“COLLEYVILLE” Documentary First Look: What It Felt Like

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 180-year history. Rabbi Buchdahl first joined Central Synagogue as Senior Cantor in 2006. In 2014, she was chosen by the congregation to be Senior Rabbi.

Rabbi Buchdahl was invested as a cantor in 1999 and also ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She earned a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Yale University in 1994. Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America. Prior to her service at Central Synagogue, Rabbi Buchdahl served as Associate Rabbi/Cantor at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York.

Rabbi Buchdahl has been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading worship, which draw large crowds both in the congregation’s historic Main Sanctuary and via livestream and cable broadcast to viewers in more than 100 countries.

Rabbi Buchdahl has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, and PBS and was listed as one of Newsweek’s “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis.” She serves on the boards of the AJC, the Asia Society, the New York Board of Rabbis, and the Yale University President’s Council.

Central Synagogue’s Facebook

Rabbi Buchdahl’s Facebook

Central Synagogue Instagram

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s Instagram

Charlie Cytron-Walker became the new rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, NC on July 1, 2022.

Rabbi Charlie arrives at Temple Emanuel with a history of working to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion, and learning into the lives of the community.

He is a past President of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis and served on the steering committee of Peace Together. In 2022, he was honored as a Hero Against Hate by the Texoma Anti-Defamation League and currently serves as a Special Advisor to the ADL.

He previously served at Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) in Colleyville, TX since 2006. On January 15, 2022 Rabbi Charlie and three CBI congregants were held hostage by a gunman in the CBI sanctuary.  After an 11-hour standoff, all the hostages were able to escape when Rabbi Charlie threw a chair at the gunman, distracting him long enough for everyone to get out of the building.  Since then, he has spoken at the White House, testified before Congress, and has been published in numerous news sources.

Dani Menkin is a twice Israeli-Academy-Award-Winning writer-director living and working in Los Angeles, California. His multi-award-winning films were sold internationally worldwide. Among them, AULCIE, PICTURE OF HIS LIFE, ON THE MAP, DOLPHIN BOY, and IS THAT YOU? His first acclaimed film 39 POUNDS OF LOVE was sold to HBO and shortlisted for the Oscars. Dani Menkin is the creative director of Hey Jude Productions.

As Senior Vice President, Talent and Knowledge, Cheryl Drazin provides strategic leadership across all areas that affect the organization’s people and culture.

Cheryl joined ADL in 2013 as the Jean and Jerry Moore Civil Rights Area counsel and became Regional Director for the Dallas regional office in 2016. In 2020, Cheryl was appointed Vice President of the Central Division where she and her team worked daily to fight antisemitism and all forms of hate. In that capacity, Cheryl led operations for seven ADL regional offices. Cheryl was promoted to Senior Vice President for Talent and Knowledge in 2023. Prior to joining ADL, Cheryl was shareholder at a boutique labor and employment law firm where her practice focused on advocating for individuals who experienced workplace discrimination.

Cheryl earned her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and a JD from The University of Texas School of Law.