AMIT Fall 2013 Magazine

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Shani C. and Rabbi Samuel Frank, NY

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Reva and Mark Friedman, Israel

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Iris and Bob Frisch, MA

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Barbara and Steve Geller, IL

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Ruth and Isidore, z”l, Gibber, FL

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

THE FALL IS ALWAYS A TIME FOR NEW beginnings – a new season, a new school year and the anticipation of new challenges ahead. For AMIT, we began this fall with ambitious plans for our more than 26,000 students, including as always, some new programs and projects.

Our school in Tel Aviv, one of the oldest in the AMIT Network, has moved

to the southern part of the city. It is now called AMIT Reishit Tel Aviv and has 40 new 7th graders. We hope to expand this school, growing it year by year. Our original school remains in northern Tel Aviv with one class of 12th graders and a small group in grade “13.” In keeping with demographic changes, at the end of this academic year our entire program in Tel Aviv will be located at our new school.

We also have expanded our program for Haredi students, an effort which we embarked upon at the request of the government of Israel. In addition to our program in Petach Tikva, this fall the AMIT Hedvat HaTorah Haredi Yeshiva was opened in Jerusalem with its fi rst class of 20 ninth graders. It is our hope to add a grade level to the yeshiva each year until it accommodates two classes in grades 7 through 12.

AMIT Hedvat HaTorah will be a unique center of education, in keeping with AMIT’s longstanding out of the box approach. The yeshiva will offer a full schedule of Torah studies combined with a secular curriculum as mandated by the Ministry of Education. This will allow the students to maintain their Haredi lifestyle, while also continuing on to university and a career. The Ministry of Education, together with a committee of parents from the community, approached AMIT to create this yeshiva, a testament to the success we have had to date with our program for this unique population.

While a relatively small percentage of our student population, the children who reside at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled and at our youth village of AMIT Kfar Blatt are among the most precious youngsters in our care. Each of these children, who for various reasons cannot live with their biological parents, are placed in a mishpachton, a residence with a young married couple, who cares for them, nurtures them and helps them to overcome whatever challenges they face.

Our mishpachtonim are in need of major renovations and this year we are launching a $10 million campaign to extensively refurbish the homes for our AMIT children in foster care. We need to provide a warm, comforting atmosphere for our children, and both the infrastructure and furnishings of the residences are due for a major overhaul. As this campaign progresses, I hope you will avail yourself of the many opportunities that

will be available to make a difference in the lives of our neediest children.

Ellen Koplow, of blessed memory, was a longtime AMIT leader who fully understood the needs of our children. Ellen, who left us much too soon, was instrumental in the establishment of the Goodstein Sports Complex at Kfar Blatt and supported, together with her husband Meyer, countless initiatives to better the lives of our children. On page 19, Barbara Rascoff, chair of the AMIT Board of Governors, has written a beautiful tribute to this exemplary AMIT leader.

Finally, I would like to warmly welcome to the AMIT family Andy Goldsmith who has joined usas executive vice president. Andy comes to us witha deep background in development and manage-ment and we look forward to working with him in moving our organization forward in new andexciting directions.

I know that together we will make this a wonderful year for the children of AMIT.

fall2013

Fall 2013 :: AMIT MAGAZINE :: 3

By Debbie Isaac

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AMIT OFFICES

National Offi ce817 BroadwayNew York, NY 100031-800-989-AMIT (2648)212-477-4720Fax: 212-353-2312email: [email protected]

Baltimore/Washington, D.C.2800 Stone Cliff Drive, Unit #112Baltimore, MD 21209410-484-2223 410-370-9411Call for Fax: 410-484-2223email: [email protected]

Boston7 Brady Road Westborough, MA 01581Phone & Fax: (call for Fax) 508-870-1571email: [email protected]

Chicago3856 B West OaktonSkokie, IL 60076847-677-3800847-372-8702 Fax: 847-982-0057email: [email protected]

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Southeast Region2700 N 29 Ave, Suite 203Hollywood, FL 33020954-922-5100Fax: 954-922-5199email: [email protected]

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PhiladelphiaP.O. Box 342Wynnewood, PA 19096Phone & Fax: (call for for Fax) 410-484-2223Cell: 410-370-9411email: [email protected]

AMIT UKFriends of AMIT Women UK152/154 Coles Green Rd.London NW2 7HDPhone: 44-208-438-6353

AMIT FRANCEc/o: Mrs. Carole Hannaux20 Chemin des Brasseurs, 57500 Saint-Avold, Francephone: +33-611-487-314email: [email protected]

AMIT SWITZERLANDc/o: Adv. Jennifer OsbornUnter Altstadt 10 6301 Zug, Switzerland Phone: + 41-41-729-0808 email: [email protected]

AMIT Israel – Petach Tikvah28 HaMaccabim StreetPetach Tikva 49220Phone: 03-912-3101

AMIT Israel – JerusalemHechal Shlomo Building58 King George Street, 1st Floor,JerusalemPhone: 02-673-8360Fax: 02-673-8359

fa l l 2 0 1 3s t av 5 7 74Vol. LXXXV No. 4

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BUILDING ISRAEL. ONE CHILD AT A TIME.

TABLE OF CONTENTSfe

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s 8 :: AMIT IN HATZOR HAGLILIT We visit AMIT schools in Hatzor Haglilit and focus on AMIT’s relationship and involvement with the parents, the commu-nity and the municipality.Michele Chabin

12 :: MARTY GLICKMAN. BROOKLYN TO BERLIN TO BROADCASTING.The Jewish American track and fi eld star and ground-breaking sports announcer.Greg Vitiello

16 :: PROJECT BASED LEARNING Incorporating Project Based Learning as part of theAMIT curriculum.Robert E. Sutton

26 :: AMIT FUTURE LEADERS INITIATIVEAttracting the college-age to organized Jewish Life.Barbara Goldberg and Debbie Isaac

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About The Cover

Student davening at AMIT Hatzor Haglilit

FIND AMIT ON

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24 DEPARTMENTS6 :: Planned Giving The $1,000,000 Gift to AMIT

Robert E. Sutton

20 :: Highlights

24 :: Dvar Torah

COLUMNS3 :: President’s Message

7 :: ImpressionsAndrew GoldsmithExecutive Vice President

19 :: Tribute to Ellen Koplow, z”l

DEVELOPMENT NEWS26 :: Israel Annual Dinner

28 :: Mother-in-Israel Events

30 :: Summer in the City

30 :: Englewood Kids Day Out!

31 :: An Evening with Daniel Silva

32 :: July 4th BBQ

32 :: Discovering a World of Treasures

33 :: Dedication for Esther Semmelman, z”l

33 :: Sy Kraut, z”l, Tribute

34 :: Sukkot AMITzvah Event

34 :: A Fall Night in D.C.

35 :: AMIT Twinnings

36 :: Stella Testa Scholars Fund

37 :: Spanning AMIT world

38 :: President’s Circle

PresidentDebbie Isaac

Executive Vice PresidentAndrew Goldsmith

Vice President, Marketing and CommunicationsChana Shields

Director of CommunicationsBarbara Goldberg

Editor EmeritaMicheline Ratzersdorfer

Editor in Chief/Creative DirectorRobert Ephraim Sutton

DesignGame6Media

Signed articles do not necessarily represent the opinion of the organization. Reproduction of any

material requires permission and attribution.To view us online visit

www.amitchildren.org

AMIT Magazine (ISSN 1085-2891) is published quarterly;

Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer by AMIT. AMIT National Offi ce:

817 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10003. 1-800-989-AMIT, 212-477-4720, Fax 212-353-2312

email: [email protected]

Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y.,and additional mailing offi ces.

POSTMASTER:Send address changes to

AMIT: 817 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10003.

AMIT, founded in 1925, has a proud history ofservice to Israel and the Jewish people.

Our name, in English, stands for “AMericans forIsrael and Torah.” In Hebrew, AMIT is an acronym for

“Irgun Mitnadvot l’ma’an Yisrael v’Torata”(Organization of Volunteers for Israel

and Her Torah).

AMIT enables Israel’s youth to realize their potential and strengthens Israeli society by educating and nurturing children from diverse backgrounds within a framework of academic excellence, religious values and Zionist ideals. Some 70 percent of AMIT students live in development towns or other “peripheral” areas of the country. AMIT approaches each child as an individual, maximizing his or her potential, and enabling our students to become vital, productive members of Israelisociety. The AMIT schools promote religious tolerance, service to the state and the recognition that every child is blessed with unique talents and abilities. Founded in 1925, AMIT operates 110 schools, youth villages, surrogate family residences and other programs, constituting Israel’s only government-recognized network of religious Jewish education incorporating academic and technological studies.

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26 :: Israel Annual Dinner

28 :: Mother-in-Israel Events

30 :: Summer in the City

30 :: Englewood Kids Day Out!

31 :: An Evening with Daniel Silva3026

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How A Chance Encounter Led to a Beautiful Friendship and a $1,000,000 Gift To AMITBy Robert E. Sutton

T wenty fi ve years ago, Hattie Thum, a long time member of AMIT, met Selma Ettenberg while taking a walk. The

two women quickly became close friends. Hattie was an observant Jew and Selma came from a traditional Jewish but non-observant background. Over the years, Selma’s interest in Judaism grew. She watched as Hattie lit the candles for Shabbat, celebrated the holidays, observed the laws of kashrut, and along with her husband Max, z”l, raised their children with a love for Judaism and Israel. Hattie’s home was an education in derech eretz and Selma took it all in.

Hattie and Selma were both Women of Valor. Hattie’s love and devotion to AMIT went unquestioned. She gave of herself to the children of AMIT and thus to the children of Israel. At fi rst, Selma viewed Hattie’s passion for AMIT from afar and saw AMIT as just another Jewish organization. Hattie eventually changed all that.

As their friendship grew so did Selma’s love for AMIT. Hattie was inspirational. She was an AMIT President’s Circle member, a lifelong contributor and a non-stop volunteer.

She would stop strangers on the street and ask them if they were members of AMIT. If the answer was no, Hattie would begin her soft sell of AMIT. More often than not, the stranger became a friend and the friend became a member of AMIT. Hattie would always say, “I give of myself to AMIT. It’s a cause I’m passionate about. I think of AMIT as I would my children; an investment in the future of Israel and Judaism.” Those words and their time together turned Selma into a true believer in AMIT.

After Hattie Thum’s death in November 2002, her daughter Sheryle Spar realized she had inherited her mother’s love of AMIT. The Torch - the symbol on the President’s Circle pin - was passed on to a new generation. To this day, Sheryle wears her mother’s President’s Circle pin to every AMIT meeting and event.

Last year, Selma Ettenberg passed away. In her will, she left $1,000,000 to AMIT in honor of Hattie Thum. In paying tribute to a beloved friend, Selma left a legacy that will bring great benefi t to the children of AMIT and to the State of Israel.

For more information go to www.amitchildren.org or please contact Robin Isaacson, National Director of Planned Giving, at 954-922-5100 or [email protected]. All inquiries will be kept strictly confi dential and imply no obligation to make a gift.

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE AMIT LEGACY SOCIETYBy establishing your membership in the AMIT Legacy Society with your planned gift you will help ensure that thou-

sands of children will benefi t from the fulfi llment of the AMIT mission in Israel for generations to come.

