MEET OUR 2024 INTERNATIONAL
PRESENTERS
From Scotland, Israel, United Kingdom, United States, Australia meet your 2024 LIMMUD NZ presenters!
Anton Goodman Israel
Anton Goodman is a peace activist living in Israel. He is the Director of Partnerships at Rabbis for Human Rights, and serves on the board of Oz VeShalom the Orthodox Jewish Peace Movement in Israel. Anton has worked to promote partnership and equality for Arab citizens of Israel at the Abraham Initiatives, built new initiatives in Diaspora-Israel relations as the Jewish Agency emissary to Washington DC and designed Israel education programs as the director of the World Bnei Akiva Leadership Institute.
Ben Freeman Scotland
Founder of the modern Jewish Pride movement, leader, thinker and educator, Ben M. Freeman is the author of the seminal Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People and its follow up, Reclaiming our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride. He is due to publish the finale of his Jewish Pride trilogy, The Jews: An Indigenous People in 2025. Educating, inspiring and empowering, his work focuses on Jewish identity and historical and contemporary Jew-hatred. A Holocaust scholar for over fifteen years, Ben came to prominence during the Corbyn Labour Jew-hate crisis in the UK and quickly became one of his generation’s leading Jewish thinkers and voices against Jew-hate.
Daniel Yesgar Sydney
Daniel Yesgar, a notable figure in Jewish studies and finance, serves as a Senior Manager at NAB Private, managing the wealth of Ultra-High-Net-Worth families. On Shabbat and Chagim, he engages as a Rabbi speaker in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Jewish community. Daniel holds a B.A. degree with a double major in Economics and Business Management, alongside a rabbinical Ordination from leading Yeshivot in Israel, a B.A. in Jewish Studies, and a Doctor of Jewish Studies, Honoris Causa. His published books range from Jewish justice rulings and exemptions to cultural influences on international advertising. As a dedicated public speaker, he shares Torah insights weekly, advocating for intergenerational wealth and philanthropy within the Jewish community. Alongside his wife, Atara (and two sons), they organize Shabbatons and Pesach retreats for families in the Blue Mountains, Australia.
Jacob Sacher Melbourne
Jacob Sacher is a comedian based in Naarm (Melbourne). He has performed his unique brand of Jewish comedy in multiple countries around the world, and is excited to add Aotearoa to the list. Offstage he is a masters by research student in Jewish Cultural Practice (Jewish Comedy) at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, and is the Chairperson of the NFP comedy theatre Corner Shop Comedy. link to Jacob's sessions
Joel Hoffman United States
A popular speaker, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman focuses on "bringing the Bible to life" and is known for his "fresh insights and interpretations about religious life in the 21st century." He has been invited to appear before audiences on all six inhabitable continents, including at Limmud conferences around the world, at the world's second largest Rotary club, and for a TED talk on translating the Bible. He has authored or contributed to some two dozen books, and served on the faculties of Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and HUC-JIR in New York City. When not teaching or writing, he usually has a camera in his hand. He lives in the New York City area. link to Joel's sessions
Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz United Kingdom
Rabba Dr Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz studied at Cambridge, Hebrew University, and University College London, and has published Challenge and Conformity: The Religious Lives of Orthodox Jewish Women (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2021). She is a Teaching Fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies, edits books for the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, presents at Limmud, and has lectured at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, King's College London, and Vassar College, NY. Active in interfaith. She has led Scriptural Reasoning groups, and is a co-founder of Azara, a new initiative bringing text learning open to everyone. link to Dr Lindsey's sessions
Rachelle Unreich Melbourne
Rachelle Unreich has been a journalist for 38 years, contributing to publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, Harper’s Bazaar and Rolling Stone. Her first book, A Brilliant Life, is a memoir about her late mother, a Holocaust survivor. It has been published in Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, UK and South Africa and is set for its first translation. It was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and the ABIAs Matt Richell New Writer of the Year awards.
Ron Kampeas United States
Ron Kampeas is JTA's Washington Bureau Chief. He previously worked at The Associated Press, where he spent more than a decade in its bureaus in Jerusalem, New York, London and, most recently, Washington. He has reported from Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Bosnia and West Africa. While living in Israel, he also worked for the Jerusalem Post. He has won several Rockowers, Jewish media’s premiere journalism award. He has led JTA’s political coverage of every election since 2004.
Over his career he has interviewed a diverse array of personalities including Yehuda Amichai, Barack Obama, Olivia Newton John, the Taliban’s education minister and the Wiggles. He got his start working for Jeremy Jones at the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies. link to Ron's sessions