WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY

SPONSORED BY THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY’S WOMEN’S DIVISION

WELCOMING NEW BABIES

to the Lehigh Valley

SIMON

son of Caroline Multari

THADDEUS

Son of Rosanna Cabatic and Brian Wasserman

If you’re expecting, know someone who is, or have a new baby, PLEASE LET US KNOW! Contact Abby Trachtman, 610-821-5500 | abbyt@jflv.org

Spring Event brings women together for an evening of wellness

By Bayley Carl Marketing and Engagement Associate

In May, the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley held its in-person Spring Event. It was an evening of movement, mindfulness, and spiritual positivity.

The evening started with attendees collecting their name badges and thankyou bags (which included lovely glass water bottles). After walking through a homemade bamboo trellis adorned with paper lanterns, an aromatherapy salt-scrubmaking station awaited. A mixture of Epson salt, coconut butter, essential oils, and various flower petals made for a luxurious take-home spa treatment.

Next up was a detox water station. Included were ginger green tea, citrus cucumber water, and orange strawberry water.

Then attendees could help themselves to “make-awish, take-a-wish” gemstone bracelets.

Dinner was a choice from among three spa-inspired meals accompanied by a refreshing drink from the winespritzer bar. Finally came the highlight of the evening: Deborah Glassman leading us in chair-based yoga and Jewish spiritual teachings.

The event was well attended and left everyone feeling better than when they walked in!

If you are interested in getting involved in the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/women.

Handmade Afghans

BY EVA LEVITT

All proceeds benefit projects in Israel:

Food Banks in Israel Neve Michael Youth Village

For prices or to place an order, call Eva at 610-398-1376. All payments are made payable to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley

Schiff Award to honor local Holocaust survivors who began the tradition of sharing their stories

The importance of Holocaust survivors in our Lehigh Valley community cannot be overstated. By their very presence, they keep the memory of the Shoah alive. Throughout the years they have stood strong. They have come together at Yom HaShoah memorials events, donated artifacts and other materials, and passed their stories on to their children and grandchildren. Like survivors worldwide, some are comfortable talking about their experiences while many prefer to keep their memories close.

A dedicated group of survivors have, over many years, made it their mission to be vocal witnesses to the Holocaust. They have made themselves and their stories available to thousands of students in the Lehigh Valley. The impact of their presentations cannot be measured. The students, most of them non-Jewish and with no Holocaust knowledge, many of them immigrants or children of immigrants escaping desperate situations, easily relate to the survivors’ stories. Students who have been the victims of bullying and racism draw parallels. Students who have never met a Jewish person experience light-bulb moments, understanding that their actions make a difference when they choose to stand up rather than stand by.

The Holocaust survivors who have made it their mission to speak in the larger community are truly educators implementing the words of Eli Wiesel: “When you hear a witness, you become a witness.” Whether volunteering through the Holocaust Resource Center Legacy Exhibit and assembly program or the Youth and Prejudice Conference of the Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding at Muhlenberg College, or for making other speaking appearances in our area, the Holocaust survivors of the Lehigh Valley remain staunch supporters of reducing prejudice by sharing their experiences of loss and survival.

While there are several storytellers of the Shoah in our community, many sharing the stories of their parents or grandparents, the survivors who began this tradition are worthy of special recognition. They have been chosen to receive the 2022 Mortimer S. Schiff Award for Prejudice Reduction:

• Michele Wilner Levy • Marcel Guindine • Eva Levitt • Eva Derby • Ed Posner • Regina Brenner, z”l • Donald Burdick, of blessed memory • Judith Freeman, z”l • Louis Freeman, z”l • Julius Jacobs, z”l • Bronek Drozdowicz, z”l • Solomon Frankel, z”l

The Schiff Award, established in 1999 by Vera Schiff to honor the memory of her husband Mortimer, is given to members of the Lehigh Valley community who are committed to teaching tolerance through words and actions. This year’s award will be presented at the Jewish Federation Community Celebration and Annual Meeting at the Jewish Community Center on Thursday, June 9, 6 to 8 p.m. The event includes an Israelistyle picnic and is free and open to everyone.

Welcome Carl Zebrowski

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Carl Zebrowski to our staff team as the new editor of Hakol.

Zebrowski joins us having served as the editor of America in WWII and managing editor of Civil War Times, both nationally circulated magazines. A graduate of Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities, he has been an editor and writer for more than 25 years, publishing magazines, books, and website content. Most recently, he’s been copy editing books and journals on history and other humanities subjects for academic presses, while handling email marketing as a board member of the Nazareth Center for the Arts.

