Limmud FSU marked 11 years of programs in Israel with a three-day festival in Jerusalem this weekend. The pluralistic, egalitarian event is staffed and designed by volunteers, and attracted 1,060 participants, mostly between the ages of 20-40.

The program encompassed more than 180 lectures, workshops, master classes and presentations given by 100 expert speakers, each in their own field, on a vast range of subjects, complemented by a special age-appropriate program for children.

The festival hosted a range of leading public figures and political leaders, including the President of the Supreme Court, Justice Esther Hayut.

Limmud FSU’s Founder, Chaim Chesler told eJP: “We are delighted to be holding the festival once again in Jerusalem, and to continue the successful Limmud model, together with over 1,000 young people, our indefatigable body of volunteers, leading public figures and entrepreneurs, and with respected lecturers and teachers on a wide variety of topics of Jewish interest.”

Limmud FSU’s President, Aaron G. Frenkel added, “Our decision to return this year to the eternal capital of Israel was based on the feeling that there was nothing more suitable than the holy city of the Jewish people to hold the opening festival of a new decade, with a bold look at the future and with complete faith in our proven success.”

In an interview, Yosef Chaim Shapira, the State Comptroller, pointed out that the Limmud FSU conferences, both in Israel but especially in the Diaspora, are of the utmost significance in presenting an important model for pluralistic, multi-cultural discussions that encompass all the strands and communities of the Jewish people, especially at a time when the relationship between the Jews in Israel and the Diaspora is becoming ever more complex in the light of the justified and legitimate disagreements between the different strands of the Jewish people. It is essential to create a common platform for discussion and dialogue so as to unify the Jews in the Diaspora and those who live in Zion.”

The Limmud FSU Festival was supported by the Immigration and Absorption Department of the Municipality of Jerusalem, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Genesis Philanthropy Group, Conference for Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs, Joel Passick, and March of the Living.

All photos courtesy Limmud FSU