You will feel pride in knowing that your planned gift will touch the lives of so many children and youngsters as it

supports the AMIT Network across Israel. Just think of how you will be helping improve the quality of education for

students in struggling development towns, advancing the highest level of high-tech education, empowering young

women to become leaders in their communities, and connecting immigrants to their Jewish heritage. Your planned

gift will impact the future of thousands of young lives, fulfi lling their dreams and the promise of a better tomorrow.

This generosity will be YOUR legacy.

Kapah parsah le’ani v’yadeiha shil’chah la’evyon.She spreads out her palms to the poor and extends her hands to the destitute. - Eshet ChayilHattie Thum and Selma Ettenberg

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IMPRESSIONS

THE RUDERMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION, TOGETHER with Brandeis University, is now in its second year of a program to teach the leaders of Israel to listen to and understand the issues, the concerns, the challenges of the American Jewish community. It’s not the traditional preparing American leaders about Israel program- this program teaches Israelis about their Diaspora cousins.

Israel is evolving at light speed. No longer viewed as the perennial needy underdog; Israel is now a leader - a high-tech work force with a fi rst-world economy, a military power to be reckoned with, and an island of stable democracy in a Middle East fraught with incredible turmoil. Of course, there are those still left behind and alarmingly widening gaps in the social service basket. But even the greatest pessimist will agree it’s a far cry from where Israel started. Israel has evolved greatly and the conversation is about building today and innovative dreaming for tomorrow.

Nations evolve, organizations evolve and individuals evolve. None of us is the same as we were twenty years ago – life experience shapes us. Our perspectives mature leading to insight and new approaches. Healthy organizations similarly respond to change. AMIT, created in 1925, was quickly at the forefront of the resettlement of European children in Palestine.

AMIT’s resources were tested as its facilities were flooded by the pressing needs of tens of thousands of newly arrived immigrant children including many child Holocaust survivors at the very founding of the state. In 1955, the first contingent of Ethiopian Jews arrived and in the 1970s, the great Russian immigration began. With each new development in Israel’s history AMIT listened, evolved and responded-- opening new schools and facilities to meet the demands of a burgeoning population of children in need.

In 1981, the Israeli government designated AMIT as its offi cial Reshet (network) for religious secondary technological education launching its evolution into a true societal change agent. Municipalities with faltering school systems seek out AMIT to partner and dramatically improve their schools. Today 110 schools, youth villages, surrogate family residences and other programs constitute Israel’s only government-

recognized network of religious Jewish education incorporating academic and technological studies. Over 26,000 children are impacted daily in wondrous and immeasurable ways. Israel and AMIT have evolved together.

I too have evolved. I started in Jewish communal service at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society nearly twenty years ago. Fresh out of law school, at HIAS I worked to

mainstream an immigrant population to American Jewry. From there I journeyed to UJA Federation where I gained the experience of building community, to One Israel Fund where I connected passion for Israel to tangible betterment of people’s lives and fi nally back home to Yeshiva University, a simply glorious place, where I had spent my formative undergraduate years. Over that time, I’ve learned again and again that the most important trait any organization (or individual) can strive to master is to listen. And listen carefully.

Visionary philanthropist Jay Ruderman realized that for the Israel-Diaspora relationship to evolve to the next level, the conversation must take place on equal ground with all parties listening. AMIT listens and bravely evolves to serve the children of Israel, very proud of our past but looking forward eagerlyto tomorrow.

Please consider this your personal invitation to be part of the conversation as we strive to make tomorrow better. I look forward to speaking with you - and,most of all, listening.

evolutionBy Andrew Goldsmith, Executive Vice President


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FEATURE

8 :: Fall 2013 :: AMIT MAGAZINE

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITYAMIT IN HATZOR HAGLILIT

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SCHOOL AND COMMUNITYAMIT IN HATZOR HAGLILIT

continued on page 10

Between Israel’s eight-week summer vacation and theYom Kippur through Simchat Torah break, students at the AMIT Hatzor Haglilit complex of schools, like other Israeli kids, didn’t see much of the inside of a classroom until the

end of September. But that didn’t stop the students or local residents of Hatzor

Haglilit, a community of 9,000 people in the verdant Upper Galilee, from tapping into the school’s resources during the long holiday period.

Every day, many vacationing students and local residents prayed the morning, afternoon and evening prayers at the campus’ beautiful synagogue. On Shabbatot the shul overflowed with worshippers, as it does throughout the year.

Even during vacations, the leafy campus’ large community garden was open to the public, and so was the adjoining petting zoo, which is home to a slew of rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, geese and roosters.

AMIT’s sports field and court were also open, allowing kids and young adults to play soccer and basketball all summer long.

AMIT Hatzor Haglilit is such an integral part of this community “it’s sometimes hard to distinguish where one begins and the other ends,” said Liat Cohen, a member of the local community council and mother of three AMIT students who was visiting the campus to pick up her children.

Cohen said the AMIT Network, which maintains boys’ and girls’ elementary, junior and high schools on a single campus – a highly unusual arrangement in Israel that has helped foster a sense of community and continuity among the students – has also helped create “a new spirit” in the wider community.

“Our goal is to serve as a community school, in every sense of the word,” Avichai Golan, director of the AMIT Hatzor Haglilit campus, said in his office, whose door is always open to teachers and students.

First and foremost, Golan said, AMIT has worked hard to create a welcoming environment for the area’s students, many of whom come from financially distressed homes.

“Most schools close their doors at 3 or 4 p.m., but we offer help with homework, test prep and several afterschool activities, including a Beit Midrash,” Golan said. The boys typically play soccer, learn carpentry and enjoy guitar lessons, while the girls prefer art, drama and dance classes.

Students’ families pay about $20 per year for the activities, thanks to a grant from the AMIT Network.

This open-door approach is similarly reflected in the schools’ enrollment policies. Roughly 80 percent of the schools’ students

By Michele Chabin


and many of the faculty members live in Hatzor Haglilit, which means that students typically learn alongside friends and neighbors for a full 12 years.

The welcome extends to children with special needs, who can enroll in the schools’ special education classes or, if their abilities allow, integrate into regular classrooms.

The schools of AMIT Hatzor Haglilit also offer six separate classes for new immigrants from Ethiopia who have been in the country anywhere from a few days to three years. The students, who are being raised by their parents in an absorption center in Safed, a short commute by bus, learn Hebrew intensively and become fluent within a short time, Golan said. “Eventually they enter the regular classrooms.”

The new immigrant children receive extra help “because their parents don’t know Hebrew, they can’t help them with their schoolwork,” Golan explained. “They’re immersed in the absorption process.”

On his way with his classmates to a computer class after a class trip, 12-year-old Amara Abveh, an Ethiopian student now studying in a regular class, said his parents and younger siblings rely

heavily on him when he returns home from school every day.

“They ask me, ‘What is this?’ What is that?’” in the supermarket and at the doctor’s office. “They speak a little Hebrew, but not much,” Amara said before darting across the grass with his friends.

While the new immigrant families face unique problems, veteran families in Hatzor struggle as well, according to Avi Chapnick, principal of the girls’ elementary school and a longtime resident of Hatzor Haglilit.

“Most people have at least three or four children and limited resources,” Chapnick said of the town, which in the 1950s served as a transition camp for Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Their descendants still live here, as do about 1,000 Chassidimwho run their own educational institutions.

“We’re raising our nine children in Hatzor because the people here are very warm, very likeable good people,” Chapnick said. “My neighbor’s children learn on this campus, and so do my own children.”

AMIT’s close ties with the Hatzor community extend to mentoring the town’s once-floundering chapter of the Bnai Akiva youth group. A rite of passage for modern Orthodox Jewish youth throughout Israel, the Hatzor Haglilit branch of Bnai Akiva attracted only a few kids.

“The branch had no budget and no running water,” said Chapnick, who encouraged AMIT to take the chapter under its wing.

“We asked the scout leaders, ‘What would you do if you had a budget? How would you publicize your activities? Tell us what you need in order to improve your level of professionalism?’

AMIT now provides guidance to the scout leaders and scholarships to children who otherwise could not participate in the youth movement’s activities such as overnight hikes during Pesach and Sukkot or in its summer camp.

“Three or four years ago, almost no one attended summer camp, but last Pesach, seventy kids went on the overnight hike,” Chapnick notedwith pride.


AMIT students at the Chesed Kiosk

continued from page 9

Entrance to the AMIT HatzorHaglilit campus


Without AMIT in the town “the children would recognize less of their potential,” he believes. “The children meet their full potential and feel good about themselves. Ultimately, that contributes to the community. ”

At AMIT Hatzor Haglilit, giving to others is an integral part of school culture.

Outside Golan’s office in the administration building, boys from the high school load rice, sugar, cooking oil and other staples donated by the schools’ students and staff into cardboard boxes, which they will later deliver to the poorest families in the town.

During recess, students line up at the Chesed Kiosk run by the high school girls. Thousands of shekels are raised every year through sales and are donated to dozens of local needy families.

“It’s keffi, – fun – to work in the kiosk,” said 17-year-old Netanella Yosef, as she stood behind the counter, taking orders from the kids lined up to buy a sandwich or a candy bar. “My classmates volunteer on a rotating basis. It feels good to give of ourselves.”

Mark Alush said he and his 12th grade classmates had spent the morning volunteering at the Renanim special education school in Kiryat Shemona, 27 miles away and located on the Lebanese border.

AMIT Hatzor Haglilit adopted the school more than a year ago, and before that, volunteered at another school for children with disabilities. Each of Renanim’s 17 classes hosts at least one AMIT student per class.

Mark, 17, said he spent the three-hour visit getting acquainted with the children, who have moderate cognitive disabilities.

Mark admitted feeling “a little anxious” before meeting the Renanim students “because I didn’t know what to expect. They’re truly sweet kids and I feel a lot of satisfaction by working with them once a week.”

Orna Konkel, Renanim’s principal, said the volunteers “help us give our students

individualized attention, according to their specific needs.” Her students “benefit greatly” from the mentoring, but the volunteers benefit as well, she emphasized.

“They become aware of another population they might not ordinarily interact with. They develop sensitivity and patience and experience unconditional love.”

That’s been the case for the younger students, who regularly visit with the elderly residents at the senior living center across the street from the school.

“Last year the elementary school kids volunteered,” said Liat Cohen, the city councilwoman. “My daughter ‘adopted’ a woman there and the bond they created was very, very strong and is continuing.”

Shimon Suissa, head of the Hatzor Haglilit town council, said he “couldn’t begin to imagine” the town without the AMIT Network.

“The network and its staff promote good values, both educationally and morally.” He noted that more than seventy percent of AMIT’s high school students complete their college matriculation exams – something he called “a big achievement.”

Suissa called the AMIT campus a“Bayit Chinuch,” literally a “house of education.”

“It’s a house of warmth and caring, where our children learn about math but also about life.”

Tending to some of the vegetables she planted in the communal garden, Liron Ben-David, aged 9, said that she, her mother and older sister come to the garden “all the time.”

“We like to grow things and it’s nice to see other people from the neighborhood here, too. Especially the grandmothers,” Liron said.

Zahalon Siri, who is the AMIT Network mentor of AMIT Hatzor Haglilit, said that from first to twelfth grade, the Hatzor Haglilit campus reflects the Jewish and Zionist values AMIT strives to impart.

