PILPEL was founded in the spirit of igniting conversation. Its name, drawn from the Hebrew term pilpul—meaning “rabbinic spicy debate”—expresses a clear vocation for lively, passionate, and deep exchanges of ideas.
Ariel Gelblung was born in the city of Buenos Aires. He is a lawyer graduated at the University of Buenos Aires Law School. He has been in charge of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Latin America since 2015. Besides, he is member of the Advisory council of the OAS Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. He is also the only Latin American delegate representing Civil Society in the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. He has spoken at several forums, most notably at the House of Lords of the UK Parliament, the Argentine National Congress and the Costa Rica National Assembly. He has written many articles for newspapers, magazines, and academic or professional journals. He was the creator and host of “Histories of the Jewish History” which ran for over 100 episodes from 2020 to 2022.
He has been hosting “Justo en el Centro” (a streaming program) since 2024, addressing a wide variety of subjects related to justice, historical remembrance and the fight against hate speech and discrimination.
Rabbi Uriel Romano (1989) was born in Argentina. He completed his rabbinical studies at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in 2016. In addition to his rabbinical training, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires (2012) and a Master’s degree in Jewish Studies from Shechter University (2016). He began his career in community work at the Pardés Foundation and later served as a rabbinical training fellow at Bet-El. He also served as a visiting educator at the NCI (Uruguay), worked with the AIP visiting small communities in rural Argentina, and taught at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary. For two years, he served at Hillcrest Jewish Center in New York City, and subsequently served as rabbi at Judaica Norte (Nordelta). He currently serves as rabbi at Broward Central Synagogue (Fort Lauderdale, USA),
where he lives with his wife Leila and their children Noah, Libbi, and Aaron. In addition to his congregational work, he has written dozens of articles, edited several books, participates in two podcasts (Pi Elef and Daf Yomi in Spanish), and is active on social media.
Ignacio is an M&A attorney. He graduated in Law from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and later obtained his Master in Laws degree at Louisiana State University, where he was awarded the Paul M. Hebert Prize. He is a professor at Universidad de San Andres Law School and Universidad de San Andrés/Diario Clarín Master in Journalism. He was a Tax Law professor at Di Tella University.
Ignacio is a permanent contributor at INFOBAE, the #1 Spanish media platform on the American continent. In his column “The Talmud and our present time,” he deconstructs passages from this ancient code of Jewish law and, in plain and ordinary language, applies them to the moral, political, and economic challenges of our present time.
He published the book “Mysteries of the Talmud” (Pilpel Publishing). In this book he puts forth a Talmud version suitable for all ages and for people belonging to all creeds, from all origins and religious backgrounds.
www.talmud.digital
Ignacio wrote “La Noble Igualdad” (Penguin Random House) which translates Argentina’s cryptic legal system jargon into simpler terms a 12-year-old child could easily understand so that lay citizens can understand their rights and stand up for them without the need for a lawyer.
He founded a publishing company (Pilpel Publishing) that focuses on books related to Jewish culture, the remembrance of the Holocaust, and the fight against antisemitism. Seven books from renowned authors have already been published.
Two of the recently released books are:
“Fighting Antisemitism”, Ariel Gelblung (LATAM Director, Wiesenthal Foundation). This book is a practical legal handbook for judges and prosecutors in the LATAM region. It empowers them to proficiently bring justice to victims of antisemitism.
“Nazism in Latin American”, Mario Sinay (former “Iad Vashem” Director, PhD specializing in Shoa). This book explains and describes how the Nazi movement has evolved in Latin America, and how it still operates.
Ignacio is also a social entrepreneur. He has created and funded several social innovation projects, including promoting digital skills and adopting technology in public schools, reaching out to over 4500 underprivileged students.
He is a music composer and a playwright. He writes essays and is also a communicator and an actor.
Spotify/Ignacio Mazzocco
He has been Director at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella Law School and Advisor to the United Nations.
Ignacio is vice president of ECO HOUSE GLOBAL (EHG), an NGO pursuing a single purpose: to achieve Sustainable Democracy. EHG focuses on Education and Politics, generating a material impact on the region with over 800 volunteers distributed among 10 cities in Argentina, South America, Europe, and Africa. EHG is an active participant in the local and regional political scene, as well as in the United Nations. Visit our website and see for yourself: www.ecohouse.org.ar
He created EL OBSERVADOR (The Bystander), a project that focuses on those who witness unfair or atrocious events worldwide, rather than on the victims and their aggressors. Ignacio believes that bystanders (who are willing to take action despite them not being victims of such events) hold the key to change. With this in mind, and inspired by his research trip to Poland´s holocaust concentration camps, he wrote the script and original music of an experimental theatrical play that opened in Buenos Aires. The show included a concert and an art installation aimed at shaking the audience and moving them toward action.
