By Masha Leon
“It’s been a great year for Bezalel across the globe, with exhibitions in London, Venice, Paris and Israel,” declared Ilan Kaufthal, chairman of the Friends of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, at a January 24 gala.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“We do it every year, like Exodus,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, at the January 17 March of the Living reception.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“My first reaction was, ‘I can’t do it!’” Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland told me during our chat about her film “In Darkness,” which opened in New York on January 27 and has been nominated for an Academy Award.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“If, in the future, [Yiddish] will have the same status and [culturally] stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Latin and Greek, we won’t be doing so badly,” Bard College president Leon Botstein said at the January 9 launch of the YIVO-Bard Institute for East European Jewish History and Culture Winter Intercession Program.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“God’s bank vault is filled with tears shed for loss,” Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky said to a crowd of 900 at the January 1 memorial for Adrienne Cooper, held at the New York City congregation Ansche Chesed.
Read More
By Masha Leon
On December 19, the New York Board of Rabbis hosted a “Vodka & Latke” celebration at the New York City Fire Museum in honor of Rabbi Joseph Potasnik’s “special birthday,” later revealed to be his 65th. Among the 300 guests were family members, friends, politicians and rabbis of all denominations.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“Nice to know that [in Israel] we are not alone,” said Merav Mandelbaum, chairman of the board of directors of Reuth Israel at the December 12 Reuth fundraiser, which was held at Sotheby’s in Manhattan.
Read More
By Masha Leon
“Fourteen years ago, six parents met in a midtown office. We did not know each other, but we had one thing in common: We all had children who could die from food allergies,” gala dinner co-chair Sharyn Mann said on December 5 at the Food Allergy Initiative Ball, held at the Waldorf Astoria. “Ambulances did not carry EpiPens; packaged foods were not clearly labeled; schools had no procedures for keeping children safe. Today, [thanks to FAI,] all that has changed,” Mann said to the 500 guests who had helped raise $4.5 million for the cause.
Read More
By Masha Leon
The Beit Hatfutsot gala on December 1 was a feast for the eyes and the soul as 500 guests gathered at the Mandarin Oriental to celebrate the Museum of the Jewish People’s future as an interactive hub of Jewish culture.
Read More
By Masha Leon
The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research’s 86th annual benefit dinner, held on November 30 and honoring JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman Jacob Frenkel with a lifetime achievement award, was as much a gathering of financial gurus as it was of Yiddishists, intellectuals and historians. Guests included Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel, and YIVO board member Leo Melamed, chairman emeritus of the CME Group.
Read More
