During the year 5783 (2022–2023), Rabba Tamar Elad-Appelbaum and Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz founded the Brit Emunim initiative, with the support of the Honey Foundation. In June 2023 we convened its founding conference, served as a study day for the entire field of Israeli Judaism. The conference was directed and produced by Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz and Tzviki Fleishman.
The gathering was devoted to the issue of emotional and sexual safety within communal-religious contexts in Israeli Jewish life, guided by a commitment to developing tools and frameworks of responsibility to prevent exploitation and harm. Participants included rabbis, rabbinic leaders, therapists, social activists, and community figures from across the full spectrum of Israeli Judaism. The founding conference of Brit Emunim marked an initial step in building a broad partnership for cultural change, preparing the ground for awareness and safeguarding practices in communal life, and giving voice and visibility to a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and positions.
The study day was structured as a multi-vocal and collaborative process, initiated by the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbinic Leadership—jointly sponsored by the Shalom Hartman Institute and Oranim—together with Gluya Center. The very fabric of the initiative reflected the moral imperative of the Beit Midrash in the realm of safety: to respond to all manifestations of abuse and risk within Israeli Jewish frameworks—across organizations, within community dynamics, in relationships between staff members, and in the broader public sphere. From its inception, Brit Emunim has been guided by the recognition of the need to train and support rabbinic authorities, across denominations, to confront the potential for exploitation, harm, and silencing.
The day served not only as the founding milestone of the initiative but also as a training platform for a wide field of practitioners and leaders. Held at the Hartman Institute, the conference brought together more than 500 participants—professionals, organizational leaders, and community members. The event embodied both activism and professional engagement, laying the foundation for Brit Emunim’s ongoing work of providing knowledge, training, and capacity-building for the field at large, with the support and collaborative participation of diverse partners.
The program included personal testimonies, professional panels on identifying and responding to situations of risk, community-based discussion circles, as well as rabbinic and academic sessions that examined questions of authority, ordination, and leadership. Alongside these practical components, poetry and liturgical readings were woven into the day, lending it spiritual and emotional resonance.
Photos: Hila Shiloni
The speakers at the conference
Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum | Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz | Zvika Fleischman | Rabbi Dr. Doniel Hartman | Rabbanit Michal Nagen | Limor Rubin | Yotam Brom | Ori Lachmi | Michal Danino HaCohen | Yael Ariel | Yisrael Me’ori | Noga Eshed | Rabbanit Malka Piotrkowski | Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau | Rabbanit Dr. Esther Fischer | Rabbanit Shira Merili Mirvis | Rabbi Bezalel Cohen | Rabbi Sivan Malkin Mas | Rabbi Ari Hassid | Heftzi Cohen-Montagu | Rabbi Aharon Leibowitz | Yael Sherer | Orit Sulitzeanu | Yonina Flanberg | Ori Sherman-Kanohl | Rabbanit Dvora Evron | Rabbi Rafael Daluya | Rabbi David Bigman | Rabbi Dr. Shraga Bar-On | Daniel Yonas | Adv. Ricky Shapira-Rosenberg | Rabbanit Nehama Goldman Barash | Uri Ofran | Dr. Yael Asor | Rabbi Dr. Shaul Farber | Adv. Nitzan Caspi-Shiloni | Adv. Shiri Oron | Rabbi Gabriel Abensour | Ophir Ba’ars | Shana Aaronson | Dr. Amitai Marmur | Shulamit Sperber | Inbal Paran Perach | Rabbi Inbar Bluzer | Rabbi Hertzl Hefter | Rabbanit Rachel Keren | Rabbi Dr. Avital Hochstein | Kinneret Samuel Polak | Rabbi Amirit Rosen | Rabbi Dr. James Jacobson-Maisels | Rabbi Mishael Zion | Rabbi Osnat Eldar | Rabbi Dr. Ido Pachter | Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig | Rabbanit Tamar Biton | Sharon Brik-Deshen | Racheli Rushgold | Sharon Mayevsky | Rabbi Ayala Shashua-Miron | Dr. Rivi Gillis | Emuna Klein Bar-Noy | Dr. Channa Pinchasi | Rabbanit Dr. Anat Sharbat | Rabbi Aviad Sanders | Tanya Oren-Chipman | Adv. Keren Bar Yehuda | Adv. Sagit Peretz Deri | Rabbanit Judy Klitsner | Rabba Sara Hurwitz | Dr. Shira Berkowitz | Rabbi Mike Schultz | Neriya Raphael Knafo | Amichai Chasson | Former MK Dr. Aliza Lavie | Rabbi Naamah Kelman | Rabbanit Yael Shimoni | Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch | Alon Shahar |
More on the Founding Conference
Conference Program
Additional Photos from the Conference
Reactions on Social Media
All Content on Safety in Gluya Magazine and within the Brit Emunim Initiative
Brit Emunim in the Media
