COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes
financial and volunteer resources to address the
communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and
around the world.

Around the World: Jewish Federation Mission
Participants Refl ect on Life-Changing Israel Trips
ADVENTURE, CULTURE AND MEMORIES to last a lifetime. Th e Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia provides experiences for people of all ages and
backgrounds to travel and connect with Jewish communities from around the world.

While in-person missions are still on hold due to COVID-19, the Jewish
Federation has off ered a number of tailored, engaging and immersive virtual trips
for the community.

“We have pulled together as a Jewish community during the pandemic and
have been able to explore the world through technology,” said Arielle Shemesh,
missions and travel manager of the Jewish Federation. “I hope that soon we will be
able to travel in-person again and connect face-to-face with Jewish communities in
America, Israel and around the globe. When that time comes, we will be ready to
take you on an incredible and life-changing experience.”
As the possibility of resuming group travel becomes more of a reality, we spoke
with past participants from the Jewish Federation’s various missions to Israel to
refl ect on how their trip expanded their worldview and their Jewish identity.

Baruch Hashem, here’s to next year in Jerusalem! For more information about
travel experiences with the Jewish Federation, contact Shemesh at ashemesh@
jewishphilly.org. Philadelphians
Love Israel
Marilyn & Jonathan Goodman:
Honeymoon Israel, 2019
Ali Sayer: Israel360, 2018
Going on Israel360 made me feel
more connected to my Jewish
identity. I felt as though I was
somewhere I belonged. Visiting
the historical sites of our ancestors
made me feel closer to those who
came before us, and experiencing
the newer innovations was
exhilarating. It is easy to say the
Jewish Federation assists in Israel,
but going on this Mission allowed
me to experience first hand the
work being done there.

24 When we learned we would be
traveling to Israel, we were looking
forward to making new friends,
tasting new foods and seeing new
sights. However, our trip to Israel
was so much more. It allowed us to
connect with a place, a destination,
and a concept as something that
felt familiar and foreign at the same
time. Israel gave us such wonderful
gifts and memories that have
shaped our lives and our futures as
Jewish people.

Melinda Berkman:
Women’s Philanthropy Mission, 2018
Paul Fires:
Men’s Entrepreneurship Mission, 2016
The Women’s Mission to Israel was an
important part of exploring my place
within the Jewish community. Being
surrounded by such wonderful, strong
and inclusive Jewish women during
my trip reinforced my belief that
raising my children in this community
was the path for me. Beyond bonding
with my fellow trip members, I got to
meet some incredible families from
the Negev region and see the work the
Jewish Federation does to support
growth and protect communities.

I felt a connection as soon as we
landed, a connection of being a
Jew in a Jewish country. It was that
indefinable feeling, which embraces
and envelops you as nothing else
can, a sense of belonging which
reaches people at all levels of
observance. I prayed with my
Mission friends, walked among
catacombs unchanged by millennia,
and experienced the enormity of our
Jewish history and of our communal
responsibility to each other.

MAY 6, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



C ommunity
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Resolution to Honor Holocaust Hero Carl Lutz
Introduced in Senate
PENNSYLVANIA SEN. BOB CASEY and Sen. Roy
Blunt (Mo.) introduced a resolution April 28 to the
U.S. Senate honoring Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat who
saved more than 50,000 people — half of Budapest’s
surviving Jewish population — from deportation to
concentration camps during the Holocaust.

While working in Nazi-occupied Hungary, Lutz
obtained permission from Nazi leadership to issue
8,000 letters of diplomatic protection. Anyone
holding the protective papers was considered to be
under Swiss protection and exempt from deportation.

Instead of issuing the papers to 8,000 Jewish individ-
uals, Lutz issued them to entire family units, ensuring
protection for thousands more Jews.

Lutz also placed 76 buildings under Swiss
diplomatic protection, where he was able to house
thousands of Hungarian Jews who had lost their
homes. Lutz’s efforts marked the largest civilian rescue
mission of World War II.

Lutz later worked in both Philadelphia and St.

Louis as a Swiss diplomat.

