The Staff

Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz

President & Founder

Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz is the founder of ‘Hashgacha Pratit’, an organization that broke the monopoly of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate on kosher Supervision, and now runs Chuppot. Rabbi Leibowitz leads the Vaani Teffilah community in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem, where he lives with his wife Miriam and their five children. Raised in Berkeley California, he has lived in Israel since the age of sixteen. He is a former Jerusalem City Council Member who believes in an inclusive and pluralistic Jerusalem. Before turning to Activism after the 2011 housing protests, Rabbi Leibowitz began as a Jewish educator, serving as Program Director for Gesher and then as an Educational Officer in the IDF. He received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Rabbi Chaim Brovender.

Rivka Arbiv

CEO

Rivka Arbiv headed the development and implementation of Chuppot and served as it’s COO from its launch. She graduated with a B.A. in Humanistic Studies and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies from Shalem College. During her studies, she researched the status quo at holy sites in Jerusalem as well as Islamist feminism, and was certified as a mediator by the Gevim Group. Rivka is a Jerusalem enthusiast and is fascinated by the connection that the city makes between Torah and social change.

Rabbi Kalman Pesach (Chuck) Davidson

Head of Halakha

Rabbi Davidson is an expert in the field of conversion, and over the last number of years has been a leading figure in officiating the weddings of those couples unjustifiably rejected by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. Rabbi Davidson was born in 1961, grew up in Washington, D.C., and was ordained in the United States. He made Aliyah in 1991 and today lives in Beit Shemesh. He was among the rabbinic leaders who paved the way for Giyur KeHalakha, an Orthodox conversion court independent of the Chief Rabbinate, and was a founder of Ahavat HaGer under the leadership of Rabbi Haim Amsalem. Rabbi Davidson is married to Shirah, the father of six, and grandfather of five (in the meantime).

Nitza Spitz

Director of Customer Relations

Nitza Spitz, born and raised in Rehovot to American parents, was raised with the belief that a Jew is a Jew no matter the affiliation. We were all in Har Sinai. Growing up in a house of Olim was the only conviction needed that the place for all Jews is in Israel which is why, Nitza, her husband Yair and four children embarked on two different shlichuyot, one in Memphis TN and one in Toronto Canada. After teaching the love and life of Israel abroad, Nitza and her family now reside in Tzur Hadassah, an open Yishuv which allows you to live a Jewish life in the way that matters to you.

Racheli Deutsch Schvartz

Marketing and Outreach Director

Racheli Deutsch is our Marketing and Outreach Director, charged with bringing Chuppot to the awareness of the broader public. She spends her days pursuing new ways to expand Chuppot’s circle of influence – from social media to lectures, planning and producing events, and even refrigerator magnets – the entire gamut of marketing tools and methods.

Racheli’s love of words has led her to gain rich experience in writing, content management, and digital marketing. Her aspirations for tikkun olam have steered her to a diverse array of activities relating to the intersection of religion and state. The icing on the cake is… she married her lovely husband through Chuppot!