4 minute read
New Leader at Yad Ezra
be the woman whose case he had researched.
He emailed Ouza, who quickly responded. They email chatted about their experiences and their families and realized both had grown up in religious families in Detroit. They became Facebook friends.
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About a year ago, Ouza was reassigned to WrightPatterson; she and Hochheiser were excited to meet at last. But with Hochheiser on base only for short periods totaling about five weeks a year, and Ouza sometimes working away from the base, it took until last May for both to be there at the same time. Hochheiser was determined to record their first in-person meeting with a photo.
Ouza went one better, putting a short video of the occasion on her TikTok feed, which has more than 114,000 followers.
In the short video, Hochheiser gives Ouza his nametape — the strip of cloth with his name on it that the Air Force requires on uniforms and various pieces of equipment. He says he thinks of her as family; he feels Jews and Muslims are “cousins” descended from a common ancestor, Abraham. She addresses him as “my cousin, my brother, my Jewish brother.” Viewer comments on the TikTok have been overwhelmingly favorable, unlike those on the Left Field website, which Hochheiser described as “hateful.”
“We both represent our culture and community within the military, and we represent the military within our community and our cultures,” Hochheiser said. “We were both raised in households where we learned to respect all people. We are more similar than we are different. So, while we don’t always agree, we still stand together.”
Ouza agreed, saying diversity and inclusion builds a better national defense, “We are stronger when we recognize and honor one another’s different needs and experiences,” she said.
Hochheiser, the son of Michael and Bracha Hochheiser, graduated from Yeshiva Beth Yehudah in Southfield, Touro College in Brooklyn and the Cleveland
Marshall College of Law. He lives in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, with his wife, Rebecca Baum. He has a son, 15, and a daughter, 9.
He says he and Ouza both like to take every opportunity they can to set a good example and to enlighten people about their backgrounds. He is often the first kippah-wearing Jew his colleagues have met. She is often the first Muslim.
They have been the target of antisemitic and anti-Muslim attacks, but that only strengthens their resolve.
“Diversity and inclusion is the only way to overcome hatred based on religion, creed, gender and sexual orientation,” Hochheiser said. “Such attacks have only motivated us to stand up, stand tall and stand together.”
— YOSEF HOCHHEISER
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
After a thorough search, Yad Ezra hired Daniella HarPaz Mechnikov as the new executive director for the organization. She started the job June 1.
Bringing more than 20 years of experience, Mechnikov will be responsible for overseeing the administration, programs and strategic plan of the Berkleybased kosher food pantry. Other key duties will include fundraising, marketing and community outreach. She will be replacing Lea Luger, who has worked at Yad Ezra since 1993. Luger will continue her support through the organization’s annual event on Sept. 1.
“Having worked with Daniella for the past year, certainly during stressful times, I’ve seen someone who is very capable, who is passionate about the organization and the work we do, cares tremendously about the clients and volunteers, and has the ability to lead the organization into new and greater heights,” Luger said.
Mechnikov is a former director of education at Congregation B’nai Moshe in West Bloomfield and Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy. She then left that world and started her own marketing company, K2M Creative Media, more than 10 years ago.
Prior to being named executive director, Mechnikov served as a marketing consultant for Yad Ezra starting in February 2020. Before she could get her feet wet in the position, the COVID19 pandemic hit. Yad Ezra quickly had to strategize how to get food to its clients, and Mechnikov quickly found herself with an important role.
She helped brainstorm ideas for Yad Ezra’s COVID plans, then led the charge in managing the food delivery process, helping provide approximately 1,100 deliveries a month throughout the height of the pandemic.
Thriving in an important role in the organization in such a tough time, Mechnikov gained a unique appreciation for Yad Ezra.
“I found myself in love with this place and really connected to the staff,” she said. “We all bonded through this pandemic.”
When Luger announced she was retiring, Mechnikov’s efforts made her an obvious candidate for the role.
Now, having to build off what Luger built for so long and coming off the impact and unpredictability of a pandemic, Mechnikov realizes she has important shoes to fill and important work to do.
“I am thrilled to be named Yad Ezra’s new executive director and look forward to collaborating with the board of directors and executive committee that give such staunch and committed support to this special organization,” Mechnikov said. “As we begin a transition to a post-pandemic set of processes and reality, I know that we will continue to provide much-needed food to our clients.”