“With antisemitism on the rise, we must never forget
the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust and the
stories of the brave men and women who put their lives
on the line to save others from Nazi persecution,” Casey
said. “I am pleased to introduce a bipartisan resolution
to honor Carl Lutz for his act of valor, which saved tens
of thousands of Hungarian Jews from deportation to
Auschwitz concentration camp.”
Companion legislation was introduced in the
House by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.).

Carl Lutz
Courtesy of The Mid-Atlantic – Eurasia Business Council
HIAS Pennsylvania Announces Golden Door
Awards for 2021
HIAS Pennsylvania virtually handed out its 2021
Golden Door Awards on April 28 to “those who lead
the way in support of immigrants and refugees.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents
Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District, was cited
for “her outstanding leadership in extending the
Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, and
support for the immigrants in our community.”
The Refugee Access Center at Snyder Church in
South Philadelphia was honored for “their continual
support of refugees and immigrants in South Philly
throughout the pandemic and beyond.”
And Lara Ali and Ali Arif, who are former HIAS
PA clients, were cited for becoming “leaders in their
community, working within the Philadelphia School
District to make it welcoming to immigrants and
refugees.” Jewish Exponent Reporter Places First in
2021 Keystone Media Awards
Jewish Exponent reporter Sophie Panzer won first
prize in the 2021 Keystone Media Awards in the
diversity category.

The entry included five stories “that inform on
diverse elements in the community, encourage diver-
sity awareness and reflect an ongoing effort to cover
inclusive integration of diverse populations within
your community.”
Panzer’s entry included “Couple Creates Ribbon
to Mourn Victims of Racism” (Sept. 10), “Original
‘SNL’ Writer Explores Comedy in Memoir” (Dec. 10),
“Phillies Pitcher Helped Integrate Baseball” (May
7), “Russian‐Speaking Moishe House Goes Virtual”
(April 9) and “Interfaith Couples Navigate Unusual
Holiday Season” (Dec. 10).

Jewish Law Day Set for 37th Year
The 37th annual Jewish Law Day will feature former
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the State of New
York Court of Appeals speaking about Jewish law and
the responsibility to perform pro bono service.

The virtual event will take place on May 24
at 4 p.m.

The day was originally honored in juxtaposition to
the Red Mass celebrated by the Thomas More Society,
but in conjunction with the Brandeis Law Society, the
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the
Greater Philadelphia Board of Rabbis, the celebration
was moved to Shavout, the time of revelation of the
Ten Commandments.

Over the years, prominent speakers have included
White House Counsel Abner Mikva; Supreme Court
of Canada Justice Rosalie S. Abella; Pennsylvania
Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer; professors
Melvin I. Urovsky, Jonathan Sarna and Deborah
Lipstadt; and Villanova University Professor of Law
Abraham Gafni.

JFCS to Present Notecards to Holocaust
Survivors to Recognize Liberation Day
In lieu of its annual Café Europa luncheon for
members of its Holocaust Survivors Support Program,
Jewish Family and Children’s Service will recognize
Courtesy of Jewish Family and Children’s Service
Liberation Day by delivering packets of notecards on
May 13.

JFCS Art Therapist and Art Studio Manager
Debora King collaborated with members of the
program, teenagers from its Education and Outreach
Services, and members of its People Living with
Disabilities Program “to create a beautiful piece of art
representing the concept of liberation.”
JFCS plans to directly deliver more than 100 packets
of notecards to survivors and mail an additional 400
packets to survivors in the five-county region.

“When I spoke with the Holocaust survivors,
they shared images and colors they experienced on
Liberation Day so many years ago,” King said. “Their
common theme was experiencing tremendous grief,
loss, trauma and sorrow. They shared seeing a bright
light which inspired the tunnel, flashing yellow and
light blue colors for salvation, warmer hues of oranges
and yellows for strength, and a vision of a wounded
person looking at the sky with wide arms, which I
depicted as birds flying free.” l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
www.jewishexponent.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
JEWISH EXPONENT
MAY 6, 2021
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