Gratz College

We extend a hearty congratulations to John Fry, Temple University's recently appointed 15th president!

Fry was the commencement speaker and received an honorary doctorate at our 119th commencement in 2019. Pictured below, he is hooded by Gratz board of governors Michelle Portnoff and Leon Levy.

Mazel tov! We are grateful for your strength of character and leadership in the Philadelphia area.

https://news.temple.edu/news/2024-07-02/temple-university-appoints-its-15th-president-higher-education-leader-john-fry

🌭🍔 Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and 🌽corn on the cob... Happy birthday🎂, America. May the freedoms we cherish remain strong and everlasting! 🎆

What's a Beit Midrash?

As we ready our second home in Bala Cynwyd, we welcome our community to new programming with lunch in our beit midrash from Mondays through Thursdays starting in September. In a beit midrash, participants form a community, closely tied by the bonds of shared interest in Jewish texts and deep ideas. Here, you will connect with your Jewish heritage in an informal setting; ask questions and seek answers with curiosity and wonder; and find answers to modern challenges through timeless wisdom. In short, a beit midrash creates a lively learning community, a "hang-out," that is based on a mutual desire to learn about and discuss Jewish texts and history.

Open sessions facilitated by Rabbi Daniel Levitt, the Daniel and Louise Cohen Director of Adult Jewish Learning at Gratz College, begin in September. To learn more, sign up for his "WhatsApp" group with the QR code below ⬇️or contact him at [email protected]. By design, these programs are in-person only. It is open to all participants and includes lunch! 🥗

Monday evening, July 1st was the 8th Yahrzeit of Nobel laureate and Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel.

As a journalist, student, teacher, writer, activist, and committed man of faith, Eliezer ben Shlomo Halevi Wiesel, ztz”l has left a lasting legacy of peace – and hope for humanitarian rights.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity has allowed Gratz the honor and responsibility to help maintain his legacy by curating and digitizing his personal correspondence for future generations. Our platform "Grayzel," will feature searchable access of the collection's unique materials and content for worldwide use by educators, students and the public.

Learn more about the Grayzel Digital Platform: https://www.gratz.edu/giving/elie-wiesel-digital-archive

On this day, please consider doing a good deed, in memory of Elie Wiesel.

"We are all human, we have the same rights and the same obligations. And therefore we are committed to keep that memory alive and in moments of grace, to give it a voice."

👏😊 We are of Brent Osborne, a 2021 graduate of our Camp Administration and Leadership Master's program. He was recently appointed to the Executive Director position at Congregation Shir Ami in Newtown, PA. He starts on August 1, 2024.

Brent, you will surely bring your charm and leadership skills to your new community!

Please join us in welcoming Brent Osborne as the new Executive Director for Shir Ami! Our Board of Directors unanimously approved his appointment on Tuesday, June 4th and we are incredibly excited to welcome him to our community.

Brent received his Bachelor's degree in Professional communications from Ramapo College of New Jersey and received a Master of Science in Camp Administration and Leadership from Gratz College. He has over a decade of experience spanning operations, marketing, financial management, personnel recruitment, and strategic planning. Brent has spent his professional career working with JCC’s and in both the Jewish and Non-Jewish camping and special events sector. Most recently Brent has served as the Director of special projects and staff recruitment for CampGroup LLC. The search committee was impressed with Brent’s communication and leadership qualities, as well as his organizational skills. Brent has a strong desire to be part of a vibrant Jewish community like ours, and a passion to help us grow and prepare for the future.

We would like to thank fellow search committee members Robin Firestone, Ryan Gordan, Barbara Roth, Alan Sheinberg and Jon Stevens for their enormous dedication of time and thought to identify the best candidate for the Executive Director position. We’d also like to thank Rabbi Briskin, Rabbi Goldberg, Cantor Berlin and all of our staff for the time they spent with Brent and the thoughtful insight they shared with our search committee as we came to our unanimous decision.

