Joel Landau

Joel Landau is the executive director of “Israel Up Close Productions” (IUC) a non-profit film production company which he founded, that identifies, researches, and reports on Israeli innovations and their impact on our lives and society in general. Prior to this, for more than 16 years, he served as a rabbi in two communities, the first one in Charleston, South Carolina, and the second one in Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine, California.

He was born in Queens, New York, but in 1974 along with his family he moved to Israel. Upon their arrival they first lived in a youth village next to Kibbutz Lavi, but after a few years they moved to the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Settling there offered Landau more opportunities like being included in the reclamation of Jewish owned property in the Moslem Quarter, and having the privilege to study with the Rav of the Old City.

Landau studied at the Empire State College from where he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. He also has teaching credential from Lipshitz College, ordination from the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem and a post graduate degree in Judaic Studies issued by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. His most important role, which he has been playing his entire life is representing Israel and Judaism to the community at large.

Read more

 * https://www.adathisraelsf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=265&Itemid=6
 * http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=105609
 * https://limmudbayarea2016.sched.org/speaker/rabbi11