Global Challenges, Jewish Responses: An Evening with Aviva Klompas.

Kehillat Shaarei Torah is proud to present, Global Challenges, Jewish Responses: An Evening with Aviva Klompas. The night features Aviva Klompas, former speechwriter for Israel's Mission to the UN and a renowned voice in Jewish & Israel advocacy across the world. Taking place at the Prosserman JCC on December 18, this event is moderated by CJN journalist, Ellin Bessner, and will delve into the pressing issues facing Israel, the global Jewish community and explore Aviva's new book: The Stand Up Nation. Doors open at 7:00pm with refreshments and snacks, Aviva begins at 7:30pm sharp.

Aviva, known for her inspiring storytelling and leadership, will address the complexities and challenges of today’s world through a uniquely Jewish lens, offering insights drawn from her extensive experience in diplomacy, community building, and advocacy. Don’t miss this chance to engage in a powerful conversation that speaks to our values, our resilience, and our role on the global stage. We will also feature an exclusive meet & greet book signing after the event.

Please note that there are no assigned seats, please give yourself enough time.

About Aviva

Aviva Klompas is the co-founder and CEO of Boundless. She has made a name for herself as an outspoken advocate for the Jewish people and as a leading Israel educator. Before launching Boundless, she served as the Director of Speechwriting for Israel's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City and as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Ontario government supporting efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in Canada.

A prolific writer, Aviva has written articles that have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, The Jerusalem Post, and other international publications. She is also the author of two books. Her first, “Speaking for Israel,” reflects on her time as a speechwriter for Israel and offers an honest and entertaining insight into Israeli diplomacy. Her second book, “Stand-Up Nation: Israeli Resilience in the Wake of Disaster,” released in 2024, details Israel’s remarkable and longstanding work in international development.

About Ellin

Ellin Bessner is a Canadian journalist based in Toronto. She is the author of a book about Canada’s 17,00 Jewish servicemen and women who fought in the Second World War. The book is called “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and World War II”, and was published by the University of Toronto Press (2019). She also contributed a chapter to “Northern Lights”, published by the Lola Stein Institute (2020). It is the story of the contribution of Canada’s Jewish community to the country’s military record from 1750 to today. Ellin hosts the podcast The CJN Daily: it’s a bite-sized look at news about Canada’s Jewish community, for the Canadian Jewish News.

Ellin was born in Montreal and graduated with a degree in journalism and political science from Carleton University. Her career as a journalist took her around Canada and around the world, working for CTV News and CBC News, and also stringing for the Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press and other organizations. As a foreign correspondent based in Rome, Italy, during the 1990s, aside from reporting on the Vatican, the Mafia, Italian food, fashion, and opera, and of course, on Italian soccer, Ellin also covered several brutal civil wars in Africa. She’s interviewed the late Prince Phillip and the Dalai Lama. She was a business anchor for many years at Report on Business Television, now BNN.