Rebecca Wald
Publisher
Rebecca launched Beyond the Bris in 2010 to spark debate, to connect fellow Jewish circumcision critics, and to provide a forum for the diverse voices wishing to speak on this issue. She also serves as Executive Director of the Jewish nonprofit Bruchim. She is a graduate of The George Washington University and Brooklyn Law School.
Natalie Bivas
Natalie is a reading and ESL specialist for the Palo Alto School District where she has worked for eighteen years. Prior to this she taught in two Jewish days schools in Montreal after finishing a teaching credential at McGill University where she earned her B.A. She is also the former reading specialist for the Jewish Coalition for Literacy.
B.J. Epstein
B.J. is a senior lecturer in literature and public engagement at the University of East Anglia in England. She’s also a writer, editor, and Swedish-to-English translator. She lives with her wife and daughter.
Jonathan Friedman
Jonathan attended yeshiva through high school. He went on to attend The Cooper Union, graduating with honors in engineering in 2009 and is researching sustainable energy storage solutions. He is also a strategic advisor for the Jewish nonprofit Bruchim.
Ronald Goldman
Ronald is Executive Director of the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center in Boston. He is a psychological researcher, lecturer, and author of the books Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective and Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma.
Karen Isskenderov
Karen was born in Providence, RI to a Jewish family. Her mother, who is in her 90s, still recalls with horror her sons’ circumcisions and says if she knew there was a choice she would have never allowed it. Karen is a practicing pharmacist in St. Petersberg, Florida.
Emily Kapit
Emily lives in Atlanta, GA with her family. When she is not reading to or playing with daughter Hali and dog Shaina, she runs a career advisory firm. She is happy to discuss any crunchy parenting topic with anyone who will listen. She doesn’t recall when or how she actually became so crunchy but loves it anyway. Emily is also on the General Advisory Board for the new Jewish nonprofit Bruchim.
Shea Levy
Shea is an undergraduate student in biomedical engineering and neuroscience in New York, NY.
Lo Maret
Lo was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and became a certified birth doula in 2004 and a certified lactation counselor in 2008. She works for a non-profit home visitation organization serving new mothers and their children.
Jennifer Margulis
Jennifer is a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute at Brandeis University and the author of the book, The Business of Baby, which includes a chapter on the business of circumcision.
Mark Morris
Mark lives in Sydney Australia with his partner Jude. He is happy to speak to anyone struggling with the circumcision decision regarding his own experience and feelings.
Lisa Braver Moss
Lisa is the author of many books, including The Measure of His Grief, a novel which explores a Berkeley doctor’s unlikely campaign against circumcision. Her essays have appeared in Tikkun, Parents, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Huffington Post. She is also President of the Jewish nonprofit Bruchim.
Karen Ranzi
Karen is a leading expert in the field of nutrition and child development. Her focus includes the benefits of eating a raw foods diet. She hosts the blog Super Healthy Children, which is full of great tips for getting kids to eat their vegetables.
Molly McFly
Molly McFly (a pen name) is a YouTube vlogger, Tumblr bloggirl, and third-year student at Indiana University, where she majors in Gender Studies and minors in Human Sexuality. She was raised as a Reform Jew in the suburbs of Chicago.
Mark Reiss
Mark is a retired physician and classical pianist. He serves as Executive Vice President of Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC) and founded the Celebrants of Brit Shalom website, which listed hundreds of brit shalom celebrants. This directory has now been incorporated into Bruchim.online’s Mark D. Reiss Inclusion Directory.
Sarah Rockwell (Contributing Writer)
Sarah is a doctoral candidate in special education at the University of Florida specializing in academic instruction for students with autism. She is also a full-time, attachment parenting mother to a spunky little boy.
Eran Sadeh
Eran is a secular Israeli, and the father of two children, a boy and a girl. He is the founder of Gonnen Al Ha-Yeled (Protect the Child) and has appeared in media interviews speaking about the harmfulness of childhood circumcision.
Richard Schwartzman (1939-2022)
Richard was a psychiatrist who practiced medicine in Pennsylvania. He realized the trauma of circumcision when he was required to do the procedure as a medical resident. During Richard’s many years in private clinical practice, he advised parents that circumcision provides no significant medical benefits and is a source of traumatic stress to the infant that can have lasting consequences. He wrote and lectured extensively on child rearing, emphasizing that by preventing infant and childhood trauma of all kinds, caregivers lay a foundation for lifelong emotional health. He played an integral role in the founding of the Jewish nonprofit Bruchim.
Amy Soule
Amy is a resident of Ontario, Canada, who works as an educational assistant helping her students demonstrate their total potential. She is active in her synagogue, helping serve as cantor, baalat korei and gabbi when asked. She is also proud to be a visible as a gay Jewish woman and an activist for causes that involve making sure everyone receives full and equal rights.
Shawn Stark
Shawn grew up in a Jewish community in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, where he attended Jewish elementary school. He later moved to Vancouver. He met his wife, Amari, at a wedding in Montreal and she moved from London to Vancouver seven months later. They currently live in Vancouver, living on the beach and loving life.
Diane Targovnik
Diane is the mother of two children born at home. In addition to being a full-time mother, she is also a lawyer. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Ms. Targovnik looks forward to being part of the movement to help educate other Jews regarding brit shalom.
Eli Ungar-Sargon
Eli is an accomplished documentary filmmaker. His film Cut: Slicing Through the Myths of Circumcision looks critically at the ancient ritual from a Jewish perspective. He is also a founding member of Bruchim.
Francelle Wax (Contributing Writer)
Francelle has over has overseen production coordination on political media campaigns and for historical documentaries. She has traveled four continents and lived in London, Washington, DC, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, and Berkeley, California.