Having officially joined our team on Monday, May 16, he is excited to be part of the nonprofit world full time. I know you join me in welcoming him to our community.

The 13 members of the P2G steering committee during their visit to the Lehigh Valley.

By Annette Mashi Special to HAKOL

One of the best ways to build relationships is to spend time together. So, to strengthen the Partnership2Gether between Yoav, Israel, and the Lehigh Valley, the Yoav steering committee decided to visit the valley. After a two-year postponement due to COVID-19, the delegation from Yoav—one or two members from each kibbutz or moshav—finally met with our Lehigh Valley counterparts.

From the moment we arrived at Miriam Zager’s home, we felt welcome. Aaron Gorodzinsky, director of campaign and security planning for the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, was there to greet us, and we munched on bagels with cream cheese and quiche, ready to embrace all that was in store. After heading to one of Allentown’s cemeteries for a mitzvah project, cleaning tombstones and saying Kaddish for the city’s Jewish descendants, we went back to Miriam’s for a barbecue with our hosting families and members of the Lehigh Valley steering committee. How lucky we are to have had so many families open their hearts and their homes.

Our second day started with learning about the Jewish Community Center from Executive Director Eric Lightman. Tracy Sussman, director of marketing and membership services of the JCC, gave us an excellent tour of the facility. We then joined the adult group and sang “Hatikvah” and the “Star-Spangled Banner” together. Jeri Zimmerman, executive director of the Federation, provided us with information about the Federation, the Jewish Day School, and Jewish Family Service. Then Beth Kushnick, president of the Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy, spoke about her group’s activities, including the Momentum women’s trip to Israel happening this July. The day ended with a joint meeting of the steering committees—a great way to review what we had done in 2021–2022 and to look forward at all our opportunities to work together in 2022–2023.

Our 2020-21 Annual Report

IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

Our Annual Report highlights the people we've helped, the programs we've sponsored and the campaign dollars we've raised and distributed.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, or you would like a copy to be mailed to you, please contact us at 610-821-5500 or mailbox@jflv.org or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ annual-report.

Thanks, Lehigh Valley Continues on page 20

Partnership

Continues from page 1

chairs the P2G committee in the Lehigh Valley

Monday was a day full of meetings. We started the day by meeting with the leadership of the Jewish Community Center, talking about some of the issues the JCC faced in the past year and the opportunities that we could work on to bring our communities together. Following that meeting and a tour of the building, the committee met with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley staff for lunch and heard about the work that we do to ensure our community, our partners nationally, and our overseas partners can do the work that they do. That afternoon we held our annual P2G committee meetings, a very special opportunity since this was the first time that the Israeli side and the American side got to sit next to each other to talk about the programs that took place this year and to envision the programs for the future.

Tuesday was also a day of meetings. We started our day at Jewish Family Service, where the committee got to meet with their staff and help organize the food pantry. Then we crossed the street and made our way to the Hillel building at Muhlenberg College to learn about the work that Hillel is doing in our community and to find ways to engage the students when they are visiting Israel during their birthright trips.

It was Tuesday night when the committee finally had the opportunity to lead one of the ceremonies that they had been preparing for over two years. Israel Memorial Day, or Yom Hazikaron, as it is called in Hebrew, is a very important date for all Israelis because it is the day that they remember the soldiers who fell fighting for Israel and the victims who have fallen by the hands of terrorism. Every single Israeli knows a family member, a friend, or an army comrade who fell defending their country or was a victim of terrorism. At this ceremony, our friends from Israel read the names of all of the soldiers from our Partnership2Gether region who have fallen since Israel was declared independent. This was a heartfelt ceremony for them because each one of them knew the names, the stories, and in some cases the families of those soldiers, and they were able to share it with our community for the first time.

On Wednesday morning the P2G committee attended the Jewish Day School ceremony and was able to share with our kids some of the same stories they had shared with us the night before. The committee also had a tour of our school and even had lunch with the students to continue sharing their stories.

It’s a well-known fact that every Israeli knows that after a day of mourning, it is time to begin the celebrations. So, on Wednesday night following a day of mourning, the P2G committee hosted an event at Knesset Israel to kick off the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations in our community by hosting a hummus-making party! We had the opportunity to learn how to make the best homemade hummus and pita. Trust me, it was incredible hummus. After our stomachs were full and our spirits were renewed, the partnership committee led the group in some Israeli dancing, showing us how resilient they are and how Israeli culture can move so quickly from grief to celebration.

