Israel in Depth Fellowship

Mikhael Reuven Kesher is a curator of educational experiences and resources, whose professional passion is supporting Jewish educators and learners in building informed, constructive, and committed relationships with am yisrael (the Jewish people) and medinat yisrael (the Jewish state). As a British-born Israeli-by-choice and new American, he cares deeply about strengthening each Jew’s connection to global Jewry. Before joining The Jewish Education Project as Director, Israel Education, Mikhael worked at Harvard Hillel, MIT Hillel, and Hebrew College. He holds Master’s degrees in Philosophy (University of Cambridge), Near Eastern & Judaic Studies (Brandeis University), and Jewish professional leadership (Brandeis University). At home, Mikhael is an avid reader, ḥevruta enthusiast, and devoted abba to two young children.

Dr. Jonathan Golden is the founder of HeartStance Education Consulting. He teaches at Hebrew College and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, and serves as a fellow at the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. 

He was the Israel Curriculum Coordinator and a history teacher at Gann Academy, a pluralistic Jewish highschool in Waltham, MA where he taught from 1999-2023. A graduate of Princeton University, he received his M.J.Ed. from Hebrew College and Ph.D. from Brandeis University. At Brandeis, he studied American Jewish history under the tutelage of Professor Jonathan Sarna and wrote a dissertation entitled From Cooperation to Confrontation: The Rise and Fall of the Synagogue Council of America.

He has participated in the Schusterman Center Summer Institute for Israel Studies which in 2022 included participants from Abraham Accords countries (Morocco, Bahrain, UAE), and has taught the Myra Kraft Seminar on Israel to first year students of the Hornstein program at Brandeis University.

Rabbi David E. Levy is the Director, Field Consultation at The Jewish Education Project. His primary work focuses on supporting congregational educators across the country to explore the big questions in Jewish Education, and how they are particularly positioned to respond to them. Prior to The Jewish Education Project, David worked at Westchester Reform Temple for a decade, where he served as the Associate Rabbi and the Director of the Jewish Learning Lab. He also has extensive experience working with Jewish camps, and as a consultant. David received Rabbinic ordination and a Masters in Religious Education from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems from Drexel University.