The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community
www.jewishlehighvalley.org
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Issue No. 446
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September 2021
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Elul/Tishrei 5782
AWARD-WINNING PUBLICATION EST. 1977
Meet our new Director of Community Development p4-5
Find ways to celebrate the New Year in our special section
FROM THE DESK OF JERI ZIMMERMAN p3 WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY p4 LVJF TRIBUTES p8 JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE p14-15 JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER p16-17 JEWISH DAY SCHOOL p19 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p23
Dr. Mickey Ufberg z”l to be memorialized with ambucycle on bike mission By Stephanie Goodling HAKOL Editor Dr. Michael “Mickey” Ufberg, z”l, left behind a lasting legacy in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. After his passing in June, the Maimonides Society knew they wanted to do something special to honor the memory of Ufberg, who was one of the Society’s founders. Entering its 35th year, membership in the Society connects healthcare professionals who share a commitment to helping the Jewish people and demonstrate their commitment to the broader community. Other co-founders include Drs. Douglas Blake, Gene Ginsburg, Larry Levitt and Stuart Schwartz. Levitt remembers being there with Ufberg from the beginning, with meetings alternating between the Ufbergs’ and the Levitts’ basements 35 years ago. As created by its founders, the Maimonides Society holds academic and social programs during the course of the year, and most of topical interest are open to the entire community. “Mickey was an exceptional human
being and did so many things that most people didn’t know about, but he did it in a humble and quiet way,” said Levitt. “He was an exemplary human being, as a physician, as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather, and as a friend.” “Mickey was one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. His intelligence, generosity, leadership, family, friendship, morality and humility made him admired and respected by everyone. We were all so blessed to have him in our lives,” agreed long-time friend and Federation supporter Vicki Wax. It is because of the impact of Ufberg’s kind and humble character that the leaders of Maimonides today have decided to donate an ambucycle in Israel in his memory on their upcoming mission to Israel. Ambucycles are ambulances on two wheels, which enable responders to save lives despite traffic congestion in Israel. Federation donated its first ambucycle a few years ago when celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Maimonides Society, and now more lives will be saved due to the generosity of donors who want to
honor Ufberg. “It recognizes his contribution, and this ambucycle will provide a legacy in saving lives daily, which is what the first one did, for a generation,” said Levitt. Ufberg’s widow, Eileen, has expressed her gratitude to the outpouring of love that has come in to support the ambucycle effort. “My husband’s unwavering support, love and dedication to Judaism and Israel was always central in his life. What a touching and amazing tribute! I am so privileged to live in such a supportive and incredible community and to be surrounded by family and friends as I am,” she said. The current president of Maimonides, Dr. Bill Markson, encourages anyone who wishes to honor Ufberg’s memory to make a gift to the Jewish Federation in support of the ambucycle. Federation will dedicate this ambucycle, memorializing Ufberg, during a bike mission to Israel, scheduled for March 23 to April 1, 2022. Anyone who is interested in the mission to Israel is welcome to join the group. “The proposed trip is something that’s
going to emphasize an active outdoor view of Israel,” said Markson. Explaining that the donation of the ambucycle will be a highlight of the trip, along with a visit to doctors at the Western Galilee Medical Center (to which Ufberg himself was a donor) and in the Lehigh Valley’s Partnership2Gether region in Yoav, he also added, “We’ll be visiting beautiful places, and those who are interested will have the chance to bike in the morning, and there will be interesting activities each afternoon.” To donate to the ambucycle in memory of Dr. Mickey Ufberg, z”l, or to learn more about the mission, contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at aaron@ jflv.org.
Federation launches incident reporting system to fight antisemitism
Non-Profit Organization 702 North 22nd Street Allentown, PA 18104
U.S. POSTAGE PAID Lehigh Valley, PA Permit No. 64
By Aaron Gorodzinsky JFLV Director of Campaign and Security Planning
We will look at the report and make the determination.
Over the past year, and especially during the last conflict in Gaza, our country experienced an unprecedented rise of antisemitic incidents, both in social media and in person. The reason why we know of the sharp increase is because of every single incident that was reported and recorded, and organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Secure Community Network (SCN) have aggregated the data and shared it with us. The majority of this data comes from communities like ours who share the information with our local ADL office or SCN. That information is then compared to ensure no similar incidents occurred anywhere else and quantified. As the number of incidents continues to increase in our community, we are launching a self-reporting tool on our website to help us keep better track of the number of antisemitic incidents occurring in our community and to report more accurate data to our law enforcement and national partners. You can play an important role in fighting antisemitism by utilizing this new system on our website.
Who can file a report? • Any member of our community can go on our website to report incidents. • These reports will be kept anonymous, and details will only be shared with our partners or law enforcement if needed.
What should be reported? • Any incidents occurring in our community should be reported. From direct messages on social media to incidents or confrontations. No incident should go unreported. • If you are unsure that what just occurred was an antisemitic incident, it is always better to report it.
Why is this important? There are many reasons why it is important to report these incidents: • It empowers every member of our community to feel like what they are experiencing is not going to go unnoticed. • It allows us to have a better understanding of what the current situation is in our community. • It gives us more tools to talk to our law enforcement partners, elected officials and other faith partners. • It gives us a better chance to apply for security grants. Security grants require a chronology of incidents. Having better data gives us a better chance to obtain those grants. • It is the right thing to do. We cannot stress it enough: when in doubt, it is better to report. To submit a report, go to our website, jewishlehighvalley. org, and click on “Report an Incident” or email Aaron Gorodzinsky at aaron@jflv.org.