Brent’s official first day at Shir Ami will be Thursday August 1st, though he will be here several days in July for orientation. There will be many opportunities for congregants to meet Brent over the upcoming weeks and during the High Holy days. We hope you can join us at services on Friday September 13th at 7:00 pm when we will “officially” welcome Brent to our community with a special oneg following services.

On Tuesday, June 25th, Dr. Ayal Feinberg, Gratz Associate Professor of Political Science and Antisemitism Studies, presented his research about antisemitism at the "Improving the Campus Climate Initiative" Conference held by the Academic Engagement Network. The three-day event in New York City was an opportunity for participants to delve deeper into understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and develop strategies to improve the campus climate and discourse on the topic.

We are grateful to our partner, AEN, for their mission to promote academic freedom, and advance education about Israel on college campuses.

We had a fun visit at Gratz last week. Nancy Brockway Marvin showed off her portrait of her great great great great grandfather Michael Gratz, father of Rebecca and Hyman Gratz. She and her husband Peter posed in front of our portraits of Rebecca Gratz and Hyman Gratz, as well as the original indenture to Gratz College.

How lovely to have a Gratz descendant in our building! Take a look at the Gratz family tree for more detail...

What a fun, informative day! Our Gratz team went on a fact-finding field trip to Jewish nonprofits in the Boston area.

We visited the Vilna Shul, Hebrew College, and Lehrhaus Kosher Restaurant.

Below, on the steps of the Vilna Shul are Allison Resnick, Naomi Housman, Zev Eleff, Mindy Saifer Cohen, David Brawer, Dick Winston, Daniel Levitt, and Lori Cohen.

Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture
Hebrew College
Lehrhaus

It took far too long, but we are grateful that Juneteenth is finally recognized as a National Holiday.

"Today, we recognize that Juneteenth not only marks the end of America’s original sin of slavery but also the beginning of the work at the heart and soul of our Nation: making the promise of America real for every American."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/06/18/a-proclamation-on-juneteenth-day-of-observance-2024/

A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2024 | The White House On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years — the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, we recognize that Juneteenth not...

Join us for a 🥗 Lunch & Learn in Elkins Park on Thursday, June 20th. Rabbi Matthew Abelson, Executive Director of Rabbis United, discusses how we can combat antisemitism through the teachings of Theodore Herzl and Ahad Ha'am.

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Gratz College
In-person only

Learn more: https://www.gratz.edu/news-and-events/event-calendar/antisemitismnaturedevelopment

Did you see our ad on the back page of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent? Imagine sending your PA income tax money to Gratz or The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History to fight antisemitism!

Learn more before the June 30th deadline: https://www.gratz.edu/giving/make-a-lasting-impact

President Eleff shares his thoughts on Shavuot, learning, and the digital age.

"We believe that Jewish wisdom has a grand capacity to make meaning in our lives ... The challenge is how to access the best information and how to make the most meaning in our lives."

Happy Shavuot!

A Shavuot Message from President Zev Eleff Shavuot and the Digital Age

Learn more about Maimonides in this 4-day online adult learning course starting June 17.

Kings, Wars, and the Messiah: Maimonides' Political-Theological Treatise
Instructor: JJ Kimche
June 17-20
Monday – Thursday, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET

In this course, we will be delving into one of the most fascinating and influential political texts in all of Jewish history: Maimonides' Laws of Kings and their Wars. In this treatise, Maimonides outlines an idealized Jewish political system, based upon his readings of the biblical and rabbinic texts. This treatise is the most systematic attempt to develop a Jewish theory of the state, political authority, warfare, and the Messianic period. In this course we will read this text closely, and discuss its major theological, moral, and political issues.



Learn more: www.gratz.edu/academics/degree/continuing-education/gratz-scholars-program

📢 Last Call, tonight (Sunday, June 9) on the Main Line:

Marat Grinberg, PhD discusses, "The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Its Authors, Readers and Lessons for Today".

Grinberg’s lecture will explore the texts that Soviet Jews kept in their home libraries, from historical fiction to translations from German, Yiddish and Hebrew to studies of Zionism and Judaism, and help to uncover the originality and central dimensions of Soviet Jewishness and why its lessons remain so vital today.

