Recorded November 20, 2025 Photo: Sandy withbook, by Liora

Among her many role, Sandra Gartner has been co-producer of Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre for 20 years, an actor with the company, and is co-producer with filmmaker Nora Jacobson on her latest project. Sandra also writes for RutlandMagazine and other publications. Not surprisingly, she has a wonderful way of telling stories. In this conversation she picks up threads of her life in Vermont and New York City; her life in theatre, journalism, and the Rutland, VT Jewish community.

• Sandra was a Youth Ambassador to Israel in 1966, at 16 years old, and “came back a changed person”. She maintains great affection for the land and people not withstanding that the current situation “doesn’t sit well” with her. The book she is holding in this photo is To Life: A Celebration of Vermont Jewish Women, based on an oral history project she undertook with Ann Zinn Buffum and which was contributed to the Jewish Women’s Archive. S2 E3 Notes: NFTY (NationalFederation of Temple Youth) is based on the tradition of European youth movements and pursues “tikkun olam [repair of the world], personal growth, youth empowerment, and deep connections, all rooted in Reform Judaism.”
• AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is the heavy weight political lobby for Israel maintaining unwavering support for the Israeli government.
• Peace Now, established in 1978 by 348 Israeli senior reserve army officers is “the largest and oldest movement in Israel that works to promote peace through a two-state solution for two peoples”. Three years later, Americans for Peace Now (APN) was established to support it. With century old ties to labor movements and progressive causes, Ameinu, (Our People) “was founded in 2005 to reimagine the role of a progressive Zionist voice in the American Jewish community.” Ameinu perceived the need to strength ties with their Israeli counterparts via The Third Narrative. While Peace Now remains active in Israel, in 2024, APN and Ameinu merged forming the New Jewish Narrative promoting peace, justice, and a progressive Israel.
• Jewish Women’s Archive/To Life: A Celebration of Vermont Jewish Women Follow the link to see Sandy’s work.