Through the Eyes of Our Students: The Experience of Being Black and Jewish

Join us on Thursday, August 6th at 7pm PT for an online forum where members of the Academy family will share their personal experiences of being part of both the Jewish and Black communities.

Taking part in this important discussion are current AJRCA students Jenni Asher (Cantorial) and Avigayil Levy-Yochanan (Rabbinic) and current applicant Robin Harrison (Rabbinic).

RSVP below - we'll send the link the day of the event.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, President of AJRCA and Dean of the Academy’s rabbinic program.

Our panelists include:

Jenni Asher

A current cantorial student, Jenni is a professional violinist, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Royal Academy of Music and a Master’s Degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, both in London, England. She is a mixed black and white Jew by choice, and lives in North Hollywood with her husband (an Egyptian Jew, third generation) and their young daughter.

Avigayil Levy-Yochanan

A current rabbinic student, Avigayil is originally from Kingston, Jamaica, and spent her childhood in Brooklyn, New York before moving to Southern California. She has spent her career working as an ICU nurse. More recently, she has focused on caring of one of her children who has a number of health challenges and she is a strong advocate for the awareness of rare disabilities in children.

Robin Harrison

An applicant to the rabbinic program, Robin is the sixth of seven children raised in Compton, California. He received his bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from Cal State University Dominguez Hills and has served as a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District for twenty-five years. Robin and his family have been members of Temple Beth David, in Westminster, for nearly a decade and he has served on the Beth David Board of Directors for the last eight years.

Can you attend?

RSVP now by clicking one of the buttons below. We'll email you the link to join the event early in the day on August 6th.

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Have a question? Email [email protected] .