The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Its Authors, Readers and Lessons for Today In-person at Beth Hillel: Sunday, June 9 at 8pm ET

Newly accepted student Sarah M. Davis is excited to study at Gratz! She posted this photo after she received her acceptance letter—while she was on an Alaskan cruise. Welcome to the Master's in Nonprofit Management program, Sarah!

Eighty years later, it's important to remember the brave soldiers who fought and turned the tide of WWII.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Order of the Day, delivered to Allied personnel on June 6, 1944:

"Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of N**i tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the N**i triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

Courtesy of the National Archives

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/d-day-allies-invade-europe

D-Day: The Allies Invade Europe In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord.

Join us for our next Lunch and Learn on Thursday, June 20th with Rabbi Matthew Abelson, Executive Director of Rabbis United.

Since 2001, antisemitism entered its third phase. The singular Jewish state is now the target of those who hate Jews and Judaism. I will explore the events in and around that year - including the Second Intifada, the Al Durah Affair, and the UN Conference Against Racism in South Africa. How did Herzl envision Zionism defeating antisemitism? How was he right or wrong? How did Herzl’s greatest theoretical opponent, Ahad Ha’am view the same issue? I will explain how a synthesis of the two makes Zionism the most effective means of defeating antisemitism.
www.gratz.edu/news-and-events/event-calendar/antisemitismnaturedevelopment

Antisemitism: How to Defeat it Through the Teachings of Theodore Herzl and Ahad Ha’am L&L: Antisemitism: Its Nature, Development, Evolution, and Present Stage, and How to Defeat it Through the Teachings of Theodore Herzl and Ahad Ha’am - Gratz College

The greatest minds in Jewish education are walking through our halls! Gratz has the pleasure of hosting the Network For Research in Jewish Education 2024 Conference from June 2-4 at our Mandell Campus. Plenty of smiles and learning abound. Check the photos below for group shots and snippets of the conference.

Thank you, Dodi Klimoff, for organizing this event.

Mindy Escourt Blechman Lyndall Miller

👨‍🎓 Today, we celebrate our 2024 January and June graduates! They've worked hard to earn their degrees and certificates. 💪

Our students come from near and far for a Gratz education. This year's "prize" for furthest Gratz graduate goes to a Holocaust and Genocide Studies doctoral student from West Yorkshire, England.

One of our closest graduates, Joshua Bergerson, received his Doctorate of Education graduation box right at his front door! Pictured below: Director of Institutional Advancement Naomi Housman giving Josh his "graduation in a box".

Support this class and Gratz College with a tax-deductible donation on Giving Day: Sunday, June 2 through Monday, June 3.

All gifts, of any size, count. Our goal is 124 gifts to mark our 124th Commencement.

Let’s make an impact together!
Give now: https://www.givecampus.com/euufe7

🎉 🎓 In just two days, we celebrate our 2024 January and June graduates! They've worked hard to earn their degrees and certificates. 💪

Support this class and Gratz College with a tax-deductible donation on Giving Day: Sunday, June 2 through Monday, June 3.

All gifts, of any size, count. And once we reach 124 gifts — to mark our 124th Commencement — we unlock challenges and matching gifts for the Annual Fund.

Let’s make an impact together!

124th Gratz College Commencement - Gratz College Commencement celebrations take place Sunday, June 2, 2024.

We already knew that President Eleff is a trailblazer in higher education. It's good to see it in print!

"When Zev Eleff was named president of Gratz College in 2021, he was just 35, making him one of America’s youngest higher education leaders. He was already an ordained rabbi, a prolific scholar of American Jewish studies, a two-time finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and, previously, one of the youngest Touro College faculty members promoted to full professor. At Gratz, Eleff has led efforts to digitize important American Jewish historical documents – including the Elie Wiesel archive – and debuted a first-of-its-kind master’s in antisemitism studies."

https://www.cityandstatepa.com/power-lists/2024/05/2024-trailblazers-higher-education/396822/
Zev Eleff

The 2024 Trailblazers in Higher Education Meet the Pennsylvanians influencing what happens next – and how – in this crucial Keystone State sector.