Spotify/Ignacio Mazzocco
Nacho as actor, playwright, musician, and visual artist:
https://www.mazzocco.com.ar/observador
www.mazzocco.com.ar/arte-grafico
Ignacio is the founder of the NGO “AKIVA: MEASURABLE IMPACT” through which he has developed the first Digital Coding Community School for underprivileged children in Latin America. He has also created a meditation and martial arts workshop for children. Ignacio is a black belt and has practiced Kung-Fu and meditation for over 20 years both in China and the Western World.
He has developed a meditation method for underprivilieged children coping with emotional challenges and, together with a team of specialized teachers, he has also designed a successful –proven, and documented– literacy method for children with reading and writing difficulties.
Ignacio founded “Complex: Social Innovation Lab”, whose aim is to find new creative solutions to old social problems such as power struggles in politics that undermine innovative projects, detrimental wars between trade unions and private corporations which destroy value, or disputes between governments which often halt large scale social and productivity initiatives due to disputes related to economic resources or religious affairs. “Complex” has had amazing achievements.
Ignacio is co-founder of “FAR FUTURE”, a THINK TANK that addresses global challenges arising out of artificial intelligence, the new data ethics practice, privacy challenges, and other tech developments that have not been adequately incorporated and regulated by current legal systems worldwide. FAR FUTURE constantly exchanges information and legal opinions, and shares expert input with international entities such as the OECD, G- 20, and the World Economic Forum.
He has created CRITICAL-THINKING.ORG and the LATIN AMERICAN DEBATE LEAGUE so that each child in every school can enhance their imagination, express their different points of view, and communicate ideas in a clear, logical, unbiased, and peaceful manner. www.critical-thinking.club
He has also created the INTERNATIONAL TALMUDIC MOOT COURT COMPETITION (ITMCC), the first-world legal debating competition for children, youngsters, and adults in which they must take a stance in a moot trial and, in front of a real jury, develop sound arguments based on the Talmud to convince the jury. In English and Spanish, for all ages, religions, atheists, agnostics… and everyone who believes the world can be changed by debating peacefully.
The purpose is to use the Talmud as a tool to learn how to think, use our imagination, and passionately debate about every possible subject… without fighting.
Because world peace is not an accident.
It is a decision.
Under any belief… and in any religion.
Under any belief… and in any religion.
The Talmudic method opens a door to a fascinating world where contradicting and criticizing someone else’s point of view is not only allowed but promoted. As long as it holds good intentions and a strong foundation, this practice promotes discrepancy and a most passionate, yet deeply loving, debate among peers.
To get in touch and for more info, visit:
Born in Bustinza, Santa Fe Province, Argentine in 1966, he entered the San Carlos Borromeo Seminary in 1979 and was ordained a priest in 1991. He has served successively as vicar, hospital chaplain, and parish priest in various parishes of the Archdiocese of Rosario.
He has researched and written about the role and experiences of the Polish Catholic clergy during World War II. Approximately 50 of his accounts have been published on the website aleteia.org. He is the author of the book: *Towards the Heights! Twelve Young Saints* (2018). He currently dedicates himself to Holocaust studies. He is a former Yad Vashem fellow, a volunteer at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum, and a lecturer in the Holocaust and Other Forms of Discrimination course at the National University of Rosario (UNR).
PHD Education, Holocaust educator and pedagogue, international lecturer, and expert in visual analysis. Former director of the Spanish-speaking department of the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. Guide to educational travel to Poland, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, the Balkans, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Sepharad. Other publications by the author: *Resplandor en las tinieblas nazis* (Radiance in the Nazi Darkness), *Holocaust: Paradigma de los Genocidios* (The Fall of the Gods and the Empire of Death), *Rescuar a los Rescadores* (Rescuing the Rescuers), *Vivir con esperanza, Morir con dignidad* (Living with Hope, Dying with Dignity), the epic of Jewish education during the Shoah. Trilogy: *Historias preépitas de la barbaridad nazi* (Unpublished Stories Emerging from Nazi Barbarity): *En nombre de todos los ausentes* (In the Name of All the Absent), *El Nacional Socialismo contra el Mundo Civilizado* (National Socialism Against the Civilized World), and *La fragilidad humana: lágrimas dures, noches negras y espejos rotos* (Human Fragility: Dry Tears, Black Nights, and Broken Mirrors). Manual for a Study and Historical Memory Trip to Poland, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. mario_sinay@walla.co.il