“Through the Beit Midrash, through volunteering, through inclusiveness, through the garden, the children here learn what’s important,” Siri said.

Michele Chabin began her career editing women’s magazines in New York. In 1987 she moved to Israel, and has been a reporter there ever since. An award-winning journalist, Michele frequently contributes to the New York Jewish Week, Religion News Service, USA Today and many other publications.


AMIT students harvesting corn for the community


BROOKLYN TO BERLIN TO BROADCASTING.

MARTY GLICKMAN.FEATURE

FALL13_glickman_p12-15_v3.indd 2 11/19/13 8:40 PM


When Marty Glickman

awoke in Berlin’s Olympic

Village on the morning of

August 8, 1936, he thought

ahead to the race he’d be running that day

in front of more than 100,000 spectators...

He imagined taking the baton from his

teammate Sam Stoller and sprinting down the

backstretch, running clear of the competition,

and handing the baton cleanly to Foy Draper. A

dominant victory for the U.S. in the semi-final

4x100-meter relay would be a prelude to their

gold medal run in the finals a day later.

Marty Glickman’s dream ended abruptly when the U.S. track and field coaches called the team together for an unscheduled meeting. The U.S. head coach, Lawson Robertson, said that Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only other Jew on the U.S. track and field team, were being replaced on the relay team by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe. Robertson claimed the reason for the change was that the Germans had been holding back, hiding their best sprinters until now. The German’s aim was to humiliate the U.S. relay. The coach said nothing about the fact that baton passing is decisive in the short relay – and Marty and Sam had perfected passing the baton with two other relay teammates for weeks, while Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe never practiced baton passing.

Only Glickman and Owens protested the decision. According to those present at the meeting, Glickman said, “Coach, there’s no reason to believe the Germans are any kind of threat in the relay. To be a world-class sprinter, you have to compete in world-class competition.” And, earlier that year, Marty had already beaten Germany’s best sprinter, Erich Borchmeyer.

Then Jesse Owens spoke up, “Coach, let Marty and Sam run, they deserve it. I’ve already won three gold medals.” Assistant coach Dean Cromwell harshly told

continued on page 14

By Greg Vitiello



Owens in a condescending tone, “You’ll do as you’re told.”

The U.S. team did win the Gold medal with Owens and Metcalfe. But what was the “real” reason for replacing Glickman and Stoller? Obviously not because of the Germans’ new-found power; the Germans finished fifteen yards back, in fourth place (they eventually moved up to third when the Dutch team was disqualified).

Following the Olympics, Marty and others became increasingly certain that anti-Semitism had motivated the decision to pull him and Stoller from the relay team. He felt the culprits were Avery Brundage, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee and a supporter of Hitler’s Germany, and Cromwell, both of whom later became members of the isolationist America First Committee. After Black Americans had dominated

the track and field competition in Berlin, the success of two Jewish athletes would have been humiliating to Brundage, a friend of Nazi Germany.

Prior to the Olympics, when public pressure mounted for the United States to boycott rather than compete in Hitler’s Germany, it was Brundage who had cast the deciding vote in favor of the U.S. team’s presence.

At that time, Marty had been clear about his desire to compete in Berlin. As he expressed half a century later in an interview for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, “I wanted to go because it was the goal of any young athlete to make the team. And I wanted to show the world that a Jew could compete and do just as well as anyone else, and perhaps better.”

Marty’s Olympic dream had begun early in life. Growing up in New York City as the son of Romanian immigrants, he had always prided

himself on being “the fastest kid on the block.” Later, he became a football star and record-setting sprinter at James Madison High School in Brooklyn.

Upon graduation, he went on to Syracuse University, thanks to five Jewish alumni who agreed to pay his tuition at the school. As Marty later wrote, “They said they wanted to get a Jewish athlete into Syracuse to help make it easier for other Jewish athletes to be admitted. There were quotas then.”

After a year of starring in football and track and field at Syracuse, Marty was an Olympian. Brushing off his disappointment at being pulled from the relay team, he returned to Syracuse for three more years of athletic stardom. He believed that the 1940 Olympic Games in Tokyo would be his year to win Olympic gold. But

the onset of World War II forced the cancellation of the 1940 Olympics. Glickman enlisted and became an officer in the U.S. Marines.

Following the war, he ventured into sports broadcasting. He had already had a brief exposure to the profession while at Syracuse, when his success at football prompted a local haberdasher to pay him to broadcast an event that would advertise the merchant’s business.

Marty trained his voice for broadcasting by reciting poetry, and warmed up for a broadcast or speaking engagement by reciting Poe, Chaucer (yes, Chaucer!) and the Four Questions from the Passover Seder. Growing up in a Jewish home, Marty had gone to Hebrew school and had a Bar Mitzvah.

Marty emerged as a pioneering radio — and later, television — broadcaster. He particularly excelled at basketball, developing a vernacular and a geography for the game. As a child growing up in the New York area, I vividly recall Marty’s skill at creating word pictures of the ball’s movement from player to player, and from one part of a court to another. He coined words like “swish,” describing a ball going cleanly through the net; and “Good like Nedick’s,” which instantly entered basketball’s vernacular – and boosted the broadcast’s sponsor.

In 1956, Glickman lost the announcer’s job for the National Basketball Association Game of the Week just when pro basketball was finally gaining a national audience. Years later, he learned that he was a victim of reverse anti-Semitism. As Marty recalled, “Maurice Podoloff was the commissioner of basketball and Haskell Cohen was director of public relations, and apparently they felt they shouldn’t have a third Jew in a prominent position.”

Though he was constantly in demand in the Greater New York area, he lost a chance to develop a national audience. Glickman was announcer for the New York Giants for 23 years and later, the New York Jets for an additional eleven years.

continued from page 13

three more years of athletic

the 1940 Olympic Games Glickman was star athlete at James Madison

High School in Brooklyn and Syracuse University.


Over more than fifty years as a broadcaster, his range of announcing skills extended from harness racing to boxing. He even announced a performance of the Big Apple Circus for blind children, making them aware of the actual texture of the animals they couldn’t see.

Marty felt a close connection to children of all ages and, for many years, broadcast the high school football game of the week. Bill Travers wrote in The New York Times: “He was a true friend of the high school athlete, especially the Public School Athletic League, as he was a product of the PSAL, having been a star athlete at James Madison High School. Until his death at the age of 83, Glickman remained a good friend to the high school athlete, dedicating much of his time to helping them achieve.” When he died, his wife Marge and his family asked that contributions be made to the PSAL.

Marty Glickman also had strong ties to his Jewish heritage. Peter Levine wrote of Marty in his 1993 book Ellis Island to Ebbets Field, “Although he hasn’t been to temple in years, he is a strong supporter of Israel, a symbol

for him of Jewish peoplehood and survival, and he gives generously of his time and money in its behalf. When he talks before ORT clubs, B’nai B’rith, the UJA, the Jewish National Fund fundraisers, or American Jewish Committee meetings, he speaks of what he knows best – his own Olympic experience and the importance of recognizing the accomplishments of Jewish athletes as acknowledgement of their ability to maintain themselves both as Americans and as Jews.”

Marty demonstrated this tie in many ways. During the early 1990s, he had discussions with Mayor Teddy Kollek about the feasibility of an international marathon in Jerusalem.

And as chairman of the Jewish Sports Congress, he helped to raise funds for a memorial to the eleven Israeli athletes massacred at the 1972 Munich Games that would be housed at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

His disappointment about Berlin in 1936 continued to haunt him. He recalled returning to Olympic Stadium in Berlin in 1985 as part of a tribute to Jesse Owens. Glickman was surprised by his reactions. He told historian Peter

Levine, “As I walked into the stadium, I began to get so angry. I began to get so mad. It shocked the hell out of me that this thing of 49 years ago could still evoke this anger…I was cussing...I was really amazed at myself, at this feeling of anger. Not about the Nazis…that was a given. But it was the anger at Avery Brundage and the coach, Dean Cromwell, for not allowing an eighteen-year-old kid to compete in the Olympic Games just because he was Jewish.”

He returned once more to the Olympic Stadium, in 1994, for a pre-season game involving the New York Giants. Sitting in the VIP box that Hitler and his entourage had occupied during the Olympic Games, he suddenly felt a sense of completion. “That anger ended for me, but I will never forget.”

Greg Vitiello is a New York-based writer and editor whose books include Eisenstaedt: Germany, Spoleto Viva, Joyce Images, and Crisis and Response (a history of Jewish philanthropy). A life-long sports fan, he was curator of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame at the Armory in Washington Heights.


Glickman (foreground) broadcasting a

New York Giants game.


FEATURE

FALL13_PBL_p16-18_v4.indd 2 11/19/13 8:18 PM

t his past summer, a distinguished group of AMIT principals, teachers, and administrators attended PBL World in Napa, California. PBL

World is the prestigious annual conference presented by the Buck Institute for Education. The conference is devoted exclusively to Project Based Learning (PBL), an innovative approach for teaching and learning in the 21st century.

What is Project Based Learning?

In Project Based Learning, students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. Rigorous projects help students learn key academic content and practice 21st Century skills, such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking.

Proponents of Project Based Learning cite numerous benefits to the implementation of these strategies in the classroom, including a greater depth of understanding of concepts, broader knowledge base, improved communication and interpersonal/social skills, enhanced leadership skills, increased creativity, and improved writing skills.

Project Based Learning emphasizes learning activities that are long-term, interdisciplinary and student-centered. Incorporated with the traditional teacher-led classroom program, project based learning infuses real-world problems that capture students’ interest and provoke serious thinking as they acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem- solving context.

The teacher plays the role of facilitator, working with students to frame worthwhile questions, structuring meaningful tasks, coaching both knowledge development and social skills, and carefully assessing what students have learned from the experience. Typical projects present a problem to solve, phenomenon to investigate or the development of a product or service.

Projects vary in length, from several days to several weeks or even a semester. PBL can be effective at all grade levels and subjects, and in career/technical education, afterschool and alternative programs. the Buck institute for education

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Novata, California, The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) is dedicated to improving 21st Century teaching and learning throughout the world by creating and disseminating products, practices and knowledge for effective Project Based Learning. BIE contributes to Project Based Learning through product development, services, research, and online learning. The 2014 PBL World, presented by BIE, will be held June 23-27, 2014.

By Robert E. Sutton

continued on pg. 18



continued from pg. 17

two aMit educators - their thoughts, experiences and what they gained from attending PBL World Michal Walter, physics teacher at AMIT

Atidim in Or Akiva

Q. What was your overall impression of the

PBL World conference?

a. It was very well organized and very thorough when it came to the programs and lectures. I especially liked the breakfast meetings where we met with teachers from around the world and discussed our diverse teaching methods.

Q. Which of the workshops was the most

helpful/educational?

a. PBL 101. The Central Workshop. I learned how a student responds when first being told of Project Based Learning. The additional information and the hands-on classes I attended at the workshop offered me a glimpse of what my students should anticipate during the implementation of a project.

Q. Which keynote speaker did you find

most interesting?

a. Steven Ritz. He’s a teacher from South Bronx, New York, who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn and earn in a better one. He showed numerous examples of students who were academic success stories – via Project Based Learning - and returned to live in their communities and be a positive force for change. His performance impressed me to such an extent that I hope to establish a similar mind-set at AMIT Atidim.

