Music is the Heart of the Service
Rabbi Barbara Borts, Newcastle, England, was born and raised in the US. In London, England, she studied at the Leo Baeck College and was the fourth woman to be ordained a rabbi in Europe. In our conversation Rabbi Borts tells us what made her decide to become a rabbi and what has changed over the years for women in the pulpit – and what did not. As she considers music to be central for a religious service she is presently training to become a cantor. As she points out, women cantors are even more controversial than women rabbis, and explains why.
Dialogue – A Window to the Future
In this Podcast Andrea Petö and Norli Lappin-Eppel, both from Vienna, are talking with Simone Suskind in Brussels, Belgium. Simone Suskind is a feminist, a peace activist, and a politician. Simone talks about her initiatives to foster the dialogue between Jewish and Palestinian women as a way to reach a peaceful solution for the Middle East conflict. She also tells us about the Jewish Secular Center in Bruxelles, about her achievements as a politician and her activities to fight antisemitism and prejudice especially among youngsters. Finally, Simone talks about her project of training women as future political leaders in the Maghreb countries.
Bayit – Building Jewish Homes in Europe
Tova Starik was born and raised in Safed, Israel. From there she went to New York to study and is currently living in Vienna. Together with her husband, Rabbi Moshe Starik, she established „Bayit“, an organization that offers seminars for young Jewish professionals to help them find Jewish partners with whom they will build Jewish homes in Europe. Tova also explains the philosophy of Chabad about lighting the spark in every Jew and bringing light to the world.
Jewish Renaissance in Spain. A Talk with Dominique Tomasov Blinder
This Podcast takes us to Barcelona, Spain, where we meet Dominique Tomasov Blinder. Dominique is an architect from Argentina who made Barcelona her home in 1991. Since 1999 she has been dedicated to the study, preservation, dissemination and advocacy of Jewish Heritage in Spain. Dominique describes the re-establishment of a Jewish community in the late 19th century and its development until today. She explains the reasons for the interest of the Spanish government and the Spanish population in Jewish heritage 500 years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
Dear Friends,
In the latest episode of our Bet Debora podcast you hear Andrea Petö and Norli Lappin-Eppel in conversation with the journalist and author Anna Goldenberg about her book “I belong to Vienna”.
Anna Goldenberg, born in 1989 in Vienna, studied psychology at the University of Cambridge and journalism at Columbia University, New York. She worked for the Jewish newspaper The Forward in New York before returning to Vienna where she now writes for the weekly Der Falter and the daily Die Presse. Her book “I Belong to Vienna” was published in 2018 in English by New Vessel Press as well as in German under the title “Versteckte Jahre. Der Mann, der meinen Großvater rettete”. (Hidden years. The man who saved my Grandfather) by Paul Zsolnay Verlag. In this book Anna Goldenberg narrates her family’s fate during the Shoah and after the war. She also reflects on her role as an author and granddaughter. Just like her grandparents Anna Goldenberg spent some years in New York and then decided to return to Vienna.
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With best regards,
The Bet Debora Vienna Team
Balsamic and Coal: Two Rabbis North and South Chat
Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts, who lives in Newcastle, England, and Rabbi Ariel Friedlander, who lives in Modena, Italy, talk about fostering progressive Jewish life in Italy, about how various strands of Judaism in the UK are dealing with the pandemic, and about how their pets have helped them to cope during the lockdowns in the UK and Italy. They share their feelings about the positive and the difficult aspects of Jewish life during the past year.
Heroism of Jewish Women During the Holocaust
Andrea Petö, Professor for Gender Studies at the Central European University, Vienna, talks with Lori Weintraub, Professor of History and founding director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, Staten Island, New York, and Laura Morowitz, who is currently researching issues of art in Nazi Vienna about the different forms of Jewish women’s heroism. They discuss, why it is important to remember these heroines and what they mean for us today.
Welcome in Vienna, Central European University! A conversation with Andrea Petö, Professor for Gender Studies at the Central European University
Andrea Petö explains why the Central European University had to move from Budapest to Vienna and how this reflects the political situation in Hungary. In this podcast we also look back at the 4th International Bet Debora Conference, which took place in Budapest in August 2006 and was hosted by the CEU. Another topic of our talk is Andrea Petö’s research. Her focus are women in World War II: victims as well as perpetrators. She explains how these divergent topics are connected and why she thinks that it is important to reflect and talk about them.