Movers Shakers

Galia Movitz

By Alice Handelman

At first glance, it might be hard to imagine Galia Movitz – the beautiful and poised fashionista – in an army uniform learning to shoot a rifle.

Despite her youthful two-year stint in uniform in a special security unit of the Israel Defense Forces, her style remains as vibrant as ever. Years after that stint, as a middle school math teacher, her students voted her the “teacher who never wears the same outfit twice.” Movitz says: “I get a thrill out of putting outfits together where everything matches including the shoes, handbag and, of course, sunglasses.”

After two years of mandatory service, she traveled to St. Louis to visit one of her five siblings. In 1978, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and immediately put her math degree to work in the classroom. “I was born to be a teacher,” she says. Movitz lights up when talking about the 15 years she spent in front of classes in the University City and Pattonville school districts.

Movitz met her husband-to-be, Milton, a St. Louis businessman, at a meeting of Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis. “Meeting my prince, this most amazing man, changed my plan to return to Israel,” she says. The couple married in 1983 and “lived each day to the fullest” until Milton passed away in 2019. Together, they have four children and three grandchildren. “We loved and respected each other and devoted time and energy to our family, community and to our marriage,” she says.

Movitz has made her mark as a Jewish community volunteer. A longtime member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, she has served on its board and on several of its committees. She calls Senior Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose “my rabbi, dear friend and teacher.” Movitz also has tutored hundreds of students over the years for their b’nai mitzvah – a coming-of-age ritual in the Jewish religion.

Movitz has also served on the boards of the Central Agency for Jewish Education, Hillel and J Associates. She was elected to the executive boards of Jewish Federation, Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federation, Solomon Schechter Day School and Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. In 1997, she became the first Israeli president of Women’s Philanthropy.

Movitz has co-chaired the St. Louis Jewish Light’s Unsung Heroes event and calls it “an honor and blessing to know the heroes in our community who devote their time helping others.”

She has been honored with the Jewish Federation’s Grossberg Young Leadership award, the Kippnis-Wilson Lion of Judah award, the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School’s Visionary award and Chabad’s Lazaroff Lamplighter award. The Jewish Student Union renamed its Israel Scholars program the Galia and Milton Movitz Senator John Danforth Israel Scholars program to honor the couple’s support.

Ten years ago, Movitz and her husband were co-presidents of Solomon Schechter when the school merged with Saul Mirowitz Day School-Reform Jewish Academy to become Creve Coeur’s Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. The merged school is the metro area’s only pluralistic Jewish day school and the first in the nation to be created out of a merger of denominational schools. “This school is a treasure and has kept me involved for over 25 years, Movitz says. “I love and believe in the school as a tool to ensure that future Jewish leaders are knowledgeable about their heritage.”

Movitz’s inspiration comes from her grandmother, who devoted her life to helping others: “She welcomed new immigrants to Israel and helped them get housing and basic needs. The president of Israel twice named my grandmother ‘Mother of the Year’ for her charitable work. I feel blessed to continue her legacy with acts of loving kindness.”

An innate storyteller and award-winning photographer and writer, Alice Handelman provides Ladue News readers with a glimpse into lives that enrich St. Louis.