Michal Jacob, head of excellence in math and

science for the AMIT Reshet

Q. What was your overall impression of the

PBL World conference?

a. The conference was great. They didn’t just talk about Project Based Learning but actually demonstrated how it is done. They made sure that we experienced how it would feel to be in class.

Q. What did you learn from the conference?

a. The conference gave me many tools and methods to teach using the PBL method. It also taught me how to build a project and assess students’ work. It strengthened my

belief in PBL and showed me that the change is possible. The conference also gave me ideas for new projects, and the tools and methods to help me become a better teacher.

aMit adds Project Based Learning to the curriculum Mor Deshen, deputy director of R&D

and assessment

Q. When and in which aMit schools will

Project Based Learning be implemented?

a. Project Based Learning has been implemented at AMIT Atidim Junior and Senior High School in Or Akiva, Yeshivat AMIT Amichai in Rehovot, Ulpanat AMIT Bellows Noga in Beit Shemesh, and AMIT Wasserman Junior and Senior High School in Beersheva. Project Based Learning will initially be implemented in the sciences, and then expanded to other subjects.

AMIT Atidim also participates in the AMIT Network’s Innovation in Education project, which compliments PBL. And, at AMIT Bellows Noga, Project Based Learning is utilized in conjunction with the Trump Foundation Project that promotes excellence in mathematics and sciences.

Q. how will the teachers at aMit be trained?

a. Currently, there is PBL teacher-training at AMIT Amichai and at AMIT Modi’in. A group of elementary school principals are also participating in PBL training, so that PBL can be instituted in elementary schools as well as high schools. The teachers who attended PBL World are training other teachers and continuing their own PBL professional development – virtually – through the Buck Institute for Education website and remote conferencing.

Q. Will Project Based Learning be a central

part of the aMit curriculum?

a. AMIT strongly believes that PBL is one of the key disciplines to change the way students learn. We want to go from a “teacher speaks, students listen” to one in which students are actively engaged.

Q. how do the teachers benefit from Project

Based Learning and how did the Buck

institute of education help aMit?

a. PBL allows teachers to change their roles. They go from being the people who give information to being mentors who support the learning process.

The benefit of learning Project Based Learning from the Buck Institute for Education is that B.I.E. has the expertise in teaching Project Based Learning to teachers who come from traditional classrooms. This is what we liked about Project Based Learning, as well as their methods, organization, and structured practice sessions and materials (which have been translated into Hebrew).

Q. how has the Ministry of education reacted

to aMit’s Project Based Learning program?

a. There are those in the Ministry who claim that PBL takes a lot of time and thus teachers do not cover sufficient material. However, the Minister of Education is already speaking about flexibility and educational innovation.

As the vanguard for Project Based Learning in Israel, AMIT and its schools will be a showcase for the success of PBL and, hopefully it will be implemented as part of national curriculum.<

Robert E. Sutton is the editor in chief and creative director for AMIT magazine.

As the vanguard for

Project Based Learning

in Israel, AMIT and

its schools will be a

showcase for the success

of PBL and, hopefully

it will be implemented

as part of national

curriculum.


On erev Rosh Hashanah Ellen Koplow, z”l a devoted member of AMIT, passed away. Ellen was a woman whose personality and character were extraordinary. She was friendly, kind and generous. But beyond that she had an unsual quality that enabled her to empathize with every one of G-d’s creatures. All living things were worthy of her attention and deepest concern. There was no limit to the depth of her love that she showered on her family and friends.

Ellen was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and dear friend. She and her husband Meyer extended themselves wholeheartedly to members of their family who were in need of

a meal to eat, a place to stay, a holiday to celebrate and even a college education. Her honesty, her kindness and her zealousness as a friend and as a family member were not to be outdone. Her natural talents extended to her newly adopted bridge game, her grandparenting, cake and challah baking par excellence, crocheting baby blankets, and most of all, to cultivating friendships.

Ellen was dedicated to many causes to which she lent her name and expertise, but there was no cause closer to her heart than AMIT. She appreciated the value of education and how an excellent education can shape, elevate and fulfill a child’s dreams of the future. Each child was a precious soul full of potential. She was particularly proud of AMIT’s work in elevating the Bagrut (matriculation) scores of its pupils.

She set new standards for annual giving to AMIT through President’s Circle and through her father’s charitable fund, The Harvey Goodstein Foundation. Ellen and her family established the Harvey Goodstein Sports Complex at Kfar Batya, where the playing field is the scene for both competitive and non-competitive sports. Ellen recognized that through sports children are able to learn the values of cooperation and leadership, hard work and devotion to success, humility and good sportsmanship, all in addition to having just plain fun.

Ellen held many leadership positions at AMIT and was a member of the Board of Directors, where she is remembered for her insightful comments. Her modesty, generosity and kindness were an example to all. Ellen never sought credit or any recognition for her considerable work or financial contributions to AMIT. She merely enjoyed being a part of the wonder we call AMIT.

Her family and friends will miss her terribly. It was a blessing to know her. Her example caused every one of them to strive to be a better, kinder, more generous and loving person. She was a shaliach from Hashem. Her untimely passing is a loss to her family, friends, community, AMIT and the Jewish people.

Meyer Kaplow and Ellen, z”l

Ellen Koplow, z”l

Our mother, Ellen Koplow, was the epitome of a devoted parent, grandparent and friend. She spent hours taking care of all of us, helping us with anything that we needed and ensuring that we were happy and successful. Mom was just as devoted to AMIT and its mission. She tirelessly worked to ensure that AMIT was supported and successful. She cared for the children who went to AMIT schools, for the people who worked for AMIT and for the mission of AMIT. We miss our mother all the time, and we hope to follow in her footsteps with her devotion.

- Michael and Tovah Koplow, Jonathan andJennifer Koplow, Aliza Koplow and Joshua Goldberg

�

�FALL13_Koplow_p19_v8.indd 1 11/20/13 11:24 AM


HIGHLIGHTS AND SUCCESSES Because of your generous support, more than 26,000 students at over 108 AMIT schools and programs are being educated and nurtured within a framework of academic excellence, traditional Jewish values and Zionist ideals. Here are a few ways your generous gifts made a difference. And, did you know that an end-of-the-year donation to AMIT may help lower your taxes? Talk to your accountant or financial advisor and please use the attached envelope to send in your donation.

For more information visit www.amitchildren.org or call 212-477-4720.

CONGRATULATIONS TO AMIT BIENENFELD HEVRUTA YESHIVA STUDENTEliad Malin, a student at AMIT Bienenfeld Hevruta Yeshiva and Kollel, won second place for his photo entitled “It All Depends on Me” in a 2013 National Photography Contest sponsored by the Ministry of Education. In Hebrew, the title of the photo is Ayn HaDavar Talui Ela Bi. The word Talui has a double meaning in Hebrew; “hanging” and “depends on.” The theme of the contest was Outdoor Leadership, and photos were submitted from different schools throughout Israel.

“I feel that in life, my understanding that I am solely responsible for my circumstances leads me to take responsibility for myself and my surroundings,” said Eliad. “The young man hanging between sky and earth in my photograph illustrates that from the lowest place one can climb to the highest place.”

CAMP AMIT MODI’IN AMIT Modi’in eighth graders recently initiated and operated a unique week of summer camp for visually impaired children. The idea grew out of the school’s connection between its Leadership on Wheels program and a local organization, Peula, that assists visually impaired individuals. Assisted by adult professionals, AMIT Modi’in student counselors and the visually impaired campers were treated to a number of exciting attractions, including tandem bike riding, a “Master Chef” workshop, arts and crafts, and a day at an amusement park.

CAMP AMIT MODI’INAMIT Modi’in eighth graders recently initiated and operated a unique week of summer camp for visually impaired children. The idea grew out of the school’s connection between its Leadership on Wheels program and a local organization, Peula, that assists visually impaired individuals. Assisted by adult professionals, AMIT Modi’in student counselors and the visually impaired campers were treated to a number of exciting attractions, including tandem bike riding, a “Master Chef” workshop, arts and crafts, and a day at an amusement park.

AMIT GWEN STRAUS HIGH SCHOOL, KFAR BATYAAMIT Gwen Straus Junior and Senior Science High School for Boys, in collaboration with the Leket Israel organization, harvested vegetables for the needy before Yom Kippur. The students spent a full day of hard work in the vegetable fields of the northern village of Nahalal. Under the blazing sun, the students gathered vegetables that were delivered to over 1,000 needy families.

Rabbi Eran Strauss, principal of AMIT Gwen Straus, notes, “The strenuous field work for the needy in faraway Nahalal, and meeting with the Upper Nazareth social pioneers, go hand in hand with our educational goals: exposing our students to the needs of Israeli society and the importance of contributing to the community.”

FALL13_hghlghts_p20-21_v3.indd 2 11/19/13 8:49 PM

SUCCESSES By Cheryl Shaanan and Robert E. Sutton

AMIT SDE HEMED STUDENTS MEET WITHRABBI YISRAEL MEIR LAUFourth grade students at AMIT Sde Hemed Elementary School in Ma’ale Adumim met recently with Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.

The progression of events leading up to this visit started earlier in the school year, when students studied and researched the life story of Rabbi Lau. The students had admired the story of the boy nicknamed Lolik, the child Holocaust survivor who became Chief Rabbi of Israel. Students decided to write personal letters to the Rabbi to express their admiration – and invited him to visit them at their school in Ma’ale Adumim. Rabbi Lau read all of the letters and extended an invitation of his own – for the students to visit him at his office in Tel Aviv.

AMIT Sde Hemed school principal Shosh Reinitz shared her impressions of this fascinating encounter. “Students were thrilled and excited by their meeting with Rabbi Lau. Rabbi Lau demonstrated most clearly for them the miraculous transition from the Holocaust to the founding of the State of Israel.”

FIRST PLACE TO AMIT KIRYATMALACHI STUDENTCongratulations to Avichai Teganya, a seventh grade student at AMIT Kiryat Malachi Junior and Senior High School. Avichai placed first in the Ministry of Education Southern Regional Judaic Studies Competition. Representatives from 13 schools demonstrated their knowledge – and competed against one another – on mitzvoth, famous Jewish personalities and Jewish holidays.

“I’m very excited,” said Avichai. “I’m glad for the opportunity to be a representative of AMIT and to bring honor to my school.”

SUMMER OF CHESED AT ULPANAT AMIT GIVAT SHMUELStudents at Ulpanat AMIT Givat Shmuel may have been on summer vacation, but their chesed activities in the community continued. At the initiative of the school administration, students met once a week for various chesed activities in their own community and in other cities. This past August, the girls volunteered at an organization in Bnei Brak, diligently sorting and packing fruit and vegetables for delivery to needy families.

SUMMER OF Students at Ulpanat AMIT Givat Shmuel may have been on summer vacation, but their initiative of the school administration, students met once a week for various This past August, the girls volunteered at an organization in Bnei Brak, diligently sorting and packing fruit and vegetables for delivery to needy families.


FALL13_hghlghts_p20-21_v3.indd 3 11/19/13 8:49 PM

Will they care? Will they commit? Will they give? These are questions every Jewish organization is asking about today’s Generation Y (See “NextGen Donors: The

Future of Jewish Giving,” a major study issued in early August that has generated much attention in the press and elsewhere).

