By Maximillien de Lafayette
HADASSAH’S ANNUAL
NATIONAL CONVENTION TO TAKE PLACE IN WASHINGTON, DC
“What So Proudly We Hail” salutes Hadassah’s
love of country and Israel
Photos
from L to R: 1. His Excellency, Ambassador Daniel Ayalon. 2. Prof. Shlomo
Avineri.
Close to 2,000 Hadassah members from all over the United States will gather in Washington, DC for the annual national convention of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, to be held Sunday, July 17 through Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The 91st annual convention will bring together the two most important concepts to Hadassah members: American patriotism and love of Israel, perfectly captured by this year’s convention theme, “What So Proudly We Hail.” Over the course of three days, a roster of government officials, academic experts, and medical professionals will serve as keynote speakers and on discussion panels, empowering delegates to advocate with their national and local representatives on an array of American and Israel-based issues. “There is a certain energy in 2,000 Hadassah members arriving in the nation’s capital that always makes a Washington convention especially exhilarating,” said June Walker, National President. “This year, we are particularly energized by the recent vote in the House of Representatives in favor of stem cell research and by our activities this past spring to promote positive stem cell legislation. We plan to take that message - and the message of preserving a strong, safe Israel - to our representatives on the Hill.” The national convention serves as an educational and motivational forum to launch and enhance volunteer programs that delegates will use in their chapter and unit activities throughout the upcoming year. Attending delegates comprise the governing body of Hadassah, and during the convention they elect officials and pass policies and resolutions on Zionist and American issues. Socializing, networking, and rejuvenating one’s spirit are also major components of Hadassah conventions. The chairs of the 91st National Convention are Joyce Rabin of Woodmere, NY, and Judy Palkovitz, of Pittsburgh, PA.
Photo:
Israeli super singer Dudu Fisher will entertain the audience.
91st Hadassah National Convention program highlights:
What So Proudly We Hail will be perfectly expressed in the plenary session, The State of the Union, which will examine the alliance between the U.S. and Israel and feature The Hon. Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and Sen. Joseph R. Biden (D-DE). In keeping with the convention’s capital theme, it will be run like a political convention with a series of caucuses and plenaries addressing issues of concern:
Israel on the Hill will feature Prof. Shlomo Avineri, Hebrew University; Ester Kurz, of AIPAC; Tamara Cofman Wittes, Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
The First Amendment: Are Your Freedoms at Risk?: Gloria Feldt, past president, Planned Parenthood; Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-Il); Nadine Strossen, president, ACLU.
The Future of Advanced Medical Research: Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE); Prof. Benjamin E. Reubinoff, Director Hadassah Research Center of Human Embryonic Stem Cells; Daniel Perry, president, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research.
Heart Disease Doesn’t Care What You Wear: Dr. Nieca Goldberg, Lenox Hill Hospital; Dr. Vivian W. Pinn, NIH; Judy Palkovitz, convention Co-Chair.
Politics & Policy - Why Women Matter: Ellen Malcolm, president, EMILY’s List; Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author; Linda Chavez, political analyst; Dee Dee Myers, political commentator.
Photo:
Tamara Cofman Wittes.
Some 1,500 delegates will spend an entire morning on Capitol Hill advocating on U.S. and Israeli issues with their own senators and representatives. The Henrietta Szold Award, Hadassah’s highest honor, will be given to the Hon. Daniel Kurtzer, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, and Mrs. Sheila Kurtzer, president, Corps Diplomatique. Delegates will be fully briefed on Hadassah’s medical and educational projects in Israel and entertained by Israeli singer Dudu Fisher and the political satire musical group, the Capitol Steps. To register for the 91st National Convention, please call the Convention hotline at: (877) 790-2676 or visit convention@hadassah.org.
Founded in 1912, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America is the largest women’s, largest Zionist, and largest Jewish membership organization in the United States. In Israel, it supports medical care and research, education, and youth institutions, and reforestation and parks projects. In the US, Hadassah promotes health education, social action and advocacy, volunteerism, Jewish education and research, Young Judaea and connections with Israel. For complete information about Hadassah, visit www.hadassah.org
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg marched in the 41st Annual Salute to Israel Parade
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg marched in the 41st Annual Salute to Israel Parade along 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Marching with the Mayor were Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom, Consul General of Israel Arye Mekel, US Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, and Jewish Community Relations Council Executive Vice President Michael Miller. The parade, with the theme of “Saluting Israel, Celebrating America…Two Golden Lands,” was a colorful display of solidarity with Israel and its people. The Mayor said just before the start of the parade, “Israel is one of those countries that America depends on. It is a bellwether for freedom, it is leading the fight against terrorism as is the United States and I think both countries have an enormous amount in common. We want to be able to live in peace, we want to be able to practice our religions, we want to have tolerance for everybody, and you’re going to see today the great spirit of New Yorkers to say, ‘We’re so proud to be allies with Israel and we’re proud that Israel has been a great ally of the United States.’ Photo credits: Kimberlee Hewitt
ADL TO SHOWCASE PROGRAM FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS ON HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE HOLOCAUST DURING OSCE CONFERENCE IN CORDOBA, SPAIN
In conjunction with the Conference on Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Intolerance of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will host a side event showcasing a unique Holocaust education initiative created by ADL and the Archdiocese of Washington, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Catholic Educational Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - the Bearing Witness program. The Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver and Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Karen Brady, a Catholic school educator and implementer of the award-winning Bearing Witness program, will discuss this program as a model that could be adapted in other OSCE participating states. Archbishop Chaput is a Public Member of the U.S. delegation to the conference. Stacy Burdett, ADL Associate Director of Government Affairs, is a Public Advisor to the delegation. The ADL's Bearing Witness program helps Catholic educators explore issues ranging from the history of anti-Semitism, to the evolution of Catholic teaching on Jews and Judaism to current manifestations of anti-Semitism and tools to confront bias of all kinds. The program was cited as a promising practice in a just-released study by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Beyond its work in the U.S., ADL conducts programs in several OSCE participating states that currently reach students, teachers and law enforcement professionals in countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands Wednesday, June 8, 2005, 5:30-7:00 P.M. Cordoba Congress Palace, Sala Ambrosio Morales, Calle Torrijos, 14003 Cordoba, Spain
This is a beautiful evocation not only of the school’s attitude but something for all Jews here in this City and around the world to remember...
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spoke at the 31st Annual Commencement Ceremony for Touro College, which took place on Sunday, 29th at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. At the event, the Mayor praised both the graduating class and the school as a whole, saying “You’re clearly a special class, and you’re graduating from a very special school: A school that respects people’s individual choices and needs, a school that has attempted not to change who you are, but what you may become...A great New York institution that provides a thorough liberal arts education - while reinforcing the spiritual and ethical training you receive at home or in yeshiva. I’m reminded of Hillel’s historic dictum, which has become a fundamental philosophy of Touro: “If we are not for ourselves… who will be? If we are concerned only with ourselves… what are we?” This is a beautiful evocation not only of the school’s attitude but something for all Jews here in this City and around the world to remember.” Photo credits: Ed Reed.