Meet Our Fellows

Born in 1995, Jacob was raised in Los Angeles and has been glad about it ever since. He studied Yiddish and dramaturgy at Hampshire College before graduating from UC Berkeley with a BA in Music Cognition and Creative Writing. Passionate about harm reduction and mental health, Jacob will be pursuing a master’s degree in social work after this year; in the meanwhile, he is excited to learn about trauma care in Israel and the burgeoning world of psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD. He deeply appreciates the opportunity to give to and receive from Jewish community in the Land of Israel.

Born in 1994 in the US, Kai Jack was raised in Norway and earned degrees in Double Bass Performance from the Academy of Music and Drama, Gothenburg University (B.Mus. 2015-18) and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (M.Mus. 2018-21). During his Bachelor’s Degree, Kai helped create the Dream Orchestra, a youth project primarily for kids from refugee and migrant backgrounds, where he volunteered extensively as an instrument instructor as well as conductor, arranger and organizer. After finishing his Master’s Degree in Jerusalem, he began volunteering with Israel’s African asylum seeker community using music as a tool for social and individual empowerment. Kai has been freelancing with orchestras and ensembles around Israel since 2018 and was acting co-principal double bassist in the Israel Camerata Orchestra for the 2022-2023 season. During the covid-19 pandemic he founded the Mediterranean Double Bass Forum, an online platform that aims to connect and inspire young musicians around the world, with a special focus on bass communities around the Mediterranean region, through online workshops, lectures and masterclasses. During the same period, he founded the Jerusalem Double Bass Quartet, an ensemble that strives to showcase the double bass’ wide range of colors to an even broader range of listeners. He has taught at both Israeli and Palestinian conservatories and firmly believes in music’s ability to be more than art but to be a tool for social integration, to foster the feelings of belonging and ownership, and to impart life-skills like leadership, resilience, cooperation and problem-solving. 

Born in 1998, g. lindberg (they/them) is deeply invested in the project of pluralism. they grew up just north of Pittsburgh, PA and have since called many places home. they have spent the last several years visioning and directing immersive retreats at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. they enjoy swimming, sungolds, and making pasta from scratch for their friends.

Born in 2000 and raised in Atlanta, Aliza is looking forward to returning to live in Eretz Cana’an, having lived in Jerusalem in kindergarten and post-high school. She is glad to have called many cities home— Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, and Berlin— and will settle for the coming year in Tel Aviv. As an inaugural editorial board member for jGirls+ Magazine and an ongoing board member of the Jewish Woman’s Archive, she is committed to uplifting the voices of gender-minority Jews. During her time on Dorot, Aliza plans to collect interviews with women who witnessed the founding of the state, continue working on a volume of poetry, and participate in pro-peace organizing. She is passionate about developing relationships with people with a diverse array of abilities and needs and has worked in various positions as a special educator. During her recreational time, she hopes to develop her meditation practice, build her eccentric wardrobe, and befriend many a street cat.

Born in 1999, Hannah was raised in Phoenix, Arizona and earned her B.A. in history with a minor in economics and certificate in Hebrew from Harvard College. After graduating, Hannah was a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s American Statecraft Program, where she researched and wrote about practical solutions to a range of foreign policy challenges, paying close attention to the limits and constraints on American power. Throughout college, Hannah was involved with Harvard Hillel and an initiative to remotely support Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations. Hannah worked in various research positions throughout college, where she supported authors and academics in their projects on topics including US military operations, tort law, and Jewish emigration trends. Hannah loves teaching and promoting civic engagement, and volunteered at a refugee shelter in Berlin, Germany as an IsraAID fellow in 2019 and traveled all over the world to staff Harvard Model Congress conferences throughout college. 

Born in 1995, and raised in Washington, D.C., Matthew is a Washingtonian and Jerusalemite, and is a rabbi and educator. He earned a BA in philosophy at Princeton, where he was deeply involved in Jewish life on campus and the university’s American Red Cross chapter. Following graduation, Matthew trained as a hospital chaplain at PMPH, before making his way to Israel. He has since earned rabbinical ordination, alongside an MA in Bioethics from Bar-Ilan. He is eager to explore Israel’s medical field this year, particularly in the areas of genetics and fertility, and with any luck he’ll learn to play guitar, too.

Born in 1998, Eliana Padwa is a teacher, organizer, and rock climbing-enthusiast from Riverdale, New York. She is a founder and director of Halachic Left, an organization working to open new conversations on Israel and Palestine in religious spaces. Before Dorot, she taught seventh grade history in New York. She hopes to spend her time on Dorot learning languages, studying Talmud, and building relationships with Palestinian and Israeli activists.

Born in 1995, Samantha has been passionate about creating positive social change from a young age. She began her career as a high school educator in Florida after earning a B.A. in Education. Following six months of travel in the East, she moved to Israel with the intention of teaching “just for a year”. She has since made Jerusalem her home and has been working in the nonprofit sector after earning an M.A. in Nonprofit Management from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Samantha focuses on cross-cultural community building through a variety of creative initiatives, including art, music, creative writing, travel, and workshops.

Born in 1997, Becky Portman is a filmmaker, artist, educator and writer born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Film, TV and Media and Art and Design in 2020. For the last three years she has been a Showrunner’s assistant on Peacock’s Killing It. She also teaches at local Hebrew schools in LA like Ikar and the Silverlake JCC, where she has taught

everything from Jewish History to Torah trope for B’nai Mitzvah. She is passionate about elevating queer, Jewish stories through her work.

Born in 1999 and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Elana Weberman is a certified yoga teacher, sound healer, and artist, currently based in Tel Aviv-Yafo. As a Dorot Fellow, she is exploring the healing and musical arts as well as sacred gatherings, prayer, ritual, ceremony, and conscious communal practices. Elana studied at The University of Michigan and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she earned a BA in Social Theory and Practice with a concentration in Food Sustainability. She has since lived in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Yafo in service to the North American, Israeli, and global Jewish communities, working as a Program Fellow for the creative, international, pluralistic Jewish community, Brandeis Camp Institute (BCI); as the Student Coordinator for the gap-year program, KIVUNIM, traveling to 10+ countries, “expanding world consciousness”; and as the Recruitment Associate for The Nachshon Project, where she is an alumna of their undergraduate fellowship.

Born in 1995, Amalia was raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she developed passions for music, Judaism, and social justice from a young age. She received degrees in violin performance from Boston University (B.M.) and New Mexico State University (M.M.), and studied abroad at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. While in college, Amalia became involved in student organizing, and served as the president of Boston University’s J Street chapter. In the summer of 2017, she traveled to Tamil Nadu, India, to volunteer as a teaching artist at a boarding school for rural youth from the lowest caste. In the fall of 2017, Amalia co-founded Camerata Del Sol, a professional chamber music ensemble in Las Cruces, NM, and served as its executive director for its first six seasons. Under her leadership, the ensemble performed over 200 concerts, aiming to expand access to classical music by programming diverse composers, performing in unusual venues, and presenting most concerts at no cost. Amalia is also passionate about Jewish song, prayer, and ritual, and has led services and song circles in congregations across the United States since 2014. Amalia is currently cultivating a new calling in civil dialogue projects, and she is eager to explore the role music can play in building bridges, encouraging pluralism, and opening minds and hearts.