AMIT, has successfully grappled with this issue, approaching it from a somewhat unique angle. The organization’s base in the United States was, until recently, composed primarily of women in their 50s to 70s who passionately support the AMIT Network of schools and programs in Israel. The network, known for its educational excellence and innovation, serves over 26,000 of Israeli children, including more than 100 foster children who reside in its flagship AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled in Jerusalem.

In September 2007, AMIT welcomed its first class to Midreshet AMIT, a program for post high school young women who wish to spend a year studying in Israel before college. Midreshet AMIT is located on the grounds of Frisch Beit Hayeled, and in addition to engaging in their own Jewish studies, the students regularly interact with the Beit Hayeled children, tutoring them, playing with them, taking them on trips and generally acting as “big sisters” for the year.

While the program’s primary purpose is to provide the Midreshet AMIT students with a unique year combining intensive Judaic studies with a true experience of chesed – together with enriching the lives of the foster children, many of whom come from extremely troubled backgrounds – AMIT derives an additional benefit which the leadership has nurtured and cultivated to great success.

The first class of Midreshet AMIT students returned home ready to begin their college careers, fully committed to AMIT. The young women were inspired by their year

in Jerusalem working with the Beit Hayeled children, experiencing on a daily basis the impact of AMIT in Israel. They bonded strongly and emotionally with the little boys and girls with whom they had lived for a year and would not abandon them nor let them down.

The leadership of AMIT recognized that these young women were a different breed of volunteer. They had been living on their own in Israel, would need to “do their own thing,” and would want to feel a sense of ownership over their efforts.

In 2009, with the full support of the AMIT Board of Directors, the AMIT Future Leaders Initiative (AFLI) was born.

“The AMIT Future Leaders Initiative,” explained Elana Loeffler Grauer, AFLI co-founder and currently mentor to the group, “is one of the only branches of a Jewish nonprofit organization that is reaching out to college students. Becoming a part of this new effort gave me the ability to do something for the children of AMIT who need our help.”


The AMIT Future Leaders Initiative is one of the only branches of a Jewish non-profit organization that is reaching out to college students.

by Debbie Isaac and Barbara Goldberg

This article first appeared on eJewishPhilanthropy.com

AFLI

Yom Ha’atzmaut Social

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The Board of AFLI is composed largely of graduates of Midreshet AMIT (Ms. Grauer was a member of the inaugural class), plus other young people – including men – who have become active in the organization. The Board independently decides on its projects and activities, both in terms of programs and fundraising, instilling in its members a true sense of empowerment in terms of their role within AMIT.

Every aspect of what has become AFLI’s signature fundraiser, its Annual Yom Ha’Atzmaut Social, as well as its other events, is planned by its Board and members, with support from the AMIT professional staff. The Board votes upon which AMIT project to designate as the recipient of the funds raised each year (AFLI has raised approximately $145,000 since its inception) and there are now plaques at AMIT schools in Israel heralding AFLI’s efforts. In choosing the specific project they wish to fund, AFLI members can see exactly where their money is going and its impact on the students of AMIT.

When each Midreshet AMIT class returns from Israel in August, it is immediately invited to a meeting with the Board of AFLI at the organization’s National Office. Added to the mix are the high school graduates who are about to leave for Midreshet AMIT that same month. The enthusiasm of the returning class, the excitement of the incoming class and the commitment of the AFLI Board combine into a potent brew that ensures the group’s future. AFLI members currently attend New York University, Columbia College, Queens College, Hunter, FIT, Barnard, Stern College for Women, Yeshiva College, the University of Maryland, Touro College and others.

The challenge now is for AMIT to spread AFLI beyond the New York metropolitan area. Because graduates of Midreshet AMIT largely fuel AFLI and also tend to congregate in colleges and universities in the New York area, it has proven difficult to duplicate AFLI in other parts of the country. But doing so is on the AMIT agenda. <

Debbie Isaac is the president of AMIT; Barbara Goldberg is the director of communications. To learn more about AMIT, visit amitchildren.org

Attracting the College-Age to Organized Jewish Life: A Case Study

AFLI Bowl Participants

Yom Ha’atzmaut Social

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DVAR TORAH

Inever met my paternal grandfather, Rabbi Elazar Mushkin, after whom I was named. He died five years before I was born, and I was born on the anniversary

date of his burial. But I felt from earliest childhood that my grandfather was present, teaching me the values that helped shape my life.

My grandfather was an outstanding Torah scholar. He was ordained at the famous Slobodka Yeshiva in Lithuania from where he immigrated to the United States with his parents and siblings around 1910. He served as a rabbi in Chicago for forty years, where he was respected as one of the leading Torah scholars of the city. He was a prolific author who published widely in Torah journals, and he was one of the founders of the Chicago Yeshiva.

One of the most important aspects of my grandfather’s legacy was his commitment to Religious Zionism. This commitment affected my family and inspired my father and his siblings. So important was Israel in my grandfather’s life that, during the 1920’s, he purchased a parcel of land in N’Vai Yaakov, north of Jerusalem, at the

behest of his good friend, Rabbi Meir Berlin. At that time the Mizrachi movement had built a synagogue in N’Vai Yaakov, and I guess my grandfather thought that if he would move to Israel, this would be a good place to settle. Although he never was able to realize this dream, when my parents attempted Aliyah in 1949, he gave them the deed to that parcel of land. Unfortunately they soon found out that north Jerusalem was under Jordanian occupation, and at that point in time, their deed was worthless. After the Six Day War, my grandmother, who was a lifetime leader in AMIT, tried to validate her deed, but this time the State of Israel itself intervened. Under the power of eminent domain, it had claimed the land for an army base. My grandmother received a little compensation but not the ownership of my grandfather’s dream. But I inherited a copy of that deed that I cherish to this day.

This story kept reverting in my mind as I read my grandfather’s commentary on the Bible, Hadat V’Hachayim, in which he explains the biblical prayer, the Shema. My grandfather noted that the second portion of the Shema

Lessons My Grandfather Taught

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By Rabbi Elazar Mushkin

begins in the plural with the words, “And you (plural) are to teach them to your children.” But suddenly in mid-stream the verse turns to the singular tense and declares, “When you sit at home, and when you journey on the road, and when you go to sleep, and when you rise.”

Why the switch of tenses? My grandfather answered that the verse reflects the true reality of Jewish education. On the one hand the verse begins with the plural, representing the community’s responsibility to insure that educational institutions exist in a community. So important is this aspect of communal life that the Talmud powerfully warns every community not to fail in this realm, “And Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yehudah Nesiah, ‘I have received the following tradition from my fathers, any town in which there are no school children studying Torah is eventually destroyed.’ Ravina said: It is eventually annihilated (Shabbat 119b).”

But the community is only one partner in education. The Torah switches from plural to singular to tell us that the other partner must be the parent. Each Jew must be an educator. The community can build wonderful educational institutions, but it can’t by itself instill the love of our

heritage, and in particular the love of Israel. Parents must impart to their children the stories that will create the bond between them and the Land of Israel and they must encourage direct involvement in helping Israel.

It is such parental involvement that I believe has led to an increase of American orthodox students from our communities who, after a year of learning, are now remaining in Israel, volunteering in many organizations, and enlisting in the IDF. When we supplement the community’s job of instilling the love of the State of Israel with parental involvement, we impart the emotional connection that transforms our youth. My grandfather taught me that lesson many years before I was even born, and it still resonates with my family to this very day. <

Rabbi Elazar Muskin is the senior rabbi of Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles, California, and a national vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America.

Lessons My Grandfather Taught Me


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DEVELOPMENT NEWS

This past September over 250 people attended the 2013 AMIT Israel Annual Dinner, which was held at the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel. This year’s theme was

“Leaders Creating Leaders.” Four families of AMIT members and the professional staff were honored for their dedication and service to AMIT:

- Reva Friedman, AMIT Israel Executive Committee member, and her daughter, Bruria, graduate of AMIT Renanim Junior and Senior Science and Technology High School for Girls.

- Judy Isaacson, AMIT life member and past member of the Israel Executive Committee and her daughter, Michal, graduate of AMIT Gould Junior and Senior High School for Girls in Rehovot and currently in a post-doctorate program at MIT in Boston.

- Lior Omesi, senior deputy director for finance and information systems for the AMIT Network and his daughter, Hadar, who is in her second year of National Service at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled in Jerusalem.

- Asher and Lenore Schapiro, past member of the AMIT Israel Executive Committee and board member of AMIT Chug Ayelet, and their grandson, Eli, graduate of Yeshivat AMIT Nachshon in Mateh Yehudah and a student at AMIT Hesder Yeshiva in Kfar Batya.

The evening included a series of short films by Judith Schwed-Lion and Arleen Eidelman. The films highlighted the honorees and Dr. Amnon Eldar, director general of the AMIT Network. Dr. Herman Weiss, husband of Dinner Chair Mia Weiss, was the master of ceremonies and the d’var Torah was eloquently delivered by David Schapiro. Alumni of AMIT Bienenfeld Hevruta Yeshiva and Kollel at Kfar Batya provided the musical entertainment and the exquisitely designed dinner journal was produced by Barbara and Marvin Wachspress.

AMIT Israel annual dinnerby ellen hellman

The Omesi family including Lior(second from left) and Hadar (third from right)

(l-r) Gita Koppel,Bibsi Zuckerbrot

Barbara and Marvin Wachspress

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Sarah Shane

Mia and Herman

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Yaffi and Yoseph Shmidman

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Rahel Rogers,Judy Isaacson

David Schapiro

Hadar and Lior Omesi

Alumni of AMIT Bienenfeld Hevruta Yeshiva and Kollel providing musical entertainment

Standing (l-r): Cliff and Minna Felig, Mia and Herman Weiss,David and Shira Koppel. Sitting (l-r): Michael and Ruth Sager,David and Bibsi Zuckerbrot

(l-r) Lenore Schapiro and her grandson,Eli Schapiro

(l-r) Micheline Ratzersdorfer,

Dr. Amnon Eldar

(l-r) Zelda Berger,Judith Schwed-Lion

Lenore and Asher Schapiro (seated) and their family

(l-r) Rabbi Avinoam Almagor, Eli Nisenholtz

David SchapiroDavid Schapiro


chicago, ilChicago’s Annual Mother-in-Israel Brunch was held on July 28th at Shallot’s Bistro. We were honored to have Sarah Isaacs, 2013 Midreshet AMIT graduate, speak of her phenomenal year studying and performing chesed at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled. Sarah emphasized the importance of the work AMIT does to change the lives of so many children.

