Business Special Section - November 9, 2020 by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

Business in the Jewish Community Supplement to Jewish News November 9, 2020 jewishnewsva.org | November 9, 2020 | Business | Jewish News | 13

Business Dear Readers,

emember when the phrase “Business as usual” was commonplace? Of course, that was pre-COVID-19 restrictions, way back in March. Although most businesses are

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still not operating ‘as usual,’ many are, while many others have gotten creative in their approaches to their work and operations. All of us who continue to consume and make use of various enterprises—from restaurants to grocery stores, from banks to attorneys, from retail to doctors to insurance agencies—are grateful for their efforts to keep their doors open during these challenging times. Speaking of famous phrases, The Godfather made legendary the line and attitude, “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.” The saying made it into other blockbusters, including You’ve Got Mail, whose heroine, Kathleen Kelly, played by Meg Ryan, begged to differ with the concept. Locally, for Michael Glasser, having his son, Jake, join his law firm, Glasser and Glasser, it is more than ‘strictly business,’ it’s personal…in a positive way, of course! The article about the Glasser family business by Lisa Richmon is on page 16. It’s apparent that Holy Puritz agrees with Kathleen Kelly and feels the same about her son, Zach Wohlgemuth joining her OB/GYN practice, The Group for Women. It is personal and an exciting time for the Puritz-Wohlgemuth family. Read about them on page 20. Within this section, other articles explore the outsized tech impact of Jews from the former Soviet Union (page 18), as well as profiles a high schooler on her way to building

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a media empire on page 15. Plus, we have a teaser about a virtual SOP (UJFT Society of Professionals) Start-Up Nation Mission to Israel. It’ll be a different way to visit Israel—with no packing required. Keeping with the movie theme, and as we head into the Thanksgiving season when we’ll be with some family, consider this line from Jerry Maguire, “The key to this business is personal relationships.” Stay safe,

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Business This Jewish teen created a daily news digest, The Cramm, read by millions worldwide Renee Ghert-Zand

nlike most teenagers, Olivia Seltzer doesn’t like to sleep in. She wakes up most days at 5 am to scan the internet and write The Cramm, a newsletter with the latest national and international news that reaches middle school, high school and university student readers in more than 100 countries. With some 2.5 million monthly page views, Seltzer calls it “the cheat sheet to the world.” Written in a fun and relatable style and transmitted via email and text, The Cramm includes the day’s major political, economic, cultural, and scientific stories. Seltzer also shares amusing tidbits and curious headlines from around the world. The newsletter is meant to speak to members of Generation Z in a way traditional media doesn’t, providing just the right amount of information to start the day and enable them to engage in conversation or take action. “You can’t change the world unless you know about it,” Seltzer says. “Politics and current events are our lives, but we are not exposed enough to them. We don’t have classes on them at school.” Young people today are hungry for quick, accurate information from reliable sources, and they’re motivated to work for change, according to Seltzer, who is in 11th grade. “We see things through a socially conscious lens and have a real sense of urgency,” she says. “For example, we have only a decade to reverse climate change. We are willing to do what needs to be done.” Seltzer, 16, started The Cramm four years ago, when she was in seventh grade. She and her friends in her Santa Barbara, California public school were increasingly interested in the news and politics because of the 2016 presidential election. The problem, however, was that traditional news was not written in a style accessible to them, nor did it take into account that teens do not possess the same historical reference points as adults, Seltzer said.

The precipitating factor was then-candidate Donald Trump’s hardline stance toward refugees and undocumented immigrants. “I live in Santa Barbara, which has a lot of undocumented immigrants from Latin America. A lot of these kids were in my middle school,” Seltzer says. “The election campaign created a real shift in awareness, because Trump’s policies had a direct impact on us and our friends.” Seltzer had a personal connection to the issue. Her paternal great-grandfather was an undocumented immigrant to the United States from Mexico. He was born in Mexico City to parents who had escaped pogroms in Eastern Europe. Seltzer started The Cramm off small, sending it out mainly to her parents and their friends after her screenwriter father and interior designer mother bought her The Cramm internet domain name for her bat mitzvah. Things really took off after

her parents spoke proudly about their daughter’s project in their speeches at her bat mitzvah celebration. Seltzer’s friends immediately signed up and volunteered to help her register other readers. Word spread quickly about The Cramm through grassroots efforts and social media outreach. Today, the newsletter’s content can be accessed through six different platforms and various types of media, including videos and podcasts. Seltzer recently was recognized with a Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award, a $36,000 prize given annually to a select group of Jewish teenagers who demonstrate outstanding leadership in communal service. Meanwhile, she has been building up a team of 500 global volunteer ambassadors to help extend The Cramm’s reach. A hundred of them are on an editorial team that assists with content, media, social outreach, and organizing.

