Rabbi Berkowitz lives in Jerusalem where she performs bat and bar mitzvah ceremonies for people from all over the world and is part-time development director at Kehilat Kol HaNeshama. The author of Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh and many articles, she has taught Judaism and Spiritual Care at a variety of colleges in Israel and the US. Miriam is one of Israel’s first certified hospital chaplains and co-founder of Kashouvot: Center for Spiritual Care in Israel. She also creates hand-made ceramic Judaica and is a licensed Israeli tour guide. www.ravmiriam.com
Moti Kaplan is a graduate of Yeshivat Hayishuv Hahadash, where he studied until age 20. He is currently a senior research fellow in the faculty of architecture and urban development at the Technion and a lecturer at the Institute of Urban and Regional Studies at the Hebrew University. He is a leading planner of urban and open spaces, in Israel and internationally.
While Jewish law contains many opinions, the moral imperative is clear: every effort should be made to negotiate the release of hostages without delay.
