Jewish Student Life

Hillel strives to provide a welcoming environment to students from all backgrounds to help them find their connection to the Jewish community at Stanford. While some have had little or no connection with Jewish life before Stanford, others come to college with youth group, day school, or other experiences that have made Judaism central to their lives. We invite you - whether your interests range from religious events to Greek life to Israel advocacy - to bring your fresh ideas and new visions to Jewish campus life!

Jewish Leadership Council

The Jewish Leadership Council is an elected body that oversees Jewish student programming and envisions and plans for the undergraduate student community.

2009-2010

	Joe Gettinger ‘11 joegett@stanford.edu President Major: Mechanical Engineering Bio: Hi, My name is Joe Gettinger. I have lived most of my life in Madisonville, a small town of 4,000 people in the southeastern corner of Tennessee. As you can imagine I was usually the only Jewish kid in school. My shul is an hour's drive from my house in Knoxvile; my family made this two-hour round trip two or three times a week. I also have spent a total of one year of my life in Israel, between a four-month stay my sophomore year in High School, and eight months after deferring my enrollment from Stanford. That's my Jewish identity in a nut shell.
	Jarrod Marks ‘12 marksja@stanford.edu VP of Campus Relations Major: Jewish Studies Bio: Jarrod is currently the only undergraduate majoring in Jewish Studies, but hopes that others will follow his lead soon. He became involved in the Jewish Students association because he wants to help enrich the Jewish Community at Stanford. He is currently working closely with the administration to create a kosher food option for students. As a Jewish Studies Major, Jarrod plans to focus his research on Talmud and Biblical Interpretation. He lectures frequently on Jewish Philosophy and Torah both on and off campus and is always eager to delve into a deep conversation. In addition to his academic endeavors, Jarrod’s interests include music and aviation: He is a licensed pilot and is always willing to go flying with friends. Before coming to Stanford, Jarrod sang in the Palm Beach Opera Company for two years and continues to perform regularly in California. Although Jarrod has many interests, he sees both medicine and rabbinical work in his future.
	David Sabeti ’11 dsabeti@stanford.edu VP of Public Relations Major: Unknown Bio: Coming Soon.
	Alex Katz ’12 alexkatz@stanford.edu Financial Officer Major: Unknown Bio: Alex is a born and bred Texan and has a distinct fascination with barbecue. His interest in economics and his political affiliation (liberal/conservative) provide some semblance of justification for his position as staff writer of both The Stanford Review and The Stanford Progressive. When not defending his confusing political stances, he plays squash and beach volleyball, wears bowties, and watches "The West Wing."
	Chen Lossos ‘12 clossos@stanford.edu Engagement Chair Major: Unknown Bio: Chen is the resident Israeli on the JSA board. The implications of this are too numerous to fully expand upon. Hailing from the City of Gold, he is currently a resident of sunny Miami and takes full advantage of its rampant nightlife. A hardcore bio/chem/stats premed, Chen wishes to spend the rest of his Earthly life locked up in a research lab and curing cancer patients. Besides these mundane activities, Chen is an avid swimmer and jazz fan. He hopes to somehow incorporate these into the cure for cancer but is yet unsure how this will pan out.
	Benamy Yashar ‘12 byashar@stanford.edu Social Chair Major: Unknown Bio: Coming Soon.
	Jeff Sweet ‘12 jasweet@stanford.edu Social Action Chair Major: Undeclared Bio: Hi, my name is Jeffrey Sweet and I am from San Diego California. My Jewish life was greatly influenced by my involvement with my temple youth group (TYG) and the occasional NFTY event. I love helping out, so if you ever need anything, feel free to ask. I am more of a Reform Jew and I enjoy the communal and spiritual aspect of Judaism. I enjoy science and am thinking of going into Material Science and Engineering. I can’t wait to meet you.
	Erik Karpas ‘12 ekarpas@stanford.edu Israel Chair Major: Unknown Bio: Eric Karpas hails from the distant galaxy of New Jersey, where the highways aren’t as pretty as they are here in California. He loves going to concerts, rooting on the Jets, meeting new people, and environmental economics. He came into this position knowing very little about Israel, but is very excited to learn about it and come up with awesome programming to impart his newly learned knowledge through innovative programming. Three cheers for innovative programming!
	Isaac Bleaman ‘12 ibleaman@stanford.edu Jewish Life Chair Major: Comparative Literature & Linguistics Bio: Isaac, or Reb Itsik as the ladies call him, was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. While attending high school in North Hollywood, he served as President of the Jewish Student Union, organized and played fiddle in a community service klezmer band, and spent a summer studying Yiddish in Lithuania. He’s also a graduate of Los Angeles Hebrew High School. At Stanford, you might find him rehearsing with the Stanford Symphony or the Stanford Klezmer Band, at Green with his head buried in Yiddish novels, at Hillel overseeing "Jewish Life", or in his room sleeping in. His relatives always tell him how smart, talented, and charming he is, but he never lets any of that get to his head.
	Isaac Kauvar ‘12 ikauvar@stanford.edu Shabbat Chair Major: Engineering or so. Bio: I hail from Denver, CO, and yes - I do occasionally ski, though not as much as you might surmise. I have attended a Jewish school for every part of my life (even including the present - contrary to popular belief). I enjoy the Jewish holidays and Shabbat. What a blessing! I love pickles, squash (not the vegetable), grilled cheese with avocado, basketball, jews, french fries, football, nano, light, and brussel sprouts. I want to be your friend!
	Sean Daneshgar ‘10 seand1@stanford.edu Member at Large Major: Unknown Bio: Coming soon.
	Natalie Sudikoff ‘12 sudikoff@stanford.edu Member at Large Major: Unknown Bio: Coming soon.
	Ruthie Arbeiter ‘12 merpug@stanford.edu Member at Large Major: Unknown Bio: Ruthie Arbeiter is a somewhat hobbit-looking creature hailing from Poway, CA (a suburb of San Diego.) For years, she has been passionately in love with Stanford, and she is now delighted to dwell in FroSoCo (an obscure and distant land.) She plans to major in English w/Creative Writing emphasis and minor in Psychology. Apart from stalking the black ninja squirrels that lurk about Santa Teresa St., Ruthie enjoys painting, scuba-diving, fountain-hopping, and writing dark comedy. She also loves to travel, though she has concluded that only one location on Earth can surpass Stanford in terms of technological advancement, the brilliance, humor, and attractiveness of its people, and overall potential for breakthroughs and miracles. She’s referring, of course, to Eretz Yisrael!

2008-2009
President, Jonathan Kass
VP of Community Relations, Lexi Shechtel
VP of Public Relations, Benj Fried
VP of Campus Relations, Jessica Galant
CFO, Daniel Virtheim
Engagement Chair, Natalie Goodis
Shabbat Chairs, Joe Gettinger & Rachel Lopatin
Social Chair, Jamie Solomon
Education Chair, David Sabeti
Social Action Chair, Helen Helfand
Israel Chair, Justin Hefter

2007-2008
President, Andrew Ehrich
VP of Community Relations, Carrie Mlynarczyk
VP of Public Relations, Becca Tisdale
VP of Campus Relations, Amie Baron
CFO, Jon Canel
Engagement Chair, Jon Kass
Shabbat Chairs, Benj Freid & Julia Greenberg
Social Chair, Max Zamkow
Education Chair, Jessica Galant
Social Action Chair, Dania Shor
Israel Culture and Education Chair, Lexi Shechtel