Seltzer writes all the newsletter’s content herself. “With everything going on in the world, I can feel hopeless. Writing is a coping mechanism to deal with it,” she says. Seltzer has big plans for both herself and The Cramm. She hopes to attend college in Washington and study government and political science. She wants to develop The Cramm into a media empire serving the youth demographic. Callie Schweitzer, a senior news editor at LinkedIn, is mentoring Seltzer as she thinks about how to scale up her business to grow both audience and revenue. “Olivia is a force of nature,” Schweitzer says. “Her ambition knows no bounds. She is passionate, committed and someone who is on an endless quest to learn. She knows that Gen Z doesn’t want to be talked at. They want to be part of the conversation.”

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Business

Attorney Jake Glasser merges with family law practice at Glasser and Glasser Lisa Richmon

he Glasser name stands for character and charisma—and juxtapositions. Jacob ‘Jake’ Glasser, the firm’s newest member, is the son of Lori and Michael Glasser, and nephew of former partners

Stuart Glasser and Richard Glasser (of blessed memory). Named “Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch 2021,” Jake brings more than his agile head for mergers and acquisitions and complex tax matters to the firm’s eclectic mix of specialties.

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My son the healer. “I can say without doubt that having Jake at the firm is the best thing to happen to me since my brother’s death. It puts a smile back on my face knowing someone from the family is here again,” says Michael Glasser. Richard Glasser’s unexpected death in March of 2019 created an emptiness that only a son with Jake’s character and credentials can begin to fill. “He has a true moral compass and is ‘all in’ for family and the firm. He is calmer than me, and smarter—he has a computer in his head,” says Michael Glasser. “As the tax laws may be undergoing tumultuous changes, he will be blazing a career in a much-needed specialty.” Michael Glasser is a past president of the Virginia State Bar. He joined Glasser and Glasser in 1978, where he gained expertise in creditors rights, bankruptcy, and foreclosure—and honed his signature form of personalized client care. The Glasser boutique brand dates back 88 years to Stuart, Richard, and Michael’s father, Bernard Glasser. The senior Glasser put his personal stamp on everything, and his human touch was infectious. Richard Glasser expanded the firm’s influence for 54 years, fighting for and winning financial compensation for workers with asbestos-related illnesses. His mantra: ‘Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons.’ “I look forward to going to work again,” says Michael. “You know how close Richard and I were. Loving brothers for sure. We were so different, but complementary, and we reveled in each other’s successes. Jake and I have the very same close relationship. All our partners are proud of Jake. We all listen very closely when he speaks.” Jake Glasser is more chill than his father, technologically superior, and handier around the house, but his instinct for problem solving is purely dad-derived. “I think that while we express it differently, I certainly received my inclination for problem-solving from my dad. I enjoy fixing things ‘hands on,’ whether it involves solving one of my parents’ many

electronics questions or tinkering with a car or boat. Professionally, my dad and I share a focus on solving problems with a positive-sum and collaborative mindset. I find that trying to deliver a positive outcome for all parties involved in a transaction tends to produce better results and happier participants.” From toilets to tech and tax codes, Jake Glasser forages it, finds it, studies it, and fixes it. “This is Jake for you,” says Michael. “He was about eight at the time. The family was having dinner in the dining room when we heard the toilet running in the bathroom nearby. Jake asked if he could try to fix the toilet. I was surprised, but said ‘sure, go ahead.’ We heard the back of the toilet being removed and the clanging of metal, then silence. No running water! Jake washed his hands and quietly walked back to the table. No fanfare, just solving problems. He didn’t get his plumbing expertise from me, but we both relish solving problems and moving life along.” Before his death, Richard Glasser went on a family trip to Israel. The details of that trip delighted Michael and inspired him to propose something out of character. “I’m frugal,” says Michael. “I drive a 12-year-old Prius with 225k miles on it. Richard had Ferraris!! Not just one. I would never trade my Prius for a Ferrari. Jake is more like his uncle that way, and thankfully, all three of my sons learned how to dress from Richard. “I wanted to take my family to Israel, but I knew if I planned it, it wouldn’t be extravagant and might not be as fun. So, I gave my VISA to Jake and said, ‘I want you to plan a trip. I know you don’t mind spending money. But here’s the thing. I don’t want to know what we’re doing, what you’re planning or what it costs. I especially don’t want to know what it costs!’” On a prior visit to Israel, the Glassers toured all the important historic and religious sites. Israel 2019 was focused on exploring modern Israel. Jake booked more adventurous activities than what his