On Thursday the big celebration took place at the JCC. Each member of the committee prepared one activity that represented that person’s kibbutz or moshav. Participants received a “passport” at the start of the event and were taken on a tour of our partnership! Each family had the opportunity to have a conversation, get to know and see what each area of our partnership looks like, and take home some fun presents. This was one of the best Yom Ha’aztmaut celebrations we’ve had, because of all the work and dedication of our committee in Yoav.

Looking back at the visit, the best part about having the entire Yoav committee in the Lehigh Valley was seeing them speaking to members of our community who up to this point had heard very little about the work that we do in our partnership and building those relationships. The only way to continue expanding the work that we do in our partnership is to build stronger ties between our two communities. Each time a member had a conversation with someone new, a process was started. We know that most of those ties will be strengthened as we do more and more partnership work.

As we start preparing to celebrate the 75th birthday of Israel and to make multiple upcoming trips from our community, I encourage each one of you to be engaged in our partnership. If you would like to learn more about the partnership and the work we do, don't hesitate to reach out to me. It is one of the most rewarding opportunities to engage in meaningful work.

Remembrance Day speaker inspires with her father’s story

By Shari Spark Holocaust Resource Center Coordinator

Hagit Limor directly addressed future generations as the featured speaker for Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) at the Jewish Community Center on April 27: “You are what is going to help us fight hate.” Her message to us all was that we know in our hearts that acceptance feels good and is the key to humanity’s survival. To share the story of her father, Moniek, Limor has created a documentary, an audience-immersive theater experience, and a virtual reality project—all with the goals of preserving memory and spreading the love her father had for humankind, despite his experiences surviving the Shoah.

Moniek was a young child when the Nazis invaded Poland. He and his family hid in an apartment, cleverly moving from one room to another by passing through a false wall and crossing a balcony. Later he was hidden in an attic. When the hiding place was discovered, he was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. His survival was a combination of luck and tenacity, and a testimony to his optimism.

Hagit heard her father’s stories, but she didnt put them together until she was older. Her career as a broadcast journalist and, now, as a professor at the University of Cincinnati, helped provide the resources to create the film, play, and technology of “Hope after Hate.” The mission of her project is to share her father’s story and to frame his experiences in a context that appeals to young people: acceptance.

The annual Yom Hashoah program was the first in-person gathering since the COVID pandemic. Prior to the program’s start, school students volunteered for the memorial reading of Shoah victims’ names. It was heartening to see our community together for recitation of memorial prayers and the lighting of the Yom Hashoah candelabra. The six tapers were lit by Albert Derby, Eva Derby, Eva Levitt, Rabbi Allen Juda, Marcel Guindine, and Shari Spark.

The program was simulcast and is available to access through the Jewish Federation’s Facebook page.

Students from the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley leading event attendees in song.

Screening: ‘Complicit,’ the plight of the SS St. Louis refugees

By Shari Spark Holocaust Resource Center Coordinator

Preserving memory through the stories of survivors and research, the documentary “Complicit” aims to educate. Robert Krakow’s moving film, a joint project of the Jewish Film Nights club of the Jewish Community Center and the Holocaust Resource Center of the Jewish Federation, was shared virtually on April 26 as was part of the community’s Days of Remembrance programs.

Over 80 people tuned in to watch the movie, followed by hearing from the producer-director, Robert Krakow, and family stories of three survivors of the SS St. Louis: Eva Wiener, Dr. Hans Fisher, and Dr. John Shilling. All these survivors were young children in May 1939, when the ocean liner SS St. Louis fled Europe for Cuba. The guest visas they had been previously granted were denied when they reached Havana; 900 Jews were on board—250 were murdered in the Holocaust when they were returned. Those who survived did so by desperately finding other outlets for safe haven, like England or France.

The film focused on the silence of the world that refused to give shelter to the ship’s refugees once they were turned away from Cuba. It was only in this century that the U.S. State Department and the Canadian government recognized their complicity in the SS St. Louis affair, offering apologies to the survivors and their families.

The SS St. Louis Legacy Project, which hosts this program and its attendant educational materials, aims to “promote greater awareness and dialogue on issues of human rights, immigration, and refugee policy,” as well as fighting anti-Semitism, through “Complicit” and through its outreach programs to campuses and schools.