C ommunity
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Holocaust Survivor Dr. John J. Spitzer Dies at 94
DR. JOHN J. SPITZER of Haverford, a Holocaust
survivor who spoke often later in life about his experi-
ences, died on Jan. 20. He was 94.

A native of Baja, Hungary, he became an orphan at 17
in 1944 when the Nazis invaded, and he was selected to
work for a traveling SS group performing manual labor.

He was liberated the following year.

He met his late wife, Judy, a year later while enrolled
in medical school in Budapest, Hungary. She also was
a doctor.

Although they were engaged in 1949, she was able to
leave and go to the United States because she had family
in Philadelphia, but he could not get out of Hungary.

Spitzer paid off authorities to illegally take him and
other Jews to Vienna, Austria; in transit, he realized
the truck was heading back to Budapest, so he and two
others crawled to safety, eventually making it to Vienna
and, after graduating medical school in Germany, to
Canada, where they were reunited in 1951.

After landing a job in Nova Scotia, Spitzer later
worked in Tallahassee, Florida.

From 1956 until 1973 the Spitzers worked in
Philadelphia, including as professors of physiology at
Hahnemann Medical College. Briefs in Jewish Exponent
archives mention a $307,448 National Institutes of
Health grant in 1967 to study fat metabolism. Two years
earlier, he received an unspecified $79,000 grant and
was elected president of the Philadelphia Physiological
Association. After leaving Philadelphia, the couple moved to New
Orleans, where John Spitzer became the head of the
Department of Physiology at LSU Medical Center. While
there, he established a drug and alcohol abuse center.

The Spitzers returned to Philadelphia after Hurricane
Katrina destroyed their house in 2005. They told
acquaintances that the only item they salvaged from
their home was an oil-lit menorah they brought with
them from Europe.

Over the past 15 years, Spitzer regularly lectured
at local high schools about the Holocaust and, more
recently, he mentored college students as well.

Spitzer is survived by his son Peter (Wendy),
daughter Juliet (Phil Wachs), six grandchildren and
seven great-grandchildren.

being retained by the new synagogue to continue as
their spiritual leaders.

Rabbi Jennifer L. Frenkel will be the senior rabbi,
Rabbi Jerome P. David will be the rabbi emeritus,
Cantor Rhoda J. Harrison will be the senior cantor,
Cantor Neil Schnitzer will be the cantor sheini and
Cantor Anita Hochman will be the cantor emerita.

Synagogue Supports Israeli Restaurant After
Targeted Negative Reviews
Congregations of Shaare Shamayim members bought
more than $1,000 worth of food on Jan. 23 from Israeli
restaurant Yalla in Teaneck, New Jersey, synagogue
Executive Director Jacques Lurie said.

The effort was made in support of the restaurant,
which received several 1-star ratings on its Yelp and
Google pages from pro-Palestinian reviewers accusing
Yalla of being “appropriative” of Palestinian culture,
according to Yalla owner Jacob Goldberg. “Yalla” is
the Arabic word for “let’s go,” but is commonly used
by many non-Arabic speakers, Goldberg said.

Negative reviews of the restaurant increased after
a TikTok user posted a video on the app encouraging
people to leave negative reviews. United for Israel
posted about the incident on Jan. 20, which prompted
Lurie to support the restaurant.

Goldberg said that after the United for Israel article,
Yalla’s business increased due to community support. The
restaurant has a 4.6 rating on Google with 437 reviews.

Two Cherry Hill Synagogues to Merge
Two Reform Jewish synagogues in Cherry Hill, New
Jersey — Temple Emanuel and Congregation M’kor
Shalom — will unify as one new congregation on July 1.

The unification decision was approved by both
congregations during meetings on Jan. 24 and comes
after nearly 16 months of discussions and planning
on both sides.

In early discussions, the synagogues said they
discovered many similarities, shared values and comple-
menting strengths and challenges. Both synagogues
said they were strong but faced declining membership,
creating a need for long-term strategic planning.

The new congregation, which hasn’t been named,
will meet in the current Temple Emanuel building at
the corner of Springdale and Kresson roads in Cherry
Hill, across the street from the Katz JCC.

Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations hosts
All clergy from both individual synagogues are “Nazis of Copley Square” Webinar
The Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations will host
a webinar at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 detailing “the forgotten
history of American terrorists who, in the name of
God, conspired to overthrow the government and
formed an alliance with Hitler.”
“Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of
the Christian Front, 1939-1945” will be led by Jesuit
scholar Charles Gallagher, an associate professor of
history at Boston College.

On July 14, 1939, 200 Philadelphia police and a
crowd of 6,000 filled Philadelphia’s Metropolitan
Opera House to hear the famed “radio priest” Father
Charles E. Coughlin commission John F. Cassidy to
lead his new Christian Front organization.

Six months later, FBI agents burst into Cassidy’s
home, arrested him and seized military-grade rifles,
ammunition and homemade bombs. FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover alleged the group was planning to
incite a revolution and install a “temporary dictator-
ship” to stamp out Jewish and communist influence
in the United States.

Gallagher’s discussion will include insight into
how the Christian Front’s antisemitism was inspired
by Sunday sermons and lay leaders openly espousing
fascist and Nazi beliefs.

