HEADLINES | 5
STRIKE UP THE BAND Saul Dreier, 99-year-old Holocaust survivor and drummer, will perform in Chandler
REAL ESTATE | 13
NAR SETTLEMENT
Realtor Ophir Gross reviews recent changes to the real estate industry
DECEMBER 13, 2024 | KISLEV 12, 5785 | VOLUME 77, NUMBER 7
‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ author comes to Phoenix SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER
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eorgia Hunter based her book, “We Were the Lucky Ones,” on her family’s experience in Poland before, during and after World War II. The book chronicles her extended family’s stories as they survive life in a ghetto, forced labor in factories and on farms, prison abuse, serving in the military and in the resistance and hiding — sometimes in people’s homes, sometimes in plain sight, using false IDs. Hunter will discuss her family’s incredible tales of survival at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale early next year, on Thursday, Jan. 23, four days before the observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD). Hunter will be interviewed by Busy Philipps, the well-known television and film actress currently starring in “Girls5eva,” a Peacock/Netflix original series. “With Holocaust awareness diminishing and with fewer and fewer survivors alive to pass along their firsthand experiences, I feel it’s important — now more than ever — to share stories like my family’s, and to do so in a way that current and future generations can relate to and learn from,” Hunter told Jewish News in an email. Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA), in partnership with the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix, invited Hunter as part of its IHRD commemoration. Hunter’s book is not only about the Holocaust in which one or two family members survive, but, as the title indicates, the whole family makes it out alive. Though the book is serious and includes descriptions of indiscriminate violence, hunger and dismal conditions, many readers have an easier time knowing that the characters they come to care about will survive.
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Dr. Ruth’s lessons to curb loneliness play role at CJP fundraiser MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR
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hen Dr. Ruth Westheimer set her sights on becoming the Loneliness Ambassador for New York State, no such position existed. So, she enlisted the help of a state senator and began petitioning Gov. Kathy Hochul to create the role. “As New York works to fight the loneliness epidemic, some help from honorary Ambassador Ruth Westheimer may be just what the doctor ordered,” Hochul said in a statement after confirming the appointment. “Dr. Ruth Westheimer has offered her services to help older adults and all New Yorkers cope with the loneliness epidemic and I will be appointing her to serve as the nation’s first state-level honorary Ambassador to Loneliness.” Emmy Award-winning author and journalist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, left, and Allison Gilbert at Westheimer’s home. COURTESY OF ALLISON GILBERT Allison Gilbert spent three months interviewing Westheimer about her transition from renowned sex therapist to loneliness ambassador. The article appeared in The New York Times on Nov. 9, 2023. “It was a wonderful series of conversations to prepare that piece,” said Gilbert. “Then after it was published, it was a great fortune to continue knowing her and begin a different kind of relationship and, completely by surprise, to collaborate with her, which was just wonderful.” Gilbert co-authored the book, “The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life,” with Westheimer and her media director for more than 40 years, Pierre Lehu. The book was the last project Westheimer worked on before her death on July 12, 2024. Gilbert will “share stories that probably most people have never heard before about Dr. Ruth and we will have a chance to honor her together” when she is the guest speaker at the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix’s Power of the Purse event at 6 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2025. SEE LESSONS, PAGE 4
Sharing the light Four towns in the White Mountains of Arizona will host public menorah lightings to celebrate Chanukah this year. See page 15. PHOTO COURTESY OF DYAN FLYZIK
SEE AUTHOR, PAGE 2
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