The 2009-2010 Cohort. Stay tuned for updates about the 2010-2011 Fellows.

Avital Aboody graduated from the University of California Berkeley in May 2009 with a B.A in Peace and Conflict Studies and a Minor in Dance and Performance Studies.  After her first year of college, Avital participated in the Vision Program, a year-long fellowship which brought Jewish and Palestinian college students to the Balkans to engage in comparative conflict analysis. This program ignited her passion for conflict transformation, which she has pursued in a variety of ways including receiving training as a facilitator of groups in conflict using the methodology of the School for Peace at Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salaam.  This focus on confronting and transcending unequal power dynamics plays out in her involvement with student organizations, such as Kesher Enoshi: Progressives for Activism in Israel, and internships she has held with non-profit organizations such as Tikkun and the Progressive Jewish Alliance. This work, which includes struggles for economic justice, labor rights, and civic equality, has given Avital the tools to promote social justice in both the domestic and international arena. Additionally, Avital is an avid, conscientious world traveler and spent one semester in Ghana, studying about development and lingering colonial influences.  In the year post-high school, Avital studied and volunteered in Israel for 10 months on a Young Judaea program.  Avital interned at Breaking the Silence.

Rachel Bergstein, recipient of the Rabbi Richard J. Israel Social Justice Fellowship, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland in 2009.  As an Individual Studies major she designed her own academic program in Peace and Justice Studies, choosing to focus on the intersection of the environment with social injustice and conflict issues.  Her senior thesis examines water injustice in Israel/Palestine and South Africa.  While at Maryland, Rachel was actively involved in the Union of Progressive Zionists and Clean Energy for UMD.  She also interned with Friends of the Earth Middle East in Tel Aviv, working on transboundary water management between Israeli and Palestinian communities, and was a Communications Intern for 1Sky, a DC-based national campaign demanding bold federal climate legislation.  Rachel writes regularly for Green Prophet, an up-and-coming blog on environmental issues in the Middle East.  She speaks Hebrew and basic French.  Rachel interned at Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME).

Michael Cohen received his Masters in Public Administration from Syracuse University and a B.S. and B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in Communications and Religious Studies, respectively. Prior to his graduate studies Michael worked as a case manager for a welfare-to-work program in Anchorage, AK and as “cottage parent” in a group home for abused, abandoned and neglected children in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  After completing his graduate work, with a focus on social service administration and public finance, Michael worked for the County Executive’s Office in Syracuse, NY and later in the state capital on the New York State Governor’s Commission on Local Government Efficiency.  Michael is interested in Arab Jewish coexistence in the context of local government administration and regional economic development strategies.  He interned at Center for Jewish Arab Economic Development (CJAED). Michael is fluent in Hebrew. 

Joanna Packer graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Education Studies in June, 2008. She spent one semester in college studying in Israel at Tel Aviv University.  She has spent the last year living in New York City participating in Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps.  She lived communally with corps members, studied the intersection of Judaism and social justice and worked full-time at a nonprofit organization addressing urban poverty. She worked at Comprehensive Development, Inc. serving over-age and under-credited students in a New York City public school.  She provided academic support to students learning English and advised students applying to college.  Joanna is interested in civil and human rights, particularly the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers, and marginalized immigrant groups in Israel.   Joanna  interned at the African Refugee Defense Committee (ARDC). She speaks English, Hebrew, French, and basic Spanish.

Sara Robinson, recipient of the Nomi Fein Social Justice Fellowship, graduated with honors from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in May of 2009.  Sara is primarily interested in promoting human rights of individuals of all ethnicities, nationalities, and genders.  At Yale, Sara founded Students for Palestinian Israeli Peace and the Pierson Diversity Committee, a group designed to make Yale a comfortable space for individuals of all backgrounds.  Sara spent two summers working in Israel and one working at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC.  Sara hopes to spend the fellowship year learning more about the everyday realities of the conflict as well as further developing her organizing skills.  Sara speaks English and Hebrew.  She interned at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).