Learn about Hamas at this in-person program, exclusively at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El with Brendan Goldman, Ph.D.

Historicizing Hamas's Agenda: Islamist Politics and Minority Rights
Thursday, June 6, 2024
8:00 pm

Historicizing Hamas's Agenda: Islamist Politics and Minority Rights In-person at Beth Hillel: Thursday, June 6 at 8pm ET

We will never forget the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. Freedom is never free. We owe you a debt that we can never repay. 🇺🇸

Don't miss Dara Horn on Sunday, June 9th at Old York Road Temple - Beth Am. Horn is a two-time winner of the One Book, One Jewish Community program. She is a prolific writer and compelling speaker.

Register here: https://oldyorkroadtemplebetham.shulcloud.com/event/dara-horn.html

Thank you Jarrad Saffren of the Jewish Exponent for writing about our exciting news in Philly's western suburbs. We can't wait to get started!

https://www.jewishexponent.com/gratz-buys-main-line-property-to-host-public-programming-serve-as-cultural-center/

Gratz Buys Main Line Property to Host Public Programming, Serve as Cultural Center - Jewish Exponent Gratz College has purchased a property on the Main Line. According to Gratz officials, “The new campus will serve as a cultural center.”

Gratz Director of Digital Scholarship Alison Joseph was invited to present at the Fifth International Judaica Curators Conference at the National Library of Israel. 👏

Dr. Joseph is currently leading our transformative project to digitize the papers and correspondence of Elie Wiesel.

Below are photos taken at the venue. Her personal photos are in the comments.

Tuttleman Library of Gratz College

This virtual conversation by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is taking place on Thursday, May 23 with a panel of experts, including our own President Zev Eleff.

https://theweitzman.org/events/antisemitism-usa/

Antisemitism, USA | Conversation with Zev Eleff, Kristen Fermaglich, Sarah Ihoff, Lincoln Mullen, Mark Oppenheimer, Britt Tevis and John Turner Antisemitism, USA, a forthcoming podcast, asks the questions: How can Americans overcome a problem that they can’t define, a bigotry whose particulars shift over time, a hatred that most consider a problem of the past rather than the present? The podcast explores instances and aspects of antisemit...

🕺🥇🪘🎨 Monday, May 20 was an inspiring night at Gratz College. We hosted schools and students from our local region for the Mordechai Anielewicz Creative Arts Competition Awards Ceremony. We were surrounded by compelling Holocaust-themed 2D and 3D art, dance, music, poetry, and prose.

Submissions were received from:
Padua Academy
Penncrest High School
Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS) Center for Performing and Fine Arts
Marple Newtown High School
Lenape Middle School
Quest Noar, Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
Caskey Torah Academy
Benchmark School System
Abington Middle School
Agora Cyber Charter School

Special thanks to Dr. Maureen Pelta for her stewardship of the project for many years and to our Gratz colleague Mindy Escourt Blechman for organizing the entire event! Shoutouts go to Mindy Saifer Cohen, Suzette Martinez, Dodi Klimoff, Zev Eleff, Lori Cohen, Ernie Collins, Anthony DePaul, and Sheila Stevens. We appreciate our many judges: Essie Abrahams-Goldberg, Helena Campbell, Dr. Laura Fattal, Josey Fisher, Nina Gordon, Sonia Gordon-Walinsky, Simone Gorko, Marlena Kleit, Dodi Klimoff, Jessica Kahn, Dr. Barbara Krasner, Laura Kuhn, Marlena Robinson Kleit, Terry LaBan, Diana Myers, Beth Razin, Lou Walinsky, and Violet Zeitlin.

Named in memory of the heroic young leader who organized Jewish resistance and gave his life fighting in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, the Mordechai Anielewicz Creative Arts Competition invites students in grades 7 - 12 to learn about the Holocaust and respond by means of creative expression.