Our mother and daughter/daughter-in-law teams were Corinne Cutler and Ilene Cutler, and Elaine Stein and Suzy Nussbaum. Entertainment was provided by Caryn Bark.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

(l-r) Beth Alter,Suzi Nussbaum,Corinne Cutler,Ilene Cutler

Sarah Isaacs

(l-r) Gayle Lewis, Sara Csillag, Roni Blinder

(l-r) Ester Glenn, Tove Bamberger, Elaine Jacobs, Malki Aaron

(l-r) Melanie Sosland, Lindsay Setton,Aimee Ciment, Lisa Schechter, Ellin Orlinsky, Daniela Gontownik, Beth Lipschitz

(l-r) Diane Katzenstein, Talia Schabes,Ayelet Schabes,Annette Schabes

mother-in-israel events

englewood, njOn June 11th AMIT supporters gathered to attend Englewood’s Shalva Chai Mother-in-Israel Evening. Ayelet Schabes, an offi cer of the AMIT Future Leaders Initiative Board, was this year’s deserving honoree. The evening’s theme was beauty, health and wellness, featuring presentations by dermatologist Dr. Michele Grodberg, makeup artist Esther Joszef, and personal trainer/holistic health and wellness coach Rachel Miller.

(l-r) Nomi Fischman, Alyson Small, Tal Brandwein,

Rivka Gertzulin

(l-r) Diane Katzenstein,

(l-r) (l-r) Gayle Lewis, Sara Csillag, Roni Blinder28 :: Fall 2013 :: AMIT MAGAZINE

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Beth Alter, Suzi Nuss-baum, Corinne Cutler, Ilene Cutler

teaneck, njThe AMIT Hindy Weinstock/Geula Chapter of Greater Teaneck, together with the Alisa Chapter of West Orange and AMIT of Rockland County, co-hosted a Mother-in-Israel event at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck, NJ. The featured speaker was Allison Josephs, founder of the Orthodox outreach organization, “Jew in the City.” She described how her organization is breaking down stereotypes about religious Jews and offering a humorous, meaningful look into Orthodox Judaism.

Connie Kadish and Debbi Krantzow chaired the event. Co-chairs included Donna Hoenig, Reva Judas, Sara Kosowsky, Karin Slaten and Rose Strauss of Teaneck, Hattie Dubroff, Jennifer Kurlander, Dorene Richman and Jamie Twersky of West Orange, and Tammy Schaum, Deanne Shapiro, Tamar Schwalb and Suzanne Weilgus of Rockland County.

(l-r) Sheryl Adler, Reva Judas

(l-r) Dorri Goldman,Shira Reiz, Anna Chosak,Sharon Kessel, Hattie Dubroff

(l-r)Shira Reiz, Anna Chosak,Sharon Kessel, Hattie Dubroff

silver spring, md On Sunday evening, June 2nd, the AMIT Birah Chapter of Greater Washington, D.C., held its Annual Mother-in-Israel event, Cooking Demo with Leah Koenig! Leah demonstrated savory recipes from her most recent book, New Hadassah Everyday Cookbook: Daily Meals for the Contemporary Jewish Kitchen.

Donna Lawrence, Elana Stein and Alana Isenberg recreated the demo recipes for the guests to enjoy.

(l-r) Sharona Rozmaryn, Leah Koenig, Joan Betesh, Felice Grunberger

(l-r) Elana Stein,Miriam Friedman

(l-r) Hope Taragin, Miriam Friedman, Alana Isenberg, Donna Lawrence, Leah Koenig, Elana Stein

the fi ve towns, nyErika and Jaclyn Zauderer of Woodmere, NY, and graduates of Midreshet AMIT were honored at the AMIT Generations-in-Israel Luncheon, sponsored by AMIT’s Sabra and Masada Chapters. The luncheon took place at The Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, NY. Rebbitzin Ruchie Axelrod was the guest speaker.

The luncheon marked the fi fth anniversary of Midreshet AMIT, which has established itself as one of the fi nest “year in Israel” programs for young women.

Erika and Jaclyn are part of a fi ve-generation AMIT family. They are the daughters of Stefanie and Zvi Zauderer, granddaughters of Eudice Zauderer Rohinsky and the late Moshe Zauderer, z”l, granddaughters of Barbara and Harvey Kuritzky and great-granddaughters of Hilde Zauderer and the late Ben Zauderer, z”l.

(l-r) Jaclyn Zauderer, Hilde Zauderer, Erika Zauderer

(Back row l-r) Jennifer Schechter, Jaclyn Zauderer, Stefanie Zauderer, Barbara Kuritzky, Eudice Zauderer Rohinsky, Shira Kuritzky; (Front row l-r) Elizabeth Schechter, Erik Zauderer, Tamar Kuritzky

(Back row l-r) Brenda Kalter,Debbie Isaac, Zipporah Marans(Front row l-r) Jaclyn Zauderer, Erika Zauderer, Stephanie Zauderer

(l-r) Hope Taragin, Miriam Friedman,

(l-r) Erika Zauderer

(l-r) Rose Strauss, Karin Slaten


DEVELOPMENT NEWS


englewood kids day out! On a beautiful fall day during Chol Ha’moed Sukkot, Englewood families gathered at the East Hill Synagogue sukkah in support of AMIT. The kidswere treated to a fun morning complete with a bouncy house, obstacle course, face painting, balloon art, cotton candy and crafts. All who attended left with a big smile!

englewoodOn a beautiful fall day during gathered at the East Hill Synagoguewere treated to a fun morning complete with a bouncy house, obstacle course, face painting, balloon art, cotton candy and crafts. All who attended left with a big smile!

englewood kids day out! englewood

(l-r) Grant Silverstein, Amy Kohen

(l-r) Esther Hollander, Judith Kaplan

(l-r) Yoni and Jill Ellman, Corinne Madonna

(l-r) Sara Zausmer, Philip Morrow

summer in the cityThis August, at a private Upper East Side location sponsored by Odeon Capital, the AMIT Young Leadership gathered for a BBQ in perfect summer weather. Guests were treated to great food, summer cocktails and Lost Tribe craft beers. The event’s proceeds were earmarked for AMIT’s upcoming Frisch Beit Hayeled and Kfar Blatt Renovation Campaign.

(l-r) Yoni and Jill Ellman, Corinne Madonna

(l-r) Cara and Rob Greenberg, Michael Rosman, David Hess

(l-r) Sara Zausmer, Philip Morrow


an evening with daniel silvaThis past summer, over 200 supporters of AMIT had the pleasure of attending an evening with the New York Times Best Selling author Daniel Silva. In a question and answer format, moderated by Ari Goldman, Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, donors were treated to a preview of Silva’s new novel, The English Girl, another chapter in the continuing saga of his hero, Gabriel Allon, an art restorer, former Mossad agent, assassin and destroyer of terrorists. Mr. Silva took us through his writing process which includes in-depth research, interviews with members of various intelligence communities, and extensive travel to the many locales that Gabriel Allon inhabits. Silva, who was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 2009, is quick to point out that his books are fi ction, “fi rst and foremost a piece of entertainment.” But he acknowledges that many of his beliefs fi nd their way into the pages.

Prior to the Q&A, President’s Circle members were treated to a private book-signing reception with the author.

(l-r) Daniel Silva, Deanne andLeonard Shapiro

(l-r) Daniel Silva, Naomi Kadish, Connie Kadish

(l-r) Debbie Isaac, Daniel Silva,

Ari Goldman

(l-r) Daniel Silva, Heshe Seif

(l-r) Bea Peyser, Suzy Peyser

(l-r) Debbie Moed,Daniel Silva, Debbie Isaac

(l-r) Susan Klaperman, Beth Alter

Esther Hollander, Judith Kaplan

(l-r) Beth Alter

(l-r) Deanne andLeonard Shapiro

(l-r) Barbara Rascoff, Shira Dicker, Hedda Rudoff

(l-r) Daniel Silva, Miriam andFelix Glaubach

(l-r) Etella and Haim Marcovici,

Brenda Kalter



DEVELOPMENT NEWS

july 4th bbqAMIT co-sponsored LA’s largest July 4th event for Jewish young adults. Over three hundred people mixed and mingled at an Independence Day celebration in Beverly Hills. A DJ, magician, all you can eat BBQ and beer as well as kosher astrology were the featured entertainment of the afternoon gathering.

The Guys enjoying the gorgeous LA weather

(l-r) Eliana Lev, Miri Breitstein, Linda Miriam

discovering a world of treasures This past summer, Sharon and Elie Gindi opened their home to AMIT, as we welcomed home Eliana Porgess, who had just returned from a year at Midreshet AMIT. We also wished Rachel Gindi a bon voyage and b’hatzlacha for her year abroad studying at Midreshet AMIT and performing chesed with the children in our care.

The second highlight of the evening was the introduction of world renowned appraiser, Ed Morris, distinguished president of Duveen & Edwards (featured appraisers on the HGTV series “If These Walls Could Talk” and TLC’s “My Collection Obsession”). Ed appraised the art, jewelry, gems and personal collectibles of our AMIT members.

AMIT guests also enjoyed a delicious dessert reception and a boutique sale.

(l-r) Michal Taviv-Margolese, Miriam Libo, Susie Porgess and Liz Klibanoff

(l-r) Heidi Bogin-Oshin, Talia Gold, Mushki Boteach

(l-r) Eliana, Susie and Sam Porgess

Rachel Gindi,Sophia Levine

(l-r) Heidi Bogin-Oshin, Talia

(l-r) Esti Levine,Sharon Gindi(event host),

Carol Reich

(l-r) Shelley Skandrani, Ran Dee

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(l-r) Alyssa, David and Jacques Semmelman

Decorative Arts Studio

dedication for esther semmelman, z”l On Sunday, September 29, 2013, the Semmelman family had the opportunity to visit the AMIT Beatrice and Irving Stone Meysharim School in Shoham to dedicate the decorative arts studio in memory of Esther Semmelman, z”l.

A lifelong member of AMIT, Esther was active in her local chapter and was a founding member of the NewGen Board. She worked tirelessly on behalf of AMIT to further its mission. Her passion, engaging smile and endless optimism imbued her life and touched everyone whom she met. Her strong interest in the arts, her talent and her love of children inspired the dedication of the beautiful decorative arts studio by her family, the Semmelman, Reich, Holzer and Shields families as a meaningful tribute to Esther’s life. The students at this school, who face many developmental challenges, are able to work and produce an array of beautiful ceramic and Jewish ritual objects which they sell to the community for a profi t.

The dedication was attended by her husband, Jacques Semmelman, and their two children, David and Alyssa. Many family members also attended to honor the memory of Esther, z”l

(l-r) Jacques, David and Alyssa Semmelman

The dedication was attended by her husband, Jacques Semmelman, and their two children, David and Alyssa. Many family members also attended to honor the memory of Esther,

Decorative Arts Studio

sy kraut tribute This past spring, Hebrew College in Newton, MA, was the setting as more than seventy people attended a memorial tribute to Sy Kraut, z”l, ardent AMIT supporter. Sondra Sokal eloquently spoke about Sy and what he brought to AMIT and to those who knew him.

Sy became involved with AMIT as a result of his lovely wife Rochelle’s passion and involvement. While on an AMIT mission he “saw our facilities and the faces of our beautiful children,” according to Rochelle and was hooked. He contributed and encouraged others to do so as well. Sy was as much a fi xture at New England AMIT activities as was Rochelle. In the last years of his life he was devoted to the AMIT TopTech initiative. As a chemical engineer for GE/Honeywell for many years, he appreciated the importance of technology. A Smart Classroom has been dedicated in his memory.

Those present enjoyed a presentation of the fi lm Hava Nagila. It was good to remember Sy and to have Rochelle in our midst while doing so.

