September 6th, 2012
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September 5th, 2012
ISRAEL AND U.S. HOLD JOINT CONFERENCE ON THE PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA-TULSA
Oklahoma has among the highest rates of child abuse in the U.S. Israel is perceived as among the best in the world in its capacity to treat and prevent child abuse.
September 10-11, 2012
Tulsa, OK – September 5, 2012 – World-leading child welfare experts from Israel and the U.S. will come together for a two-day conference on September 10 and 11 to discuss the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Jointly hosted by the Israel-based Haruv Institute, the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, the conference will focus on identifying areas of potential collaboration between Israel and the U.S.
The Haruv Institute, which develops and operates learning programs and training for the prevention and treatment of abused and neglected children, is considered one of the leading sources of knowledge in the field in Israel and around the world. Since its establishment in 2007, the Institute has been expanding its activities through international partnerships with renowned institutions, including University of Toronto and the University of California, San Francisco.
“The Haruv Institute aims to provide better solutions for victims and their families in order to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect to the greatest possible extent,” said Prof. Asher Ben-Arieh, Director of the Haruv Institute. “We hope that the conference will mark the beginning of a process of cooperation.”
According to recent data, Oklahoma ranks among the highest in the U.S. for instances of child abuse and neglect, and a report released by the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths put Oklahoma in the top five states for the rate of child abuse and neglect deaths. The two-day conference will include a seminar with experts from Israel and the U.S. to advance:
- Training and enrichment for clinicians in the field of child abuse at the local and national level;
- Relevance and implementation of training programs and improved professional training approaches;
- Contribution of research to the development of knowledge in the field; and
- Appropriate strategies for integrating research into innovative programs for the prevention and treatment of child abuse.
Conference participants will include a number of well-known researchers in the U.S., including: Dr. David Olds, Director of Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health at the University of Colorado, Denver; Dr. Larry Aber, Distinguished Professor of Applied Psychology and Public Policy at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University; Dr. Richard Gelles, Dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Cindy Christian, Director of Safe Place: The Center for Child Protection and Health at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and Dr. Richard Barth, Dean and Professor of the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland; and more.
The collaboration between the Haruv Institute and the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa began as a result of Israel’s standing, and the Haruv Institute’s reputation, as a world leader in researching and documenting child abuse and neglect, as well as leading training programs for professionals dealing with such cases. Prof. Hillel Schmid, former director of the Haruv Institute who oversaw Israel’s public committee to investigate the incidence of children and youth at risk and in distress (the “Schmid Committee”), initiated the conference.
“OU-Tulsa is honored to partner and work with Haruv Institute and the Schusterman Philanthropic Network for this very important conference,” said Gerry Clancy, M.D., President of OU-Tulsa. “We are hopeful it will lay the ground work to create collaborations that will truly help to reduce the statistics surrounding child abuse and maltreatment in Tulsa and throughout the United States and Israel.”
The first session will be led by Haruv’s Director, Prof. Asher Ben-Arieh, a faculty member at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has served for more than 20 years as project director and editor of the annual State of the Child in Israel: A Statistical Abstract. He was also vice president of the National Council for the Child, the first organization of its kind in Israel, which works to protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of all children in Israel.
The Haruv Institute was founded by the Schusterman Foundation-Israel in 2007 to develop knowledge and advanced training programs for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect within families. Its goal is to improve solutions available to the professional community responsible for child welfare.
The Schusterman Foundation-Israel is part of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, a global network of philanthropic initiatives dedicated to igniting the passion and unleashing the power of young people to create change. CLSPN also includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in the United States and is a co-sponsor of the conference.
Among other areas of interest, CLSPN hopes to foster the safety and security of children by developing new knowledge and methodologies to confront child abuse, especially in Israel and its hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Israel, it supports organizations such as Haruv, Beit Lynn, the National Council for the Child and Noga Center, and in Oklahoma, it supports the OU-Child Abuse Pediatrics, as well as the Child Protection Coalition, Family and Children’s Services, Parent Child Center and Youth Services of Tulsa.
“We have a responsibility to protect the right of every child to a safe and secure upbringing,” said Lynn Schusterman, Chair of CLSPN. “In connecting our child advocacy work in Israel and Tulsa, we hope to shine a spotlight on the needs of at-risk children and advance proven interventions that other communities can replicate in stemming the tide of abuse and neglect.”
Media contact:
U.S.: Jake Sharfman, Puder Public Relations; Office: 212.558.9400; Cell: 248.318.1072; Israel: 077.444.7158 (ext.1); Jake@puderpr.com
Israel: GCS Issue Management; Office: 972.3.529.9636; adi@gcs3.com; or-li@gcs3.com
August 22nd, 2012
9 LEADING ISRAELI ARTISTS SELECTED FOR U.S. RESIDENCIES
Schusterman Visiting Artists Program bringing Israeli artists to outstanding North American colleges and universities; residencies offer opportunities for audiences to engage with contemporary Israeli culture
New York, NY—August 22, 2012 – Nine leading Israeli artists will bring their talent and passion to residencies at colleges and universities across North America this fall and spring. The artists—celebrated in a variety of disciplines, including filmmaking, choreography, music and literature—will spend several months teaching and presenting their work to audiences in local communities through relevant programming, classes, exhibitions and performances.
Among the artists coming this year are two esteemed writers: Gail Hareven and Sami Berdugo. Hareven is an established novelist whose fiction has appeared in The New Yorker. She will be hosted by Mt. Holyoke College in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Hampshire College. Hareven recently completed a project translating Shakespeare’s sonnets into Hebrew with Dr. Avi Hasner, a distinguished physician and deputy director at an Israeli hospital.
