My 96 Year Old Mother

Today, on this day of remembrance for the Fallen of our Israel, my mother turns 96. Born in Beeregsasz in Hungary/Czechia/Romania/Ukraine, half-orphaned in her teens, she moved to Budapest with her father and brother, just in time to face removal to the Ghetto. At 17, wearing the yellow star, she […]

Barbra Streisand

Happy Birthday to Barbra Streisand! Born in Brooklyn, New York on April 24, 1942, Streisand is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Good voices run in her family, Barbra’s mother was a soprano, and her grandfather was a cantor from the Russian Empire. In 1956, she attended a […]

Chaim Rafael

Approximately 1.5 million children were murdered during the Holocaust. Chaim Rafael Gertel z”l was one of those children. Chaim Rafael was born in Hrubieszów, Poland. When the Germans declared that the town was to be Judenrein (“clean of Jews”) in October 1942, Chaim and his mother went into hiding along […]

Matilda and Samuel Gertel

Meet Holocaust survivors Matilda and Samuel Gertel. Born in Uściług, Poland (now Ukraine), Matilda (née Topole) was just a teenager when the war broke out. When the Nazis invaded, she immediately ran home only to find that her father had been killed as an example to others. Matilda, along with […]

Rabbi Lau

78 years ago today, April 11, 1945, the Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated by American forces. Pictured are survivors from Buchenwald at the Haifa Port on the way to the Atlit Detention Camp (July, 1945). The little boy holding the flag is Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of […]

Al Jaffee

Condolences: Al Jaffee, comedic genius and American cartoonist best known for his work in Mad Magazine. Born Abraham Jaffee on March 13, 1921, in Savannah, Georgia to Lithuanian immigrants, Mildred and Morris. In 1955, Jaffee first appeared in ‘Mad’, one issue after its switch from comic book format to magazine. […]

Benjamin Ferencz

CONDOLENCES: Sgt. Benjamin Ferencz was the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials. Born in 1920 to a Jewish family in Transylvania, Ferencz was 10 months old when his family arrived in the US. After graduating Harvard Law School in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, landing in Normandy […]

Irina

“Both of my parents were Jewish. But as a child we never celebrated Passover at home. My father was an officer in the Red Army and fought bravely against the Nazis. After the war, he continued serving, and was scared the neighbors would see us celebrating Jewish holidays. But my […]

Estelle Harris

Many of you will recognize the late Estelle Harris. Those who don’t would surely recognize her iconic high-pitched voice. Estelle is best known for her role on ‘Seinfeld’ as Estelle Costanza, George Costanza’s overbearing and melodramatic mother. She is also the voice behind Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story, another […]

Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter

Holocaust survivor and founder of Kleinfeld Bridal, Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter passed away at the age of 99. Hedda Kleinfeld was born in Vienna Austria in 1924. Hedda’s family settled in Brooklyn in the early 1940’s. Her father opened a Fur Store named Kleinfeld’s, which is where Hedda met Jack Schachter. […]

Holocaust Survivor Social Events

This photo is from a social event in Israel for Holocaust survivors. One of the greatest challenges facing the elderly is social isolation and loneliness. The good news is that these gatherings bring together a group of survivors and members of their community who volunteer for לתת Latet, the event organizer […]

Diane Neal

This week, Diane Neal moved from the US to Israel. Neal is best known for her role as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak on Law and Order SVU. After reconnecting with her Jewish roots a few years back, she decided to leave Hollywood behind to pursue a more meaningful Jewish […]