Orna Landau Rosner arrived in the United States several months ago with her husband, Shmuel, who is the Chief Washington correspondent for the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. Prior to coming here, Orna was manager and program director of Beit-Daniel, Israel’s largest Reform congregation, located in Tel Aviv. She was in charge of staff, budget, publicity, and programming, and was also involved in several joint ventures with the municipality and various institutions, on behalf of Beit-Daniel.

Thus, it may come as a surprise to learn that Orna’s first encounter with Reform Judaism has taken place only ten years ago. Like most Israelis, Orna knew of only two options: religious Orthodox, and secular. She came to know and appreciate the many ways in which one can practice and lead a Jewish life only when she was sent as a volunteer by WUJS to a small Jewish community in Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada. That first encounter has greatly influenced her. It was the first step in what turned out to be a personal journey and, surprisingly enough, a professional one as well.

After returning to Israel, Orna has continued for several years her career as a journalist, then a T.V critic. But although successful (she had a daily column in Israel’s largest newspaper) she gradually came to feel that she wanted to take a more active part in Israel’s cultural and Jewish life. She began teaching courses at the Open University, and gave lectures at various universities on media and culture. Once she received the offer from Beit Daniel to become a part of the great creation of Reform Judaism in Israel, she seized the opportunity.

As her experience with Beit Daniel was a very enriching and meaningful one, Orna was glad when the opportunity to serve another Reform congregation came along, and joined Temple Emanuel as executive director. In this position, she hopes to demonstrate her management and peoples skills, as well as her varied experience and unique perspective.

Orna and Shmuel are the proud parents of three boys – Shaul (8), Yochai (7) and Ariel (4).

Contact Orna at: execdirector@templeemanuelmd.org