Business

The Glasser family in Israel: Michael, Bern, Lori, Ross, and Jake.

parents would have opted for. They rode dune buggies in southern Israel, biked through metropolitan Tel Aviv, and went scuba diving near the Lebanese border. “We had countless meals at amazing restaurants and always had to hide the bill from my dad. We visited Hadassah hospital outside of Jerusalem and were completely blown away by how modern it was and how the hospital cares for individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of one’s ability to pay.” The jury is still out on the ongoing food debate. “When it comes to shawarma v. falafel, I have always been team shawarma while my brother Ross and my mom are team falafel. My brother Bern and my dad are 50/50,” says Jake. “This trip just solidified it. We are in different camps on how to eat it, but we all love humus.” “It was the trip of a lifetime,” says Michael. “We blew it out. If we had waited, it wouldn’t be the same trip.” He’s referring to the pandemic that hit months after their return. “I’m so glad Richard got to go when he did, and that we made the trip when we did.” Jake Glasser brings a fresh set of eyes to Glasser and Glasser. He reviews processes to see what makes sense, smooths out kinks, and integrates technology to

reduce risk and improve efficiency. “I’ve always appreciated Glasser’s culture—it’s reputation and intention for doing good. I understand there are ways to go quicker or make more money. It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a moment to destroy it. It may not be the biggest or most profitable firm, but you feel good about everything you do when you’re here.” Several days a week Michael and Jake Glasser order lunch from Brickhouse Diner on Main Street and sit at either side of Michael’s desk in his Crown Center office. “We order the ‘Richard’ salad. No lettuce. Just tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, pepperoncini, feta and grilled chicken. That’s how he liked it,” says Michael. “We have lunch together and talk about the way current events impacts business.” Bonding over law is their thing. but they remain divided over devices. Progressive but patient, Jake spent years in high school and college trying to convince his tech-averse father to embrace the art of texting. “Jake brought me kicking and screaming into this modern world. I write in longhand and scratch it out. I send personal notes. I don’t like to see the English language tortured. Text makes me crazy, but hey, that’s just me.”

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Business

Jews from the former Soviet Union have had an outsized tech impact. Israel’s government wants to harness that. Cnaan Liphshiz

( JTA)—In the high-tech industry, Russian-speaking Jews have had a vastly outsized footprint. People like Sergey Brin, Jan Koum and Max Levchin—co-founders of Google, WhatsApp, and PayPal, respectively— are just a few well-known examples for how thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union have been at the forefront of the information revolution in the United States, Israel, and Europe, where many of them immigrated because of anti-Semitism back home. Now, the Israeli government is cosponsoring a $2.5 million project called Limmud Labs that aims to harness that potential to find new and innovative ways to bolster Jewish community life in the former Soviet Union. “Russian-speaking Jews throughout history and today especially, have proved to be pathfinders of advancement in all spheres—the sciences, culture, and business initiatives,” Gabi Farberov, Limmud FSU Labs project manager, says. The project aims to take that human capital and use it “on behalf of the Jewish community and to develop contacts with the State of Israel,” she adds. Some trailblazers from the target population have described their connection to Judaism differently. Brin, for example,