Contact the institute at ijcr@sju.edu for webinar
registration, which is required. l
Drs. John and Judy Spitzer in 1972. They had returned from a lecture tour of Japan; the poster announces one of their
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb and Sasha Rogelberg
lectures. Jewish Exponent file photo
18 FEBRUARY 3, 2022
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C ommunity / deaths
DEATH NOTICES
C OR E N
David, Jan. 21, 2022. Husband of the late
Selma (nee: Glickman), father of Sharon
(Bruce) Frantz and Larry Coren (Matt
Ketcham). Also survived by 3 grandchildren
and 6 great-grandchildren. He was a WW II
Army veteran and a member of the Sandler-
Pincus Post #305 and the Rippen-Bazell Post
#148. Contributions may be made to the JWV
of the USA. Condolences and contributions
at BerschlerAndShenberg.com
BERSCHLER and SHENBERG
BerschlerandShenberg.com F I N K E L S TE I N
DEATH NOTICES
K U S H N E R
Selma Lita (nee Bernstein) Passed away on
January 24, 2022. Wife of the late Gerald
Kushner. Mother of Janice Rebecca Stewart
(the late Edward) and Howard Jay (Patricia
Carolina) Kushner. Grandmother of Brynn
Stewart, and the late Barry and Chad Stewart.

Great Grandmother of Robert John and Em-
berlia. Contributions in her memory may be
made to American Cancer Society, www.can-
cer.org. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S
RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com
Bonnie (née Blumenthal), January 21, 2022,
of Elkins Park, PA. Mother of Joel Blumenth-
al Finkelstein (Lauren); sister of Herman
“Buz” Blumenthal III (Linda); grandmother of
Maxwell and Rosalia. Services will be an-
nounced at a later date. The family respect-
fully requests contributions in lieu of flowers
be made to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
www.cff.org JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS
www.levinefuneral.com K R A V IT Z
Rita (née Nitzberg), January 23, 2022, of
Wynnewood, PA; Beloved wife of the late Ed-
ward Kravitz; loving mother of Dr. Richard
(Emily) Kravitz and Dr. Susan (Howard Sk-
laroff) Miller; cherished grandmother of
Jeremy and Martha; devoted brother of Jerry
(Esther) Nitzberg. In lieu of flowers, contribu-
tions in Rita’s name may be made to a char-
ity of the donor’s choice.

JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS
www.levinefuneral.com R U B I N
Gladyce Feldscher, on January 27th, 2022,
peacefully surrounded by loving family.

Daughter of the late William I. and Anna R.

Feldscher; loving wife of the late Dr. Frank H.

Rubin sister of the late Donald and Dorothy;
adoring mother of Arlene B. Rubin Esq. and
Jeffry (Susan Packer) Rubin, MD. Doting
grandmother of Sara Ann and Michael Daniel.

A graduate of Overbrook High School,
Gladyce continued her education at Temple
University where she earned her bachelor’s
and master’s degree before continuing her
post-graduate work at University of Rich-
mond, University of Pennsylvania and Gratz
College. Employed as the Chief Clerk of Civil-
ian Personnel at the Hampton Roads Port of
Embarkation in Virginia during World War II
prior to working 33 years with the Phil-
adelphia School District, Gladyce served as a
business teacher, Department Head, Vice
Principal and acting Principal while staying
active in her community. While being in her
community she served as President of
Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line, Presid-
ent of the Temple University College of Edu-
cation Alumni Association Board of Directors
and Judge of Elections in Montgomery
County. Contributions in her memory may be
made to Temple University c/o the Frank H.

Rubin, DPM, ’43 Memorial Fund in Podiatric
Medicine, TUSPM, 148 N. 8th St., 6th Fl.,
Phila. PA 19107 or to the charity of the
donor’s choice.

GOLDSTEINS' ROSENBERG'S
RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Montefi ore Cemetery Company
S L A P
Slap, Henrietta – born - December 5, 1928;
died- January 24, 2022. Henrietta Slap
(“Henni”) passed away peacefully at her
home in Philadelphia. Born in Harrisburg, PA,
she was graduated from the University of
Miami, where she received her Bachelor's
Degree. Predeceased by her 2 loving hus-
bands: Milton L. Margulis in 1960 and Mat-
thew Slap in 1985. She is survived by her
children Eve Slap, David Slap, Alison Tress
(Manny) and Albert Slap (Julie Wagner). She
is also survived by 10 grandchildren; Mi-
chael Sloane, Elizabeth McKee ( Chris), Cath-
erine Sloane ( Ben Davis), Eryn Slap, Ben
Slap-Marshall, Matthew Slap Andrew Slap (
Hannah) Marina Slap, Nikki Slap, Dani Slap
and 8 great-grandchildren; Maggie Sloane,
Grace Sloane, Caroline Sloane, Kate McKee,
Claire McKee, Henry Davis, Jane Davis and
AJ Slap. Henrietta lived in Philadelphia most
of her life and was active in local institutions
such as the Philadelphia Academy of Natural
Sciences, where she served on the Board of
Directors, and Moss Rehabilitation Hospital.

She spent many winters at the Boca West
Club in Boca Raton, FL, where she was act-
ive in golf and tennis. Contributions in her
memory should be sent to: the Multiple Myel-
oma Research Foundation (themmrf.org)
JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS
www.levinefuneral.com W O L F
Claudia (Nee Breslau) On January 26, 2022.

Beloved wife of the late Seymour “Bim.” De-
voted mother of Frank Wolf and David Wolf
(Jill). Loving grandmother of Samuel and Al-
iza. Contributions in her memory may be
made to Humane Society International.

www.hsi.org GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG'S
RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com
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