Sy Kraut, z”l, and hiswife Rochelle




DEVELOPMENT NEWSsukkot AMITzvah eventThis Chol Ha’moed Sukkot, a group of dedicated families visiting from the U.S. gathered at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled to put together winter packages for the children of AMIT. They decorated snowman cookies, made paper snowfl ake cut-outs, colored winter greeting cards, and packaged these together with hats, gloves, and tissues. The families had a great time and felt good about how they had spent their vacation. Motti Asraf, the director of Beit Hayeled, was thrilled to receive the packages for the children.

Winter greeting cardsWinter greeting cards

Snowman cookies

a fall night in washington, dcOn a lovely October evening, AMIT Birah Chapter of Greater Washington, DC, held its Annual Membership Event, Revitalizing Jewish Communities, with featured guest speakers- Rabbi Uri and Dr. Dahlia Topolosky. The event was held at the lovely home of Fran and George Wollner.

The guests were moved by the Topolosky’s inspirational message regarding making a difference in people’s lives and communities. Uri and Dahlia spoke about their experience when they moved to New Orleans where they helped rebuild the Jewish community after Hurricane Katrina. Dahlia shared her memories of attending AMIT meetings with her grandmother and her time studying and volunteering at Beit Hayeled. Felice Grunberger, longtime AMIT leader, spoke passionately about the history of AMIT and the impact it has in Israel.

Elana Stein and Alana Isenberg, Birah Chapter’s young talent, cut large colorful pumpkins and elegantly set the table with baked treats.

Fall 2013 :: AMIT MAGAZINE

elegantly set the table with baked treats.

(l-r) Dr. Dahlia Topolosky and Rabbi Uri Topolosky

(l-r) Alana Isenberg, Elana Stein

(l-r)and Rabbi Uri Topolosky

Roz Bramson

(l-r) Alana Isenberg,

Fran Wollner

(l-r) Benji, Stacey, David and Hannah Kanbar

(l-r) Josh, Shira, Ahron, and Ammi Dorevitch

Creating wintergreeting cards


jonathan fi shman - On September 22, 2013, Jonathan Fishman hosted a tennis tournament to raise funds to buy sports equipment for his AMIT Bar Mitzvah twin Naveh’s school as well as for Naveh’s Bar Mitzvah celebration in Israel. The tournament, held at La Cienega Courts in Beverly Hills, CA, was a huge success with (fi ttingly) thirteen teams participating. Jonathan, a seventh grader at Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles, was one of the winners of the tournament. Jonathan wants to thank all who donated and participated to help this important cause.

mimi leifer - This past May, Mimi Leifer of Lawrence, NY, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah along with her AMIT twin Hadas. Hadas is a student at the AMIT Harel Elementary School in Kiryat Malachi. Mimi, who is a student at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, gathered her friends and created Shavout gift bags for Hadas and the students in Israel. Included with all the goodies was a beautifully ornate machzor. As a thank you, Hadas and her classmates designed charming bookmarks for Mimi and her friends. For Mimi and Hadas, the exchange of gifts added special meaning to this year’s Shavuot holiday.

AMIT twinnings (l-r) Annabelle Muller and her twin Meitar

(l-r) Michael and Gabby Muller standing in front of their daughter Annabelle (left) and her twin Meitar

Jonathan servesJonathan Fishman hosted a tennis tournament to raise funds to buy sports equipment for his AMIT Bar Mitzvah twin Naveh’s school as well as for Naveh’s Bar Mitzvah celebration in Israel. The tournament, held at La Cienega Courts in Beverly Hills, CA, was a huge success with (fi ttingly) thirteen teams participating. Jonathan, a seventh grader at Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles, was one of the winners of the tournament. Jonathan wants to thank all who donated and participated to help this important cause.

Mimi Leifer holding a machzor

Mimi Leifer (2nd from left) with her friends and teacher Yael Axelrod (far right)

annabelle muller - This past September, Annabelle Muller of Woodmere, NY, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled in Jerusalem. Annabelle was twinned with an AMIT student named Meitar. The two became close friends and together with other children from AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled they participated in a special art project designing beaded decorations for the Beit Hayeled sukkah.


For expanded coverage of this event log onto: www.amitchildren.orgDEVELOPMENT NEWS

AMIT BROADWAY FANTASY CAMP“PIPPIN”Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 12:00 PM

A NIGHT OF ISRAELI CINEMAwith AMITSaturday, February 8, 2014 at 7:30 PMTribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, New York, NY

For more information contact Robin Rothbort at 212-477-4725or [email protected]

SAVE THE DATE!

the stella testa scholars fundWith the opening of the Bar-Ilan Medical School in Tzfat, the AMIT schools in Tzfat began a new program involving medical studies. In collaboration with the Bar-Ilan Medical School in Tzfat, this innovative program, “Flowers of Medicine,” will expose AMIT students to the world of medical sciences. The program is very demanding and only those AMIT students who achieve academic excellence and have the necessary discipline will be placed in “Flowers of Medicine.” As one can imagine, the additional costs to AMIT are substantial.

For this reason, The Sephardic Temple Chapter of AMIT in Cedarhurst, NY, recently honored Stella Testa at its Annual Luncheon and Garden Party. Stella is a long time member and supporter of AMIT. She was one of the founders of the chapter and has supported and attended nearly every function and now, Stella has made a very generous donation to the “Flowers of Medicine” program. The Stella Testa Scholars Fund will help AMIT students begin their path in the fi eld of medicine and enable them to make a most meaningful contribution to the State of Israel. The Stella Testa Scholars Fund has been established by Stella in memory of her husband, Abraham Testa, z”l, and in memory of her daughters, Rachel (Ronnie), z”l and Marna, z”l.

We want to thank Stella Testa and her family for this magnanimous gift which will benefi t AMIT students for generations to come.

Stella Testa with her daughterDena Testa Bray (far right), son-in-law

Alan Bray and granddaughterIsabel Bray.

Stella Testa


spanning AMIT worldChicago - This past summer, the Eleanor Greenberg/Galila Chapter of AMIT in Chicago celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the lovely home of Judy Millstein. Over sixty AMIT supporters reminisced about the many fashion shows, bake sales, picnics, auctions, published cook books, Mother-in-Israel events, and scholarship dinners. Since 1963 the chapter has raised over $2,000,000 for AMIT projectsin Israel.

Members of the AMIT Eleanor Greenberg/Galila Chapter

Jerusalem - Chug Ayelet and The Devorah Masovetsky Jerusalem Chug were honored to have MK Rabbi Dov Lipman speak at the opening of the 5774 General Meeting. During his talk, “Unity in Israel: No Longer a Dream,” Rabbi Lipman mentioned that many of the women in his family are AMIT members and he is continually being updated on AMIT educational programs and chesed projects.

MK Dov Lipman

Cleveland - This past July, the Cleveland Chapter of AMIT had an invigorating and inspiring “Yoga Under the Stars” event. Over thirty members gathered in the beautiful outdoors, where Karen Moracco, an experienced Yoga instructor, led a challenging yoga class. After the class, the participants were “rewarded” with healthy protein bars, beer and homemade s‘mores cooked on an open fi re.

A bit of yoga in Cleveland

Statement of Ownership, Management & Circulation(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)1. Title of publication: AMIT Magazine. 2. Publication No. 594020. 3. Date of Filing: 10-16-2013. 4. Frequency of issue: Quarterly-Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. 5. No. of issues published annually: 4. 6. Annual subscription price: $1.50 included in annual membership dues. 7. Complete mailing address of known offi ce of publication: 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-4761. 8. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business offi ces or publisher: 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-4761. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher: AMIT, 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-4761. Managing Editor: Robert E. Sutton, 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-4761. 10. Owner: AMIT, 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-4761. 11. Known bondholders, mortgages and other security holders owning or holding one percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12. The purpose, function and nonprofi t status of this organization and the exempt status for Federal income tax purposes, has not changed during the preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: AMIT Magazine. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Fall 2013. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: in each set of fi gures below, the fi rst refers to average no. of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months, and the second refers to actual no. of copies of the single issue published nearest to fi ling date: a. Total no. of copies: 38,780; 47,050. b. Paid Circulation (by mail and outside mail): (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 36,780; 45,050. (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions: None; None. (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: None; None. (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS: None; None. c. Total Paid Distribution: 38,780; 45,050. d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: (1)Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: 1,500; 1,500. (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: None; None. (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS: none; none (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means): 500; 500. e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: 2,000; 2,000 f. Total Distribution: 38,780; 47,050 g. Copies Not Distributed: None; None. h. Total: 38,780; 45,050. i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 94.8%; 94.8%. 16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Required: winter 2014. 17. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Robert E. Sutton, Managing Editor

Ra’anana - Adina Straus together with her son Josh, recently visited the AMIT Gwen Straus Junior and Senior Science High School in Ra’anana. The school is dedicated in memory of her mother.

(Left) Adina Straus and her son Josh

(Right) Plaque honoring the Straus family for theirgenerous support of AMIT


As a parent and a long time devoted AMIT donor, I know how important a good education is to the development of children. Many of the 25,000 students at AMIT in Israel do not have the advantages that our own children enjoy and which we may easily take for granted.

President’s Circle gifts provide the foundation upon which our net-work of schools is built. These annual gifts are sustaining funds that we rely on to support our excellent programs. In order to guarantee the continuation of programs which nurture Israel’s children and instill within them strong values and academic excellence, we rely on our members whose annual donation ensure Israel’s future by providing these opportunities. All successful endeavors require a strong foundation. Please join me. The circle will not be complete without you.

Co-Chairs: Brenda Kalter and Deena Shiff

For further information regardingPresident’s Circle, please contact Robin Rothbort

at 212-477-4725, 1-800-989-AMIT (2647), oremail [email protected].

