Sandra Jerusalmi
Sandra is an educator, a cultural coordinator, a Jewish learner, and a writer. Raised in the Parisian Jewish community, Sandra was head of her youth group, and has always been interested in volunteerism, working with children, and social activism. At age 19 she was even invited to join the board of her synagogue! She has been the coordinator for a number of projects such as a cultural curriculum at a children’s welfare center (Les Maisons des Enfants de la Côte d'Opale) and the CoExist intercultural workshop in schools. Sandra also traveled to India to volunteer in a Jewish service and learning program organized by the Jewish Agency. She has studied variously at Paideia, Matan, and Pardes, and recently became a Moishe House resident in Paris. Currently working for the Alliance Israelite Universelle, Sandra is also involved with the CCEEE, a Jewish community center that works to attract Jews who are unaffiliated with Jewish life. As part of her work with CCEEE, Sandra creates fun, educational events to connect teens to their roots: Shabbat Hannukah; Jewish art workshops; a Shavuot Festival, and so on. Working with CoExist in the fight against racism and antisemitism, she has coordinated 200 interventions in classrooms and organized training for 60 volunteer mediators, both Jewish and non-Jewish. She also works with LectureSefer, which organizes Torah readings by Orthodox women. In three years the organization has reached some 400 people, both men and women, who are moved by a need for shared spirituality. Sandra organized meetings about Orthodox feminism with activists of the movement. She writes articles for the Times of Israel about Torah, religious feminism, and French Jewry, generating a debate about French modern religious life.