didn’t have a bar mitzvah because it “was never my thing,” he said in a 2008 interview with Israel’s The Marker newspaper. He also said then that Judaism for him was mainly about “overcoming adversity.” (The fact that his ex-wife, Anne Wojcicki, is also Jewish, was a coincidence, he said.) Limmud Labs, which owes half of its budget to Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the other half to the Limmud FSU Jewish learning organization, is designed to find young people like Brin, and “empower them to be active in their local and greater Jewish communities,” Omer Yankelevich, Israel’s minister of Diaspora Affairs, says. During its first year, Limmud Labs has given out dozens of grants of $8,000$14,000 to Jewish applicants from the former Soviet Union with innovative approaches designed to strengthen Jewish identity in their community. One of them, Vlodymyr Zeev Vaksman, the 38-year-old chairman of Odessa’s Tiferet Masorti community, is using the Limmud Labs funding to develop an online evening school that teaches Russian-speaking Jews vocational skills that are in demand in Israel, as preparation for their immigration there. Another project being developed by a team of Odessa applicants is an Uber-style application that connects people interested in a tour of the city’s many Jewish

heritage sites with available guides who specialize in the subject. And in Belarus, Elena Kulevnich, a leader of the local Jewish community, organized an online, shoestring-budget course for elderly Jews about the coronavirus and how to stay safe during the pandemic, including a tutorial on when, where, and how to wear face masks that she and her team produced and sent with courier to the community’s elderly. The program aims to have at least 2,000 participants by 2022, Limmud Labs says, and to make use of their “resourcefulness, creativity, and flexibility” for the benefit of the Jewish community. Those are exactly the qualities that allowed Russian speakers from the former Soviet Union—most of them Jews—to achieve an “impact [that] has been disproportionate because they represent the ‘best and brightest’ mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, and engineers,” of where they came from, according to Hammer and Silicon, a book published in 2018 about the effect of Russian-speaking immigrants on innovation. Out of nearly 600,000 immigrants from former Soviet countries who settled in the United States between 1975 and 2003, about 54% were Jewish, according to Hammer and Silicon and The New Jewish Diaspora. For this success story, many

Russian-speaking Jews credit very hands-on parents who pushed them to excel in order to overcome institutional anti-Semitism that was designed to hold them back. Paradoxically, this anti-Semitic bias contributed to their ability to excel. “My mother used to make me go to all kinds of classes: Math, chemistry, chess, ballet. It filled my whole day, and at a certain point I began to hate it,” recalls Kulevnich, the social entrepreneur and Jewish community leader from Belarus. “But I understood it: It was our parents’ way of making sure we overcome the policies put in place to prevent us from getting a higher education. As Jews, we had to be better, smarter than anyone just to get in,” says Kulevnich, a 38-year-old mother of one from Minsk. Many Jews did not get in, at least not to the Soviet Union’s finest schools and universities, creating an incentive for them to leave. Sergey Brin’s family left their native Russia in 1979 “mainly because of anti-Semitism,” he said in the 2008 interview. His father, Michael, wasn’t accepted to any physics department, a subject that was then off-limits for Jews. He studied mathematics but couldn’t complete a master’s degree due to anti-Semitism. A Polish university eventually accepted him as a PhD student.

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Business “My father couldn’t pursue his real interest in life,” Brin says. “We had to leave everything we had in the Soviet Union and rebuild our lives from scratch. It gave me a new perspective on life.” Moscow State University, Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute, and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University were among the top institutions that were virtually Jew-free until 1983, according to Dmitri Petrov, a senior professor of biology at Stanford University who immigrated from Moscow to the United States in 1992.

Petrov was accepted as an exception to the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology after his father used contacts there to have Petrov’s failed admission test reevaluated. His correct answers were marked as errors as part of an unofficial policy of keeping Jews out of the student body, he told the authors of Hammer and Silicon. While the Soviet educational system prepared highly trained and skilled Jewish professionals, “it also provided a stimulus for some to leave when the opportunity presented itself,” the book notes.

Society of Professionals of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater: Virtual Mission to Israel

tay tuned to receive information about an exciting upcoming “Start-Up Nation” Virtual Mission to Israel The Society of Professionals is a fellowship of Jewish medical, business, and legal professionals dedicated to educational, social, and philanthropic activities. SOP provides a unique opportunity for collegial networking while integrating Jewish concerns. Society programs help Jewish professionals in

Tidewater connect with one another and their heritage, and they help donor members understand the value of the contributions they make to support the greater community. SOP is committed to UJFT’s mission of serving vulnerable communities locally, in Israel, and around the world.

Create a Jewish legacy for the community you love through planned charitable giving . . .ask us how

If interested in receiving information about this mission as it becomes available or to learn more about SOP, contact Amy Zelenka at azelenka@ujft.org.

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