Rabbi Pierpaolo Punturello

Director of Kivunim Gap-Year Program

The Board of Trustees of Kivunim is very pleased to announce the appointment of Rabbi Pierpaolo Punturello as the new Director of our Gap-Year Program!

Pierpaolo’s appointment completes a remarkable relationship that began as we ended our very first year of operations (June, 2007) in the city of Naples, Italy. There we spent our last Shabbat with the “Chief Rabbi of Naples”—a young Italian Rabbinical student who opened his home and his heart to us in ways that none of us will ever forget. His name was Pierpaolo Punturello and our image of a “Chief Rabbi” was changed forever. He served the Naples community from 2004-2010. Over these past two decades, Pierpaolo has continued his association with Kivunim enhancing each of our annual programs in Italy, Sicily, Spain, Portugal or Israel, wherever our paths overlapped. We excitedly look forward to many years ahead as we work together to expand and grow our outstanding Kivunim program.

These past twenty years have provided Pierpaolo with leadership experience that will serve us well. He is completing a short tenure as the Chief Rabbi of Lisbon, Portugal that followed 8 years as the Coordinator of Jewish Studies at the Centro Ibn Gabirol–Estrella Toledano Jewish Day School of Madrid, Spain. His teaching experience includes lecturing at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of the Archdioceses of Milan and Torino, Italy; the University of Palermo; University of Calabria–Department of Humanities/ History section. He has also been a frequent contributor to SHALOM, ‘the Italian Jewish Magazine of Information and Culture” and has published many articles on Italian Jewry.

Pierpaolo holds an MA in Political Science from Universita “L’orientale” in Naples. His thesis, “Hannah Arendt: a Jewish Woman between Assimilation and Zionism” was published by Luciano Editore, Naples. He received a Fellowship in Jewish Studies at the Italian Rabbinical College with a focus on hazzanut (cantorial skills) and Jewish history. In 2010 he received semihah (rabbinic ordination) from the Rabbinical Court of Central/North Italy and then continued his semihah studies in Israel at Yeshivat Torat Yosef Hamivtar from 2020-2012. During that same period he worked at the Beren–Straus–Amiel Rabbinical Emissary Institute helping to train Rabbis and Jewish educators for their future work in Diaspora communities.

Pierpaolo’s personal background is unique and speaks directly to the inter-cultural and inter-religious programmatic aspects of Kivunim. He grew up in Naples and only discovered his own Jewish roots as a teenager. He brings to Kivunim an openness and curiosity which has directed his own life and will be certain to inspire the many Kivunim students and staff with whom he will be working in the years ahead. His own international character will continue to build Kivunim’s relationships across the world.

Pierpaolo is 49 years old and is married to Giulia Gallichi. They have 4 children. He holds both Italian and Israeli citizenship. Pierpaolo is Fluent in Italian, Hebrew, English, Spanish; conversant in French and knows basic Portuguese.

Sharon follows a distinguished group of educators who have led the program since 2006: Eran Rosenberg, Lea Landowne and Tal Kita, Rabbi Dov Lerea, Jay Leberman, Dr. David Mendelsohn, Rabbi Jonah Geffen (Interim Director 2023-24) and Dr. Sharon Goldman.

EMAIL:ppunturello@kivunim.org