$100,000+ Mollie Baller, z”l, FL

Debbie and David Isaac, NY

Ellen, z”l, and Meyer Koplow, NY

Matanel Foundation, Luxembourg

Barbara and Jules Nordlicht, NY

Dahlia Kalter Nordlicht and Mark Nordlicht, NY

Robyn Price Stonehill and David Stonehill, NY

Ellen and Stanley Wasserman, NY

$75,000 - $99,999Laurie and Eli Bryk, NY

$50,000 - $74,999Joan and Shael Bellows, IL

Hadassah and Marvin Bienenfeld, NY

Suzanne and Jacob Doft, NY

Eric Herschmann, NJ

Ellen and Emanuel Kronitz, Israel

Leon and Gloria, Edward, Sari and Howard Miller, NY

Ingeborg Petranker, z”l, CA

Harriet and Heshe Seif, NJ

Adina Straus, NY

Joyce and Daniel Straus, NJ

Zahava and Moshael Straus, NJ

Bethia Straus-Quintas and Paul Quintas, IL


Ike, Molly and Steven Elias Foundation, NY

Michele and Ben Jacobs, NY

$25,000 - $35,999Anonymous, NY

Anonymous, Israel

Thelma, z”l, and Harvey Berger, MA

Mozes Borger, Israel

Sherry and Neil Cohen, NY

Michael Foley, NY

Mitzi Golden, NY

Harwit Charitable Trust, CA

Mildred and Alvin Hellerstein, NY

Brenda and Albert Kalter, NY

Stacey and David Kanbar, NY

Gitta and Richard Koppel, Israel

Millie and Lawrence Magid, NY

Debbie and Samuel Moed, NJ

Micheline and Marc Ratzersdorfer, Israel

Shari and Jacob M. Safra, NY

Shirley and Morris Trachten, FL

$18,000 - $24,999Nicole Schreiber Agus and Raanan Agus, NY

Sara Beren, z”l OH

Jewel and Ted Edelman, NY

Pnina and Jacob Graff, CA

Amy and Jimmy Haber, NY

Russell Jay Hendel, MD

Sarah Liron and Sheldon Kahn, CA

Amy and Todd Kesselman, NY

Sharon and Solomon Merkin, NJ

Adrianne and Avi Shapira, NY

Marilyn and Herbert Smilowitz, NJ

Carrie and Ilan Stern, NY

Trudy and Stanley Stern, NY

An Invitation To Join Me In

President’s Circle

AMIT • BUILDIN

G IS

RA

E

L • ONE CHILD

AT

A T

IME

•

FALL13_pres_circle_p38-39_v2.indd 2 11/19/13 8:37 PM

Anonymous, IsraelAnonymous, Israel

Anonymous, FLAnonymous, MAAnonymous, NYAnonymous, NY

Anonymous, SwitzerlandLeah and Jonathan Adler, NJ

Ann and Hy Arbesfeld, NY Rachel and Martin Balsam, NY

Yael Balsam, NYLee and Louis Benjamin, NY

Tamar and Ethan Benovitz, NYBea Berger, NJ

Vivian and Stanley Bernstein, NYDahlia and Arthur Bilger, CA

Laurie Bilger and Eli Epstein, NYSandra and Howard Blank, NJ

Devorah and Melvyn Bleiberg, NYSari and Stuart Braunstein, NY

Adele and Jules Brody, NYTamar and Hillel Bryk, NY

Carol and Arnold Caviar, KSMargaret and Chaim Charytan, NY

Beth Chiger, NYThe Philip Citron Charitable Trust, MA

Trina and Paul Cleeman, NYSara Clemons, TN

Florence Cohen, z”l, NYShevi and Milton Cohen, NYDiane and Howard Cole, NY

Peggy and Philip Danishefsky, NJElaine and Lewis Dubroff, NYHattie and Arthur Dubroff, NJ

Susan Ederson, NYLinda and Barry Eichler, PA & NYSherry and Aaron Eidelman, NY

Judith and Allen Fagin, NYVivian and Bernard Falk, NY

Evelyn and Larry Farbstein, NYRuth and Gene Fax, MA

Iris and Stephen Feldman, NYSheila and Kenneth Fields, NJ

Shari and Jeff Fishman, CASaradee and Stanley Fortgang, NY

Gwen Buttnick Francis, NJGabriella and David Fridman, NY

Sura and Burt Fried, NYRena and Michael Friedman, ILMarisa and Andrew Gadlin, NY

Randi and Alan Gelman, IsraelShifra and Perry Garber, NY

Leelah and Joseph Gitler, Israel Abigail and Ari Glass, NY

Ilana and Stuart Goldberg, NJPaulette and Max Goldberg, NY

Esther and Jack Goldman, NYJudith and Matthew Goldsmith, NJZelda and Sheldon Goldsmith, NYAnne and Sheldon Golombeck, NY

Louis Gordon, TXJudith and Gabriel Gross, France

Sharon and Melvin Gross, NYPhyllis Hammer, MA

Nicole and Jacques Hanau, FranceFelicia Hanfling, NY

Debbie and Robert Hartman, ILDebbie and Eddie Herbst, CA

David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation, MD Aviva and Fred, z”l, Hoschander, NY

Peggy and Robert Insel, NYElaine and Robert Jacobs, NY

Barbara and Manfred Joseph, NYConnie and Alan Kadish, NJ

Chavie Kahn and Heshy Kofman, NYIlana and Mitchell Kahn, NY

Robin and Simon Kahn, IsraelDanna and Gilad Kalter, NY

Ruth and Jerome Kamerman, NYMiriam and Shopsy Kanarek, NYRuth and William Kantrowitz, NY

Harriet and Joel Kaplan, NYKaren Kaplan, IL

Marisa and Daniel Katz, NYOlivier and Laurence Katz, France

Gloria and Harvey Kaylie, NYRona and Ira Kellman, NY

Rochelle Stern Kevelson, NYDiane and Barry Kirschenbaum, FL

Susan Alter Klaperman, NYThe Klibanoff Family, NJ

Jane Klitsner, IsraelLaurie and Robert Koppel, NY

Evelyn and Lawrence Kraut, NJRochelle and Seymour, z”l, Kraut, MA

Dorothy Kreiselman, NYBertha, z”l, and Henry Kressel, NY

Seryl and Charles Kushner Family Foundation, NJDebra and Dov Lando, NJ

Esther and Stanley Landsman, NY

Linda and Murray Laulicht, FL & NJDonna and Jeffrey Lawrence, MD

Sara and Moishe Leifer, NYDiane and David Lent, NYEllyn and Alan Lerner, NJ

Kari and Joshua Levine, NYSylvia and Norman Levine, FLDorothy and Robert Lewis, NY

Ruth and Robert Lewis, NYAudrey and Haskel Lookstein, NY

Naomi and Carl Lopkin, MARita Lourie-Galena, PA & NY

Marie-Nicole and Georges Lumbroso, FranceRandie and Arthur Luxenberg, NY

Meira and Solomon Max, NYManette and Louis Mayberg, MD

Benay and Ira Meisels, NYCaroline and Marcelo Messer, NY

Lois and Jonathan Mills, ILMyra Mitzner, NY

Galina and Mark Moerdler and Family, NYJessica and Jason Muss, NY

Gloria and Burton Nusbacher, NYReva and Martin Oliner, NY

Jacob Pelta, CABea and Irwin, z”l, Peyser, NY

Suzy and Paul Peyser, NYEsther and Donald Press, NY

Tzippi and Ira Press, NJJudy and Jerry Pressner, NYRobin and Jules Reich, NY

Evelyn Reichenthal, TXSheila and Sidney Rimmer, NY

Shelley Rindner, NYFritzie and Sheldon Robinson, IL

Sandra and Evan Roklen, CAKristina and Len Rosen, IsraelVivian and Solomon Rosen, FL

Miriam and Howard Rosenblum, NJMaks Rothstein, NY

Michele and Barry Rubin, NYHerbert Rudnick, NY

Debbie and Naty Saidoff, CAEllen Scheinfeld, NY

Iris Schneider, NYEsther and William Schulder, NJDebbie and Daniel Schwartz, NY

Miriam Seltzer, NYEsther, z”l, and Jacques Semmelman, NJ

Renee and Elliot Schreiber, NY

Sharon and Rony Shapiro, MAChana and Daniel Shields, NJ

Deena and Adam Shiff, NYNechi Shudofsky, NY

Mollie Siegel, NJSharon and Morris Silver, CA

Karen and Roy Simon, NYRuth Simon, NY

Lorraine and Mordy Sohn, NYSara and Gabriel Solomon, MDMahla and Hilton Soniker, NY

Melanie and Matthew Sosland, NJSheryle and Theodore Spar, FL

Sydelle Spero, IsraelKaren Staschower, CA

Shirley and Bruce Stein, TXDeborah Stern-Blumenthal and Michael

Blumenthal, NJRichard Stone, NY

Edith Sussman, MDEthel and Lester Sutker, IL

Lilly Tempelsman, NYSandra and Max Thurm, NYEva and Evan Torczyner, NYBertie and Fred Tryfus, NY

Judith and Morris Tuchman, NYAudrey and Max Wagner, NY

Joseph Walder, ILPaula and Leslie Walter, NY

Anne and Mark Wasserman, NYSuzanne and Stuart Weilgus, NY

Judy and Morry Weiss/Sapirstein-Stone-Weiss Foundation, OH

Marion and William Weiss, NJLinda and Steven Weissman, NYRoselyn and Walter Weitzner, NY

Diane and Michael Werner, NYJoyce and Jeremy Wertheimer, MA

Booky and Jerome Wildes, NYPhyllis Wind, NY

Florence Wolf, NYMireet and Joseph Wolf, Israel

Stella and Samy Ymar, MDHilde and Benjamin, z”l, Zauderer, NY

Esther and Dov Zeidman, NYTamar and Benjamin Zeltser, NYHelene and Gerald Zisholtz, NY

Corinne and Neil Zola, NY

$10,000 - $17,999Anonymous, NY Anonymous, MA

Trudy and Ted, z”l, Abramson, FLRandi Schatz Allerhand and

Joseph S. Allerhand, NYJoseph Anmuth, CA

Jonathan Art, NYLolly and Harris Bak, NY

Zelda and Solomon Berger, NY Daisy Berman, NY

Anne Bernstein, CA Evelyn and Isaac Blachor, NY

Beth and Reuben Blumenthal, NYEthlynne and Stephen Brickman, MA

Lotte and Ludwig Bravman, NYMarion Crespi, NY

Jone and Allen Dalezman, MASelma and Jacob Dyckman, NY

Chaiki and Ziel Feldman, NJLilly and Alfred Friedman, NY

Andrea and Larry Gill, CAMiriam and Felix Glaubach, NYLaura and Jonathan Heller, NY

Norma and Emanuel Holzer, NYSuzanne and Norman Javitt, NY

Kirkland & Ellis LLP, NYSylvia and Leon Korngold, NYRuth and Daniel Krasner, NY

Esther and Motti Kremer, NYRia and Tim Levart, NJ

Mindy and Seymour Liebman, NYAliza and Steven Major, NY

Zipporah and Arnold Marans, NY Etella and Haim Marcovici, NY

Marilyn and Leon Moed, NYJoan, z”l, and Leon Meyers, NY

Nataly and Steve Neuwirth, NYJudith and Daniel Ottensoser, NY

Regina Peterseil, NYLauren and Mitchell Presser, NY

Jerald Ptashkin, CABarbara and Joel Rascoff, NY

Joyce and Stanley Raskas, NYJan and Sheldon Schechter, NY

Charlotte Schneierson, NYRita and Eugene Schwalb, FLErica and Rob Schwartz, NY

Deanne and Leonard Shapiro, NYJudy and Isaac Sherman, NY

Ronnie and William Slochowsky, NY Sondra and Myron Sokal, NYFrancine and Aaron Stein, NJ

Jody and Ari Storch, NYAudrey and Chaim Trachtman, NY

Ina and David Tropper, NYPaula Yudenfriend and Arlin Green, PA

$5,000 - $9,999

president’s circle of honor*As of October 11, 2013

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HONOR the past

SUPPORT the future

Memorials are for the living!For more information please contact Robin Rothbort at 212-477-4725,

[email protected] or visit us online at www.amitchildren.org

PLEASE CONSIDER AMIT AS YOU DO YOUR ESTATE PLANNING

At your time of loss,AMIT will be there to provide:

• Daily Kaddish for the � rst eleven months,including memorial plaque, annual Kaddishand noti� cation of the Yahrzeit - $650

• Memorial Plaque and annual Kaddish recited,plus noti� cation of the Yahrzeit - $500

• Daily Kaddish for the � rst eleven months,annual Kaddish and yearly Yahrzeitnoti� cation - $300

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AMIT Fall 2013 Magazine

Documents

Transcript of AMIT Fall 2013 Magazine