Liz grew up in New York City and Toronto in a Messianic Jewish home, meaning she always knew that being Jewish and faith in Jesus went together. Liz came to a place of wanting to participate in her faith as her own thing before high school began. As part of her faith in Jesus, as a Jewish person, Liz has observed, participated in, and hosted Jewish traditions.

Much of Liz’s work has been around mentoring others, having worked with children, teens, and young adults. As the director of the New York City work of Jews for Jesus, Liz and her team work largely with students and creatives. 

Liz has a BA in art history and a master’s degree in public administration from Hunter College and Baruch College, respectively. Liz has worked with Jews for Jesus full time since 2006. Liz’s parents were part of the founding group of Jews for Jesus staff in the 1970s.

Rebekah Rood co-directs ministry to children, youth, and families in North America (with Ilana Brickner). She has a passion for seeing new generations of Jewish-believing young people grow up in their faith and walking with them and their parents through long-term discipleship. She also works with Jewish-Gentile couples, especially around the areas of spiritual and identity formation for the next generation.

Rebekah grew up in an intermarried-believing home in New England. She took personal ownership of her faith in Jesus and her Jewish identity while preparing for her Messianic bat mitzvah. She was involved with Camp Gilgal for many years as a camper, a counselor, and later, as a director. Meeting other Jewish-believing young people was a great encouragement and support to her own faith, and she considers it a privilege to work with young people navigating faith questions. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Sam (director of new missionary training), and their two children.

Dinah Sered is a tenured missionary with Jews for Jesus. She was born in New York, raised in the Midwest, got married, and then moved to Israel for 20 years. There, she and her husband, Dan, raised their three children, Yael, Eithan, and Yoav. The family returned to the US in 2020 and settled in New Jersey. Dinah has a bachelor of science in biochemistry and recently received her master of arts in leadership with a focus on Women’s Transformational Leadership. She is passionate about coming alongside others and encouraging their walk with the Lord. Dinah ministers full time as a missionary, and Dan is the chief operating officer of Jews for Jesus.

Caleb Goldberg serves on the children and youth ministry team in New York City and is the director of Camp Gilgal East. Throughout the year, Caleb plans events for Jewish-believing families, ministers through bar/bat mitzvah training, and engages with teens and camp alumni through group and one-on-one Bible studies.

Caleb grew up in a ministry family where he was taught to embrace Yeshua and his identity as a multiethnic Jew. While he came to faith in Yeshua at a young age, it wasn’t until his time at Southeastern University that Caleb chose to seek Him wholeheartedly. After earning his bachelor’s in organizational leadership and a minor in youth ministry, Caleb moved to New York City to work with Jews for Jesus.

Caleb’s passion is to minister to Jewish-believing children and teens in a variety of settings, including Camp Gilgal, which he first attended at 10 years old. He seeks to create an environment where children, teens, and families can encounter the love of Yeshua in tangible ways.

Jacob Fruchtman is a missionary with Jews for Jesus in New York City. He was raised in South Florida in a Messianic and Christian home by Jewish parents. He served in the US Air Force for four years, including three tours to the Middle East. He attended Western Carolina University and achieved two BS degrees: one in history and one in social science education. Jacob managed restaurants while studying and served in public education in Florida and North Carolina for 11 years and taught high school AP (Advanced Placement) courses, IB (International Baccalaureate), and AICE (Cambridge Assessment international Education. His identity has always been deeply connected to being Jewish but recognizing Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah was foundational in understanding that identity. The Lord used this to plant a deep passion in Jacob to connect other Jewish people to Yeshua and to make disciples. During his time with Jews for Jesus, Jacob has been a trainee and a community outreach worker serving key audiences in the greater New York City area. Jacob is married to his best friend, Autumn, and they have a daughter named Eden who brings joy to everyone she meets.

Sarah was raised in a Jewish-believing home and moved to Israel with her family at the age of nine. As she grew up in Israel, Sarah was surprised to discover that the majority of the Jewish population had never heard of Jesus. This motivated her to seek a deeper understanding of her personal faith in Jesus and His fulfillment in Scripture. Sarah dedicated her life to the Lord shortly after her military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 

After participating in a number of evangelistic campaigns over the years, Sarah joined the Jews for Jesus staff in January 2018 and began serving as a missionary in Tel Aviv. In 2020, she moved to New York City with her husband, Ofer, who also serves with Jews for Jesus, and their two sons, continuing her service as a missionary and manager of Moshava, our new coffee shop in Manhattan.

Sarah has always had a heart for sharing God’s love through hospitality and by serving people in need, both of which were modeled by her parents in their day-to-day lives. Sarah is excited to build these values into the vision of the coffee shop and is looking forward to the unique ways in which she can reach and serve the local community.

Shoshannah Weinisch serves as a missionary alongside Stewart, her husband of 36 years. They serve on the New York City branch team.

Shoshannah was raised in a traditional Jewish home and came to faith in 1980 through the ministry of Jews for Jesus. Shortly after coming to faith, she answered a call to share the gospel to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Shoshannah has a passion for the salvation and discipleship of Jewish women. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Shoshannah has seen a change in the demeanor of the women to whom she extends ministry. Shoshannah says, “Between COVID, the closing of many businesses, and the rise in crime in our city, many women have a sense of hopelessness. Although it’s heartbreaking, I recognize a unique opportunity to offer hope in Jesus. I believe God has placed Stewart and me in this city for such a time as this.”

Stewart Weinisch was born and raised in the Bronx in New York. It was during his bar mitzvah, in front of the Torah ark (where the Torah scrolls are kept in the synagogue), that Stewart made this promise to God: “Someday I’m going to find You.” In 1977, at the age of 19, Stewart began reading Messianic prophecies and became convinced that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah.

In 1983, after completing a Bible education, Stewart returned to New York City to bring the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It was during his tenure In NYC that Stewart met Shoshannah, his wife of 36 years. Stewart and Shoshannah have two adult children: Melissa and Jonathan. Together, Stewart and Shoshannah have served in Messianic congregations and Jewish missions for over 40 years.

Stewart has a sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel to all people. He says, “Since Shoshannah and I have been on staff with Jews for Jesus (2009), we have been amazed at the number of Jewish and non-Jewish people we have seen respond to the gospel.” Stewart is passionate about making disciples. He is dedicated to investing in younger believers and coming alongside new missionaries to better equip them to proclaim the gospel to future generations.