Prof. Susan Bendor Speaks on Behalf of Hungarian Child Survivors of the Holocaust

Wurzweiler Professor Susan Bendor has had a busy winter!

At the end of October she led two workshops at the 21^st Annual International Conference of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust in Boston, one exploring the challenges and coping styles of the oldest group of child survivors, born before 1932; the other focused on resilience and other legacies child survivors considered passing on to their children and society at large.

On September 9^th she was one of three Hungarian Child Survivors who were invited to appear on a Boston-Newton Public Access TV Program called “On the Sunnier Side of the Street," hosted by Dr. Todd Gross. Gross features guests who have overcome tremendous odds and are able to turn traumas into victories.

The invitation to this TV program was the result of a book, Remember Us: A Collection of Memories from Hungarian Hidden Children of the Holocaust to which she contributed three chapters.

Dr. Bendor speaks frequently in person and on television and radio "to highlight the enormous difference one or more courageous, decent individuals can make in the lives of the oppressed, and conversely, the high cost of indifference to genocide and injustice, now or in the past."

Rev. Jerry Streets Interviewed on NY1

NY1 recently aired a program about how members of the Haitian Community in Brooklyn and Queens were dealing with their grief over the Earthquake in their homeland of Haiti. Brookdale Family Care Center, and the mental health clinics at Brookdale and Jamaica hospitals have been reaching out to New York's Haitian communities to provide grief counseling.

Among those interviewed is the Rev. Jerry Streets, PhD, a professor at Wurzweiler and an authority on helping people cope with loss

Click here to watch, "Grief Counselors Reach out to Haitian Community"(Rev. Streets' appears at about 1 min, 30 secs into the video.)

WSSW Students Visit New Orleans

During winter break, a group of WSSW students from all three methods (case work, group work, and community organization) visited New Orleans with professors Saul Andron and Jonathan Fast. While there they met with community leaders and agency directors to better understand how residents of the city coped with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They spent two days remediating mold in a house that was being restored by the St. Bernard's Project. More about the trip to New orleans in future posts, but for now enjoy a slide-show of some of the pictures the group members took.

Jewish Communal Service Students Attend GA, Hear Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, and Ram Emanuel, and Others

Sixteen Wurzweiler students attended the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federation of North America in Washington, D.C. in mid-November alongside over 3,000 lay leaders and professionals from the US and around the world. The students heard prominent political figures from Israel and community leaders of Jewish organization, large and small, addressing issues vital to the Jewish community. Forum topics included:

• Creative new fundraising techniques,


• effective management of nonprofit agencies in an economic crisis,


• advocacy strategies for Israel and human rights, service learning opportunities,


• support for at-risk Jewish communities around the world,


• and entrepreneurship and innovation in the Jewish community.

All these topics were filtered through the lens of the challenging economic realities facing the Jewish federation system today.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, speak about the Middle East peace process and his commitment to revive negotiations with Israel’s Arab neighbors and the Palestinians. Netanyahu emphasized three themes: creating a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, disarming Iran’s nuclear capabilities and reducing Israel’s oil dependency.

The delegates were also privileged to hear Foreign Minister Ehud Barak, Natan Sharansky, the recently elected Chairman of the Jewish Agency, and Ram Emanual, President Obama’s Chief of Staff. Each emphasized themes of Jewish unity, support for a secure and flourishing Israel, and the importance of the Jewish Federation in meeting the needs of Jewish communities locally, in Israel and around the world.

One of the most moving moments of the conference was the presentation by Torah for Troops, an organization dedicated to getting Torah scrolls to American soldiers on the front lines. Several members of the armed forces joined a sofer, a scribe, to recite a blessing and then complete a letter in the Torah scroll. This kosher Torah scroll is specially designed to be small, light-weight and portable so military chaplains are able to bring it to serve the religious needs of Jews serving in the armed forces in far-off bases around the world.

Thanks to Dr. Andron's planning, the students attended several private networking sessions including a lunch meeting with Wurzweiler alumni, who spoke about their Wurzweiler education and their careers in the Jewish Federation system.

Second year students incorporated their experiences at the General Assembly into their classroom learning through a unique learning collaboration with the Greater Washington DC Jewish Federation’s Leadership Development Department. They met with professional and lay leaders from the Federation to learn about the demographic profiles, interests, and needs of young Jewish adults. These students will analyze the data in order to to create a needs assessment questionnaire for the Jewish young adults in the Washington DC area.

The GA conference exceeded the expectations of many of the students and served as an invaluable learning and networking experience.

Thanks to Alizah David, guest editor, photograph by Robert A. Cumins

WSSW Prof Joan Beder is Indianapolis Star!

Dr. Joan Beder was quoted in an Indianapolis Star article about doctors forming partnershi[ps with lawyers in order to address patients' social and economic issues without impacting negatively on their health.

Read the article...

WSSW Prof, Rev Jerry Street Named 2010 Fellow by Connecticut Health Foundation

The Connecticut Health Foundation the state’s largest independent health philanthropy association, has announced its 2010 Health Leadership Fellows, and Rev. Jerry Street is one of the 22 Connecticut residents to recive this honor. According to Patricia Baker, the President and CEO of the foundation, each of the the Fellows possesses the qualities and experience necessary to effect changes in Connecticut's health systems that will improve the health of our state's residents.

Read more about the program.

Visit Rev. Streets' blog

Samuel Bronfman Foundation Hosts Seminar for JCS Students

On Wednesday, October 14, ten students from the Jewish Communal Service program attended a unique seminar on startups, innovation and social entrepreneurship in the Jewish community, hosted by the Samuel Bronfman Foundation and facilitated by a panel of experts in startups, innovations, social entrepreneurship and new giving in the Jewish community.

Students were joined by Dean Sheldon Gelman, Dr. Saul Andron, and Professor Lynn Levy, who teach in the Jewish Communal program, and board member, Joel Daner.

Speakers highlighted the growth of an array of small Jewish startups including innovative prayer and spirituality groups, cutting-edge cultural initiatives, and creative educational approaches.

Shawn Landres, Co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart, a Los Angeles based think tank, began the evening with a presentation called The Innovation Ecosystem: Emergence of a New Jewish Landscape (2009) a ground breaking report on grassroots Jewish philanthropic innovation, metrics for success, and partnerships to reduce cost.

Dana Raucher, Executive Director of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, spoke about the foundation’s position on innovation in Jewish life and the strengthening of the Jewish not-for-profit sector. She presented a case example of the Foundation's funding of an innovative program initiative.

The final presentation of the evening was given by Maya Bernstein, Director of Education and Leadership Initiatives at Upstart Bay Area in San Francisco, California. Ms. Bernstein noted that the majority of Jews in the Bay area are not affiliated with traditional Jewish organizations like synagogues or JCCs. Young Jews in particular are seeking new, more intimate and creative ways to connect with different aspects of Jewish life. Her startup is providing technical assistance to the growing number of startup groups which have emerged in the San Francisco Bay area.

Thanks to guest editor, block student David English!