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Rabbi Poupko

Rabbi Reuben Poupko is a passionate advocate for the Jewish community. Rabbi Poupko is a sought-after speaker, and frequently quoted in print and electronic media on issues related to the State of Israel and antisemitism. Throughout his 35 plus years in Montreal, he has held numerous key positions in the community leadership, including Co-Chair of the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, President of the Rabbinical Council of Canada and Chairman of the Executive of Canadian Jewish Congress – Quebec Region, member of Federation CJA’s Executive Committee and served as Co-President of CIJA-Quebec. He has been the spiritual leader of Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation since 1986.

Rabbi Poupko has led dozens of Jewish groups, students and adults, on tours of Poland and Eastern Europe. He is well known as an indispensable resource for Jewish students on university campuses and has spoken on campuses across north America.

In the 1970s and 80s, Rabbi Poupko was an outspoken advocate for Russian Jewry, helping to establish an underground Jewish kindergarten in Moscow while it was still under Communist rule. In 1998, he played an integral role in the prosecution and conviction of a Nazi war criminal in Austria.

Rabbi Poupko has received honours from Bar Ilan University, The Association for the Soldiers of Israel – Canada (ASI Canada), the Canadian Zionist Federation Jerusalem Prize and from Federation CJA. In 2017, he and his wife Mindy led Federation CJA’s Montreal Mega Mission: Centennial Edition.

Stephen Savitsky

Stephen Savitsky was both the former President and Chairman of the Orthodox Union.  He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, a board member of Mesorah Heritage Foundation, and founder and President of the Kew Gardens Hills Eruv which led the movement for Eruvim across America. He was the Chairman of Mesivta Ohr Torah, and President of Congregation Anshei Chesed in Hewlett. He currently is President of the Bnai Zion Foundation, Chairman of Partners in Torah, on the executive committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and President of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway.  He has traveled the world speaking and representing the Jewish community on many occasions.  Mr. Savitsky has been in the Health Care industry for many years and has been CEO and founder of several public traded companies. His new book Kan Tzipor inspiring stories on seizing magic moments of opportunity to do chesed published by Feldheim Press was a best seller this year and received wonderful reviews from the press. He lives in Woodmere NY with his wife Genie and has been blessed with a large family of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Micah D. Halpern

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist, a social and political commentator, a television host, a fundraiser, a rabbi and an educator. Host of “Thinking Out Loud with Micah Halpern”, a popular weekly program on JBS-TV, he also writes the columns “Above the Fold” for the Jerusalem Post and “Insighter” for Newsmax.  He was the foreign affairs columnist for the Observer.  His insight and analysis can now be found on his website “The Micah Report”.

Halpern is a dynamic speaker and lecturer who specializes in analyzing political and world events. He has been a commentator for ABC, CBS, Fox, i24News and is the go-to for a host of international media. Immediately following 9-11, he was the terror analyst for WCBS.  He has appeared in documentaries on The Food Network, The Learning Channel, The History Channel and offered religious commentary for CNN, BBC and other outlets including Al Arabia.

The author of “THUGS”, which spent weeks on Amazon’s best seller list, “What You Need To Know About: Terror” and “On Line With Israel at the Millennium”, Micah has been invited for consultations in the White House and the Justice Department. He keeps CEO’s around the world up-to-date as a Vistage lecturer.

Micah Halpern is one of the only exclusively Kosher wine reviewers in the world.  For fun, he hosts a Substack blog on chocolate chip cookies.

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Tal Vaknin

Tal Vaknin is an internationally acclaimed singer and composer of Jewish pop and soul music. Tal is known for his amazing vocal abilities and his success among all different streams of Jewish audiences both in Israel and abroad. Born in Jerusalem, and son of a musical cantorial parent, Tal was discovered at an early age as a musical prodigy child. Tal continued to wow audiences in concerts up until he joined the IDF. During his service in the IDF he performed in the Israeli Army band at bases all around the country.

Following the Army, Tal began performing his own unique Jewish hits. He quickly became a sought-after singer and began to perform in concerts and festivals for Chabad Israel and in communities all over the USA and Europe. Tal performed with famous opera singer Andreas Bocelli. Tal founded the radio station Galey Yisrael along with “Lehakat Darom” and served as the Music Director of the station. He founded the children’s group “Musickids”.

Among his hits is the album “Prayers” with singer Yossi Azulay; his single “Aneni Basharim” written by singer Kobi Aflalo; his single “Neshama” which he wrote along with Barak Elisha; a music video duet with Israeli Superstar Gad Elbaz called “Emunah” which Tal composed together with the arranger Ran Aviv; “Clouds in the Clouds” which was written by Kobi Afallo;; the song “Soul” composed by Uriel Aharoni and arranged by Ran Aviv and Gad Elbaz; “Ala” which he composed and wrote together with Ma’ayan Tamir to the words of Rabbi Kook; “Morning” composed and written by Elhanan Elhadad along with a music video with Rudy Rochman, Gad Elbaz, Binyamin Elbaz and Aharon Holder; the Hebrew adaptation of the French singer Daniel Levy’s song “l’envie d’aimer”; ‘Hallo‘ a duet with singer Yossi Azulay; “Moda Ani”, a performance sign in 4 languages and the hit song “My Day”.

At the beginning of the Iron Swords War, Tal enlisted to establish a special unit in his area of ​​residence and at the same time handled the donations of tactical equipment to two thousand soldiers in the various sectors every night since the beginning of the war. At the same time as his military service, Tal travels between Israel Defense Forces bases and performs for the soldiers. Tal is loved by his many fans.

Ryan Quinn

Ryan Quinn is a singer and musician from Central NY most known for his four-chair-turning performance on Season 10 of NBC’s “The Voice.” While on “The Voice,” he was able to work with Adam Levine, Tori Kelly, Miley Cyrus, and Christina Aguilera, and advanced to the “Live Playoffs.” Since then, Ryan has had the pleasure of performing, touring, recording, and collaborating with some amazing acts, including: Postmodern Jukebox, Aubrey Logan, Loren Gold of “The Who,” Canadian pop artist Jocelyn Alice, and jazz legend Scott Kinsey. In November 2024, Ryan released a new musical project with bass virtuoso Hadrien Feraud called “June 32nd.” Having been influenced by multiple genres and as a multi-instrumentalist, Ryan has managed to combine elements of rock, pop, folk, soul, and jazz into a unique style of his own.