Charlotte Neumann

Shalom Aleichem! I’m Charlotte, and I’m from the Madison area. I’m a senior majoring in International Studies & Linguistics, with certificates in German and Political Science. I grew up in a bilingual agnostic household, but in high school, I made the decision to convert to Judaism, eventually undergoing the final step in December of 2024. I found the religion’s focus on justice, natural cycles, and personal growth extremely compelling. Over the past several years, I’ve engaged with numerous Jewish communities in Madison, Argentina, and Germany, exploring both commonalities between congregations and unique challenges and positionalities. I’ve also had the chance to study a number of Jewish languages, from Yiddish to Biblical Hebrew. Aside from my ongoing language study, the conflation of religion and politics has been a real focus for me as of late. I’m a major advocate for justice for everyone, from refugees to Palestinians to trans kids, but a lot of people assume that I’m exactly the opposite because of my religion. I’m really looking forward to discussing these conflations with the other fellows, as well as workshopping what we can do to untangle harmful and untrue assumptions. I also really look forward to posting about various Jewish holidays throughout the year (my favorite is Shavuot)!