USHMM Holds Discussion, Beit Ruth Webinar, Birthright Foundation CEO to Retire

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum held the 2023 Linda and Tony Rubin Lecture program, “Open and Accessible: Taking Stock of the Vatican’s Holocaust-Era Archives,” on Feb. 8 at Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

More than 100 guests turned out for an informative panel discussion with moderator and NPR News’ Jason DeRose; Suzanne Brown-Fleming, director of the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum’s international academic programs; and Alexis Herr, adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and author of “The Holocaust and Compensated Compliance in Italy.” The speakers discussed the Vatican’s archival material related to the Holocaust.

In March 2019, Pope Francis famously said, “The Church is not afraid of history” and spoke about opening the estimated 16 million pages of archival material. February this year marked nearly three years since one of the most important new archives about the Holocaust opened. 

The conversation at Wilshire Boulevard Temple centered on what scholars have discovered since the archive became available, what crucial questions remain and how the archive has reshaped scholars’ understanding of this era.

Philanthropists Linda and Tony Rubin co-sponsored the program.

An international panel of experts explored solutions to ending gender-based violence during “This Doesn’t Happen in My Community: Understanding Violence Against Girls and Young Women Locally and Globally,” a Feb. 12 webinar convened by Beit Ruth for Young Women & Girls At Risk, a long-term therapeutic residence and school for vulnerable young women in Israel.

“We know that it’s a natural human response to deny problems in our own communities and to think about issues as happening ‘out there’ or ‘over there’ or to ‘those people,’ but not here, not to us,” Beit Ruth Executive Director Danielle Burenstein said. “Our vision is to confront the challenge of gender-based violence by looking into all of our communities, and to realize that violence afflicts everyone regardless of background, education, religion, or wealth.”

Randee Kogan, who specializes in trauma counseling, was the webinar’s keynote speaker. 

The event brought together participants from Africa to Latin America, Israel to the U.S., around issues of gender-based violence. It was produced in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Jewish Council of North Central Florida.

Additional speakers included Mor Ben Simchon Lipin, director of advocacy and outreach at Beit Ruth; Shachar Re’em, director of the MASHAV Carmel Training Center; and Rabbi Menachem Creditor, scholar-in-residence at the UJA-Federation of New York. They stressed the importance of everyone working to combat gender-based violence.

“Wherever we are in the world,” Burenstein said, “we can all be part of the fight and the solution to end violence against girls and young women.”

Birthright Israel Foundation President and CEO Israel Tapoohi has announced plans to retire this December.

“The last six years at Birthright Israel Foundation have been tremendously rewarding, both personally and professionally. I truly believe there is no greater Jewish program than Birthright Israel,” Tapoohi said. “In today’s current climate there is no greater gift that we can give our children and grandchildren than a firsthand experience in Israel and a connection to Judaism and knowing I have been a part of it fills me with pride.”

Birthright Israel International CEO Gidi Mark and Birthright Israel Foundation Chair of the Board Phil de Toledo expressed gratitude for the contributions Tapoohi, known to friends and colleagues as “Izzy,” has made to the organization.

“Izzy has been a true asset to our team in Israel and his passion and love for our program is evident. He is not only my partner, but he is my friend and while I am sad to see him retire from this role, I look forward to him coming back home to Israel,” Mark said. 

A search committee and a consulting company will undertake an international search for Tapoohi’s successor.