A young writer and popular creative writing teacher, Berdugo has received much critical attention for his work, “which consistently breaks new poetic paths, thus challenging contemporary Israeli literature,” according to Hebrew literature specialist Dr. Hanna Soker-Schwager. Already the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Prime Minister’s Prize (2005), the Neumann Prize (2007) at Bar Ilan University and, most recently, the Ramat Gan Prize (2011) for his new book, “That Is To Say,” Berdugo is one of the exciting voices of North African descent now emerging in Israel. He will be teaching at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, for the spring semester.
“The exceptionally talented array of artists chosen for the Schusterman Visiting Artists Program embody the vibrant, creative face of Israel and provide a meaningful way for North Americans to connect to a diverse and complex contemporary Israel,” said Lynn Schusterman, chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, which includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (CLSFF). CLSFF launched the Schusterman Visiting Artists program in 2008.
The other 2012-2013 Schusterman Visiting Artists are:
- Experimental composer and sound artist Amnon Wolman, who will be an artist-in-residence at Harvard University this fall. Wolman has been involved in a broad range of artistic endeavors all over the world, and his catalogue of compositions includes works involving computer-generated and processed sounds, symphonic works, vocal and chamber pieces, film scores, and music for theater and dance.
- Documentary filmmaker Duki Dror will be the University of California, Santa Cruz, for the winter quarter. His most recent work, “Incessant Visions” (2011), about famed architect Erich Mendelsohn, has been screened at dozens of film festivals around the world. In 2010, PBS screened a series of three of Dror’s earlier works, including “Journey of Vaan Nguyen” (2005) about Vietnamese refugees in Israel and “Fantasia” (2001) about his family’s emigration from Iraq to Israel.
- Highly regarded in the World Music scene, percussionist Zohar Fresco is considered the world’s master of the frame drum. This winter he will be in residence at Florida State University in Tallahassee, which has the third-largest music program in U.S. higher education. At the end of his stay, he will be a leading performer at the school’s annual Rainbow Concert.
- Musicians Michael and Shimrit Greilsammer will be at Carleton University in Ottawa this winter. A violinist and singer-songwriter, Michael Greilsammer blends Irish, reggae and rock music. His first album, “Je me reveille” (“Waking Up”), was released by a major French label, and his second album is a collaboration with his wife, Shimrit, a vocalist. Greilsammer has been a supporting act for international artists including Macy Gray and Ziggy Marley.
- Next spring, Guy Meirson will be teaching screenwriting at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He wrote the script for “Rock the Casbah,” which was recently nominated for several Ophir Awards, Israel’s version of the Oscars, including Best Picture. He has been a writer for two other feature films and two Israeli television series, among other projects.
- Choreographer Dana Ruttenberg will be in residence for the spring semester at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She had her own company, based in New York, from 2000-2003, when she created works that were showcased at venues such as Joyce Soho, White Wave and the Toronto Fringe Festival. Since returning to Israel in 2003, Ruttenberg has been choreographing for a number of groups, including the Batsheva Dance Ensemble, the IntimaDance Festival and Curtains Up. Her work has been performed in Hungary, Italy, Russia, Senegal and the U.S., among other countries.
- One of Israel’s leading young choreographers Idan Sharabi was commissioned to create new works in Israel, Denmark and Switzerland during the last two years, and in the past year, his works were performed in seven countries. A graduate of Juilliard, Sharabi was awarded the school’s Zeraspe Award for Best Choreography in 2006. He was formerly a dancer with the renowned Batsheva Dance Company and the Nederlands Dans Theater. Sharabi will be teaching at the University of California at Irvine during the spring quarter.
With support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and others, the Schusterman Visiting Artists Program is one of the largest organized residency programs of Israeli artists in the U.S. It awards Israeli artists—including filmmakers, choreographers, musicians, writers and visual artists—long-term residencies at North American universities, museums, Jewish community centers and other cultural organizations, with a focus on fostering interaction between the artists and the communities in which they are based.
“The Schusterman Visiting Artists Program allows members of the host community and the visiting artists to connect in a variety of settings—from formal to informal, Jewish to non-Jewish—over a significant period of time, rather than the more traditional one-off experience,” says Marge Goldwater, the program’s director. “As we look back on the first four years, we see that the success of the residencies has prompted host institutions to find ways to bring Israeli cultural leaders to their communities after the Schusterman artist has left.”
For more information about the program, contact Marge Goldwater at margegoldwater@gmail.com or 212.249.1998, and visit the Schusterman Visiting Artist Program website.
About the Schusterman Visiting Artist Program
The Schusterman Visiting Artists Program was founded in June 2008 to provide a new avenue for connecting North American audiences with Israel through the lens of Israeli artists embedded in residencies in communities across the U.S. www.jewishculture.org
Media contact: Marge Goldwater / Director, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artist Program / 212.249.1998 • margegoldwater@gmail.com
August 20th, 2012
We are excited to welcome David Rittberg to the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network. David has joined the CLSFF team in Washington, D.C. as senior program officer, where he will help oversee and advance our national Jewish agenda, supporting organizations and initiatives that empower young Jews to embrace the joy of Judaism, build inclusive communities, support the State of Israel and repair the world.
David joins us from the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU, Hillel at NYU, where he served as executive director.
We talk to David about his journey in the Jewish professional world, what he has learned through his work with college students and from where he draws his inspiration. Read More »