassroots Jews and is now a member of Makor Hayim who successfully incorporate grassroots innovation and inclusivity within a multi-generational synagogue community.

Victor Sorenssen

Victor Sorenssen is director of the AEPJ (European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage). He has been director of the Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona and founder of the Jewish Cultural platform Mozaika, where he has helped develop projects such as the Jewish Book Festival or the Salam-Shalom initiative

Jessica Spencer

Jessica is a Masorti rabbinical student from Edinburgh, currently sojourning in Boston. She has studied at Hebrew College, the Drisha Kollel, and Yeshivat Hadar. When not learning extra hilchot eruvin for fun, she can be found cooking or jumping into cold bodies of water.

Barry Spivack

Barry studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. He then worked in the furniture industry and taught Transcendental Meditation part time. His first book, "An Antidote to Violence: Evaluating the Evidence" was published this year by Changemakers Books. Barry has been helping to run the Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community for the last 8 years.

A Spotlight on Limmud around Asia

A Spotlight on Limmud Buenos Aires

A Spotlight on Limmud Chile

A Spotlight on Limmud FSU

A Spotlight on Limmud FSU Belarus

A Spotlight on Limmud FSU Canada

A Spotlight on Limmud FSU Volga-Urals

A Spotlight on Limmud Mar Del Plata

Kevin Ary Levin is a sociologist and Jewish educator from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has an MA in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University in New York. In addition to academic research, he has had journalistic contributions in various outlets. He is currently the academic director of Martin Buber High School in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A Spotlight on Limmud South Africa

A Spotlight on Limmud Sydney

Presenters: Simon Holloway and Kylie Skalicky.

A Spotlight on Mexico

Shulamit Goldsmit is a member of Mexico's Limmud committee. She holds a Ph.D. in Mexican History and Political Science. She is the founder of the first Jewish studies programme at one of Mexico´s best universities. She currently gives classes in literature and Yiddish literature. Her zoom classes have been a great success.

Alexandra St John Murphy

Alexandra is a fellow with the Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations and lived in Minsk until recently. She has been a research assistant at the Estonian Centre of Eastern Partnership. She has a Double MA from the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the University of Tartu, and a degree from the University of Glasgow.

Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer is Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. He was elected MP for Holborn and St Pancras in 2015 and in 2020 was elected Labour leader.

Abby Stein

Abby Stein is a rabbi, author and activist. She has given speeches around the world on LGBTQ issues in Judaism, antisemitism, and more. Her book, Becoming Eve, was published in 2019. In 2020 she was named by Prospect Magazine 1 of The World's Top 50 Thinkers, and by The Forward, as one of the their Forward 50 most influential American Jews.

Victoria Sterman

Victoria joined Resource as its first CEO, having spent most of her career in leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry. Victoria has deep knowledge of recruitment, on-boarding, resource management, and people development, and has very much enjoyed developing a team of over 50 talented and professional volunteers at Resource.

Lior Sternfeld

Lior Sternfeld is a social historian of the modern Middle East with particular interests in the histories of the Jewish people and other minorities of the region. His first book, titled “Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran” was published in 2018 by Stanford University Press.

Beverley-Jane Stewart

As a visual writer, Beverley-Jane Stewart looks in intricate detail at how Jewish heritage operates in contemporary multi-cultural society fusing facts with emotions. She tells the story of the Jews from past to present, displaying history in its various periods. Beverley-Jane’s commissioned painting capturing and titled ‘125 years of the United Synagogue’ hangs in their head office. Her work has also been featured in numerous publications including on the cover for Jonathan Sacks’ book ‘Community of Faith’ as well as the cover and illustrations for the book ‘The Jewish Community of Golders Green: A Social History’ by bestselling author Pam Fox and Rachel Kosky: Jewish London. Her painting ‘Balfour Accomplished’ commissioned by the Jerusalem Biennale, now hangs in the office of the Mayor of Jerusalem.

David Stone

David Stone is a public health physician and academic director of StandWithUs UK, an organisation that educates about Israel. He has worked in both the UK and Israel and served as a doctor in the IDF. He says "Establishing an evidence-based narrative is essential. I strongly endorse the motto of StandWithUs that education is the road to peace."

Helen Stone

Helen Stone was a secondary teacher of English and Special Needs and Head of English in a Pupil Referral Unit in the London Borough of Brent. Since her retirement, she has been presenting her mother’s story to schools. She teaches English to refugees and asylum seekers at Barnet Refugee Service and is a founder member of Generation 2 Generation.

Maurice Stone

Maurice Stone is chairman of the Israeli Dance Institute (IDI) and works for UJIA. He has been teaching dance for many years at Limmud in the UK, Russia & Ukraine. He believes that Israeli dance is a fundamental educational tool promoting Jewish identity and a connection with Israel. So let’s dance!

Robert Stone

Robert Stone is a historian and political anthropologist whose work is focused on advising governments in low and middle income countries on poverty reduction strategies. He has a lifelong interest in cross cultural influences in religion throughout history. He is a member of Finchley Reform Synagogue and Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue

Gideon Sylvester

Gideon Sylvester is the United Synagogue's Israel rabbi. He has worked as an adviser at the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel and taught Jewish approaches to human rights. He is currently writing his doctorate at Bar Ilan University and teaching at a Midrasha for religious women studying Torah and the Arts. Prior to making aliyah, Gideon served as one of Jonathan Sacks’s rabbis at Radlett United Synagogue.

Ilai Szpiezak

Ilai Szpiezak is the dance development manager for the Israeli Dance Institute (IDI). From Argentina, he has been in the UK for 9 years and teaches children, youth & adults as well as creating stage choreographies and his own dances. He has developed an international reputation for high class teaching through Zoom during the Pandemic.