Education to Action Teen Summit on Israel and Antisemitism

Dr. Noam Weissman is the Executive Vice President of OpenDor Media (Unpacked), leading its educational vision and content. He helps oversee Unpacked’s digital media, hosts the Unpacking Israeli History podcast and co-hosts the Wondering Jews podcast with Mijal Bitton. He and his team launched their Unpacked for Educators division, serving 12,000+ educators. He and his team also created ConnectED to teach Israel and antisemitism in independent and public schools and is an Aspen Civil Society Fellow. Noam holds a doctorate in Educational Psychology from USC and was formerly principal of Shalhevet High School. He lives with his wife, Raizie, and their four children in Hollywood, Florida.

Michal Abramoff is the UES Shlicha of the Jewish Agency. Born in NYC, she made Alyah to Israel with her family at a young age. After completing her BA in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology from TA University, she spent two years as a Shlicha to the Jewish community of greater Hartford, CT. Upon returning from Shlichut, Michal moved to Jerusalem and received a Master's degree in Jewish education through the advanced program in pluralistic Jewish education at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR)/Jerusalem, in cooperation with the Melton Center for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University.

Amit Castel is Young Judaea’s Central Shaliach and Director of Israel Education. Born and raised in Tel-Aviv. Holds a B.A. in Education and Politics, as well as an MBA with a specialty in managing non-profit from Ben Gurion University. Amit specializes in creating educational content related to Israel, Zionism, and other key topics. He served in the IDF Air Force from 2013 to 2016. Worked for many years in educational organizations, such as Tzofim (Israeli Scouts) and ADI Negev (A rehabilitation village in the south of Israel). Currently living in Manhattan as part of his shlichut, Amit is married to Miyu.

Erica Cohen, LMSW is the Director of Teen Engagement for Young Judaea Global and the Director of Education for Camp Tel Yehudah. Before coming to Young Judaea, Erica was the Director of the Center for Youth Philanthropy and Leadership at UJA-Federation of NY, leading 500+ teens to raise and allocate over $1.5million to non-profit organizations in New York, Israel and in Jewish communities around the world. Erica has participated in a number of professional fellowships in the Jewish community, including the Ruskay Institute, Gen Now and the Created Equal Educators. Outside of Young Judaea, Erica can be found baking creative challah, taking classes at Orangetheory, and hanging out on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her husband and three young children. 

Ariel Glueck is thrilled to have joined Park Avenue Synagogue as the Director of Youth and Teen Programming. In her role, she brings a background in social work and experiential Jewish education. 

Previously, Ariel worked in public and independent schools, synagogues, youth movements, and camps. She is excited to be at PAS partnering with teens to develop leadership skills, create memorable experiences, and connect more deeply to their Jewish identity.                 

Ariel earned an LMSW from Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and a BA in Political Science and Educational Policy at Hunter College. She is a Nachshon Graduate Fellow, a program designed to foster Jewish leadership in North America. Ariel spent a semester at Hebrew University and a year with Kivunim (an acclaimed Israel gap year program).  

Sarah oversees all UED activities, equipping Jewish educators with resources to help students explore Israel’s history, the Holocaust, and more. Previously, she served as Director of Israel Guidance and Experiential Education at Ma’ayanot High School, where she taught Talmud, chaired a Contemporary Israel course, and brought her vision and creativity to a myriad of school programs. Sarah holds dual masters degrees in Jewish Education and Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University, where she is currently pursuing her Ed.D as a Wexner Fellow and Davidson Scholar. In her free time, Sarah enjoys hiking and spending time with her family. 

Avinoam Patt is the Maurice Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies at New York University. He holds a B.A. in Religion (Judaic Studies Concentration) from Emory University and a Joint Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Modern European History from New York University. Dr. Patt previously held the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies at the University of Connecticut, where he served as Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life. From 2007-2019 he was the Philip D. Feltman Professor of Modern Jewish History at the University of Hartford, where he served as director of the Museum of Jewish Civilization. He also worked previously as the Miles Lerman Applied Research Scholar for Jewish Life and Culture at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He is the author of multiple books on Jewish responses to the Holocaust, including Finding Home and Homeland: Jewish Youth and Zionism in the Aftermath of the Holocaust (2009); co-editor of a collected volume on Jewish Displaced Persons, titled We are Here: New Approaches to the Study of Jewish Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany (2010); and is a contributor to several projects at the USHMM including Jewish Responses to Persecution, 1938-1940 (2011). He recently completed a new book on the early postwar memory of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (The Jewish Heroes of Warsaw: The Afterlife of the Revolt, 2021). Together with David Slucki and Gabriel Finder, he is co-editor of Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust (2020) and, with Laura Hilton, Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust (2020). His newest book, Israel and the Holocaust, will be published by Bloomsbury Press as part of its Perspectives on the Holocaust series in 2024. In Spring 2022, he created and facilitated a new one-credit pop-up course at the University of Connecticut, Why the Jews: Confronting Antisemitism, which reached over 1600 students in the first semester it was offered. 

Avi Posen is the Director of Education for Unpacked for Educators, where he has spent over five years developing the platform, curriculum, and community. Avi brings extensive experience as a former Jewish day school teacher, Hillel director, and Jewish camp director. He has trained Jewish educators and spoken to audiences around the world. Avi holds a Master’s degree in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University and has been published in various educational journals along with Ynet, and The Times of Israel.

Matt Reingold has taught workshops using Israeli political cartoons to students and teachers of all ages. A classroom educator by training, Matt is passionate about bringing the arts into Jewish and Israel education. He has published many articles and books about Jewish and Israeli comics and cartoons and runs @cartooningisrael, an Instagram account about Israeli political cartoons. In addition to his teaching work, Matt designs curriculum, consults on Israel education, and conducts research and evaluation for Jewish organizations around the world.   has taught workshops using Israeli political cartoons to students and teachers of all ages. A classroom educator by training, Matt is passionate about bringing the arts into Jewish and Israel education. He has published many articles and books about Jewish and Israeli comics and cartoons and runs @cartooningisrael, an Instagram account about Israeli political cartoons. In addition to his teaching work, Matt designs curriculum, consults on Israel education, and conducts research and evaluation for Jewish organizations around the world.  

Talia Bodner is a student from the Bay Area studying in the Joint Program with Columbia University and The Jewish Theological Seminary. Talia is a member of Columbia’s Inclusive Public Safety Advisory Committee and served as the PR Chair for Columbia’s chapter of Students Supporting Israel. She is also a member of Sigma Delta Tau and a Hillel Engagement Fellow involved in multiple Hillel fellowships. Before starting college, Talia spent a gap year in Israel on Young Judaea Year Course, where she interned in the Knesset. Talia is a contributing author on the 2024 book Young Zionist Voices: A New Generation Speaks Out and has performed spoken word poems at the 2024 10th Annual Z3 Conference in Palo Alto, the November 2023 March for Israel at the National Mall in DC, and at the World Zionist Organization’s 2023 Conference on Informal Education and Leadership in Jerusalem. She is also a blogger for the Times of Israel.