Joanne is a Cambridge graduate with a background in law and Jewish legal studies. Joanne spent 12 years in international arbitration and public law, appearing before tribunals in The Hague. At the London Beth Din, she pioneered solutions for Get refusal cases, becoming Director of Get Cases and Deputy Legal Director of the United Synagogue.

Outside of LSJS, she has worked with European Jewish communities on long-term educational strategy and is a published author, speaker, and podcaster, tackling contemporary challenges in Jewish law and learning. She is also completing a four-year Jewish law qualification with Ohr Torah Stone’s International Halacha Scholars programme.

Passionate about education, justice, and community transformation, Joanne is committed to empowering Jewish educators and leaders for the future. She speaks globally on Jewish law and contemporary issues, with a focus on gender and Jewish status, and is known for her dynamic, thought-provoking lectures. She also hosts Women’s Gallery, a podcast exploring inspirational women’s voices from across the community. 

Dean of LSJS and the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought, established by the Zandan family. He is an international lecturer, rabbinic leader, academic and author with a passion for teaching traditional Jewish texts and innovative educational programming. Please click here for Biography, Recordings, Writings, News and Events.

Rabbi Barry Kleinberg is an LSJS Teaching Fellow, osteopath and a Sacks Scholar. He is writing a series exploring the weekly Haftara utilising Rabbi Sacks’ teachings. In November 2025 he achieved his PhD following research in Pluralism and Universalism at the University of Haifa.

Dr Lindsay Simmonds is a Research Fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS), where she has lectured, written, and convened courses for over 20 years, focusing on women in Biblical narrative, the Talmud, and Jewish Law. In 2024, she completed a three-year project at the Religion and Global Society Unit at the London School of Economics (LSE), UK, where she researched Women of Faith and Peacebuilding. Her PhD (Department of Gender, LSE) is entitled, Generation Piety: Agency in the Lives of British Orthodox Jewish Women.

Lindsay studied for several years in Jerusalem: at Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, and as a Bruria Scholar at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She is also a graduate of the LSJS Susi Bradfield Women Educators’ Fellowships in London, UK.

Additionally, Lindsay is co-chair of her local Jewish-Muslim Women’s Network, Nisa-Nashim, Vice-Chair of Trustees for the Abraham Initiatives UK, and Jewish Scholar-in-Residence for the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ). She speaks regularly on peaceful shared society, interfaith relations, and conflict negotiation.

Senior Lecturer at Matan Institute for Jewish Studies, sought-after educator in Israel and abroad and a Sacks Scholar. She received her doctorate in Jewish Philosophy from Bar Ilan University.

Rabbi and Posek, and the Chief Learning Officer at WebYeshiva.org. He provides online spiritual coaching and halachic consultations to men, women & couples as #theVirtualRabbi. He lectures widely on Tanach, Emuna and Halacha, including at Matan, Herzog College and Melton, and is a volunteer for Tzohar. Rav Johnny and his wife Donna live in Even Shmuel with their five daughters.

When not out in the bushveld, Ilana teaches Tanach and Environmental topics at the Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning in Johannesburg and Cape Town; she is also its Head of Faculty and Education. The Academy is connected to the London School of Jewish Studies and is a vibrant, modern-orthodox programme for Jewish thought, scholarship and education that has set out to inspire the South African Jewish community with a lifelong love of Jewish learning.

Ilana honed her skills in the study of Tanach at Nishmat in Jerusalem, and connecting with some of the great Tanach educators of today at Michlelet Herzog in Gush Etzion. She holds Master’s degree in Jewish Education online with LSJS.

Gila Sacks is a senior civil servant in the UK Government, currently Director of Medicines in the Department for Health and Social Care. She is the youngest daughter of Rabbi Sacks.

Michael co-ordinates LSJS courses, tours and events, and directs the LSJS Rabbi Sacks Learning Fellowship for young professionals. A popular teacher, he specialises in Tanach, Jewish history and the Jewish year, and guides LSJS tours in the UK, Israel and Poland.

He is a graduate of the LSJS MA in Jewish Education (University of London) and the LSJS Graduate Teacher Programme. After serving as Mazkir of Bnei Akiva UK and teaching at King Solomon High School, he moved to Israel, where he directed gap year programmes for World Bnei Akiva and later served as Associate Director of Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi.

An innovative educator, he created the first dedicated English-language tours of the Israeli President’s Residence in Jerusalem and leads Jewish heritage tours to Poland with JRoots.

Michael is a Sacks Scholar, having joined the inaugural cohort of the Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Scholars Programme. He has taught Rabbi Sacks’ Torah in the UK, Israel and Australia, and is a regular teacher of Covenant & Continuity, LSJS’ flagship weekly parasha class.

Michael's teaching and speaking topic areas include:

• Tanach & Parasha
• Torah L'Am, LSJS' flagship crash course in understanding Torah
• Jewish year cycle
• Rabbi Sacks and society
• Jewish-themed tours of the British Museum
• Jewish heritage tours of Poland
• Historical tours in Israel
• Jewish education: Informal teaching and programme & curriculum design

Israeli diplomat and international lawyer. He served as Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom and as Director of Strategy and Planning of the Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild) foundation.

Jewish educator, writer and podcaster at Matan Institute for Torah Studies and the Eden Center. She is a member of the second cohort of Sacks Scholars and is currently writing a book on aggada in Talmud Brachot through the Matan Kitvuni fellowship program.

Gemara Ram at Ohr Torah Stone's Midreshet Lindenbaum and a Yoetzet Halacha. She is a frequent guest lecturer at learning institutions in Israel, including the Women's Beit Midrash of Efrat, and the Pardes Institute. She is a graduate of Nishmat's Keren Ariel yoetzet halacha training program, as well as Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies. She lives in Efrat with her husband and four children.