C ommunity
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Temple Dental Names Student Center
to Honor David A. Bresler
THE TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Kornberg School of
Dentistry dedicated the David A. Bresler Student Life
Center on Sept. 17.

The center honors Bresler, a 1979 graduate who
founded Doc Bresler’s Cavity Busters, a multi-loca-
tion pediatric dental practice. Bresler, who also served
as a member of Temple’s faculty, died in 2015.

Bresler’s three children are also Temple dental
graduates — Joshua Bresler, Jason Bresler and Rachel
Bresler. They maintain the Cavity Busters practice.

The center serves as a social and educational hub
for students at the dental school.

In recent years, the dental school has received a
combined total of $5 million in major gifts. Those
donors were also honored at the dedication ceremony.

fire stations and police departments in Lower Merion
Township and Haverford Township on Sept. 12 to
thank first responders for their ongoing service.

The children and their families shared remarks of
gratitude and presented police officers and firefighters
with plaques gifted by Jewish National Fund-USA
featuring a photo of JNF-USA and KKL-JNF’s 9/11
Living Memorial in Jerusalem.

The text on the Jewish National Fund-USA plaques
reads, in part: “The JNF-KKL 9/11 Memorial, in the
foothills of Jerusalem, expresses the deep connection
and shared values between the people of Israel and
the United States. It is the only memorial outside
of the United States that honors each victim. The
memorial is an American flag waving and trans-
forming into a flame.

“A piece of melted metal from the ruins of the
Twin Towers forms the base of the monument. This
memorial serves as the site of an official ceremony
held with the United States every year, as Israel
honors the memory of the heroes who fell and recog-
nizes the heroes who walk among us. Thank you for
your commitment and sacrifice.”
Philadelphia Museum of Art to Return Czech
Shield Confiscated by Nazis
The Philadelphia Museum of Art announced Sept. 13
that it was returning to the Czech Republic a ceremo-
nial pageant shield confiscated by the Nazis when
Czechoslovakia was annexed during World War II,
The New York Times reported.

The shield, which was once part of a collec-
tion owned by Archduke Ferdinand, was created
during the Renaissance by Italian artist Girolamo
di Tommaso da Treviso in about 1535. The shield is
24 inches in diameter, is made of wood, linen, gesso,
The David A. Bresler Student Life Center at the Temple
gold and pigment, and depicts the storming of New
University Kornberg School of Dentistry
Courtesy of the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry Carthage by Roman soldiers.

The local museum acquired the shield as part of a
Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El Seventh Graders
bequest and it has been on display in the Galleries of
Pay Tribute to First Responders
Arms and Armor since 1976.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, more
The museum said it has worked with Czech
than a dozen seventh-grade students from Temple Republic historians since 2016 to determine the
Beth Hillel-Beth El in Wynnewood, visited multiple shield’s provenance and history.

Phillies Continued from Page 11
of their fans. The “happy Rosh
Hashanah” post is, at this
point, an annual gesture. So is
Jewish Heritage Night at CBP.

“I’m proud of my Jewish
faith and love the fact I work for
an organization that encour-
ages its employees to honor
and celebrate their heritage,”
Harris said.

Local Jewish baseball
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM fans agree with Harris.

They appreciate that their
team acknowledges their
community. Conservative Rabbi Eliott
Perlstein, who leads Ohev
Shalom of Bucks County, called
the post a “teaching moment.”
Many non-Jews assume
that, due to its proximity to
Christmas, Chanukah is
the biggest Jewish holiday,
according to the rabbi. This
post makes them more aware
of the High Holidays.

“Maybe a lot of people say,
‘They have their own new
year?’” Perlstein said.

Wyndmoor resident Michael
Seeherman is president of the
men’s club at Beth Tikvah-B’nai
Jeshurun in Glenside. Before
COVID broke out last year, the
club bought tickets to Jewish
Heritage Night.

The group views the Phillies
as a good community partner,
Seeherman said.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Students at Narberth Fire Department
Courtesy of Jewish National Fund-USA
Students at Lower Merion Police Department
Courtesy of Jewish National Fund-USA
“A work that had been lost during the turmoil of
World War II is being happily restituted, and out of
this has come an exceptional scholarly partnership,”
said Timothy Rub, the museum’s director and chief
executive. In recent years, museums around the world have
returned art stolen by the Nazis to heirs of the
original owners, many of whom are Jewish families.

Some of the efforts to retrieve the art have resulted in
lawsuits. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
“We’re looking forward to
having another outing next
year,” he said. “This only
encourages groups like ours to
stay supportive.”
In divisive times, it’s
refreshing to see such a big and
visible organization reach out,
Seeherman added.

Social media can drive the
divisiveness of our times. But
it’s also necessary to use social
media as “a big part of any
marketing strategy in this day
and age,” Harris said.

The Phillies do their best
to use it to be inclusive. They
might just do that better than
any team in baseball.

“I was surprised to hear we
were the only team to acknowl-
edge Rosh Hashanah,” Harris
said. “I certainly can’t speak
for others as to why that’s the
case.” l
jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
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