The Many Facets of Latin-Jewish Peoplehood

Rabbi Claudia Kreiman is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth Zion (TBZ) in Brookline, MA. She grew up in Santiago, Chile and lived in Argentina. The first Chilean-born woman to be ordained to the rabbinate, Kreiman moved to Israel in 1996 and received rabbinic ordination from Shechter Institute of Jewish Studies in 2002. She was the first Rabbi of Noam, the youth movement of the Masorti Movement in Israel, and Camp Ramah Noam.  

Kreiman moved to the US in 2004 and became the director of the Jewish Studies program at the Jewish Community Day School in Watertown. She has been part of TBZ since 2007 and is deeply invested in growing the social justice ethos of TBZ and engaging community members in meaningful experiences of prayer. In addition to leading TBZ, Kreiman is widely involved in the local and national Jewish community. She serves on the board of directors of T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, is a co-convener of the Brookline Interfaith Clergy Association, and serves and supports the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).  

Kreiman is also one of the chaplains of the Fire Department in Brookline and a former board member of Boston’s JCRC. She is married to Rabbi Ebn Leader. They have two daughters, Alma and Ariel. 

MacKenzie Martinez (she/her/ella) is a proud Jewish Chicana originally from Richmond, VA. From a young age, Martinez has always felt a calling towards social justice and a commitment to leveraging her privilege to uplift others. In 2021, she graduated from Elon University with a double major in Spanish and Anthropology as well as minors in gender studies and Latin American studies. Martinez was drawn to the border after graduation and has worked with immigrant and refugee populations since. She is passionate about language equity, empowering women of all backgrounds, and advocating for humane border policies. When she’s not working, Martinez enjoys playing music, dancing Ballet Folklorico, reading, and spending time at the beach. 

Dr. David McCarty-Caplan was born in Bogota, Colombia but adopted and raised in a Jewish family in the United States. This lived experience has profoundly shaped his personal and professional interest in the complexities of identity development and social justice. McCarty-Caplan earned a PhD in social work, and is a researcher, educator, writer, and consultant who specializes in organizational analysis and evaluation, and support of adoptee and other marginalized and underserved populations.