The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community
www.jewishlehighvalley.org
| Issue No. 477 | August 2024 | Tammuz/Av 5784 AWARD-WINNING PUBLICATION EST. 1977
NextGen, formerly Young Leadership, celebrates its first (re)birthday! Photos and stories recap the year. p2
Our older adults pages feature our Yoav columnist welcoming the challenge of life beyond the 60s. p22-25
FROM THE DESK OF JERI ZIMMERMAN p3 LVJF TRIBUTES p11 JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER p12-13 JEWISH DAY SCHOOL p14 JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE p15 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p27
An Evening with Jonathan Conricus
Wartime IDF spokesman to give community ‘insider’ briefing on Israel at war By Carl Zebrowski Editor
IDF Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus
Retired Israel Defense Forces lieutenant colonel Jonathan Conricus will be visiting the Lehigh Valley from Israel on the evening of September 10 to speak to our community about his experiences as the IDF’s international spokesperson during the war with Hamas and his firsthand knowledge of how antisemitism influences war reporting. An Evening with Jonathan Conricus is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the
Lehigh Valley and StandWithUs, an international nonprofit supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism. The evening, at Temple Beth El, will kick off the Federation’s 2025 Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs with a VIP reception for major donors at 5:30 p.m. The event will then open up for a dessert reception for everyone in our community at 7:00 p.m. who has donated at least $365 to the 2025 campaign (the NextGen minimum is $180). Conricus will speak at 7:15 p.m. Jeri Zimmerman, executive director of the Jewish Federation, said, “We are privileged to host Jonathan Conricus, and we look forward to hearing his analysis and ‘insider’
briefing on the current situation in Israel.” Conricus served in the IDF for 24 years as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, military diplomat, foreign relations expert, and spokesperson. In his most recent role, as the IDF’s international spokesperson, he directed the IDF’s global media efforts in traditional and social media. He has delivered hundreds of security and strategic briefings from various locations along and beyond Israel’s borders to foreign groups and dignitaries, ranging from heads of state and military professionals to students and civic groups. He’s known for his ability to tell a complex
story simply, using scenery as props, and leaving his audience with a compelling package of information to remember and act on. Conricus said he has dedicated his whole professional life to representing the State of Israel to the world and defending its name. And he can do all this in five different languages—native in Hebrew, English, and Swedish, and intermediate in German and Arabic. Visit the Federation website at jewishlehighvalley.org for information updates and a registration link. We hope to see you there!
Lions to honor Fromer at international conference
By Carl Zebrowski Editor
The Lehigh Valley already knows that Dr. Carol Bub Fromer has set a high standard for philanthropy and volunteerism during her lifetime of commitment to the Jewish world. Now she’ll get international recognition for that as the Lehigh Valley’s 2024 Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award winner. Fromer will receive the award at the 2025 annual International Lion of Judah Conference in Atlanta in January. Lion of Judah is part of the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federations of
North America, volunteering and raising funds for Jewish needs locally, nationally, and around the world. “Carol has earned this special award and recognition for her long-standing dedication to Women’s Philanthropy as well as her leadership in our community,” said Jeri Zimmerman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. “It is well deserved.” The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley encourages Lions and future Lions (i.e., daughters, granddaughters, and friends of Lions) to attend the conference to join in honoring Fromer in front Non-Profit Organization
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of the large audience, while gathering alongside the others in attendance to learn about and discuss the most pressing issues facing local, national, and global Jewish communities and envision together how to initiate change heading into the future. “Being a Lion means being part of a special ‘pride,’” said Fromer, a doctor at Lehigh Primary Care in Allentown who has been treating patients “from the nursery to the nursing home” for 28 years in the Lehigh Valley. “Jewish philanthropy has always been a priority in my life, but the powerful bond of philanthropic women and the sustained altruism that creates such strong friendships, connections, and respect among women continues to amaze and motivate me. “This communal strength nurtures my Jewish pride and drives my convictions in the face of antisemitism and adversity. I was born in South Africa, where my grandfather lived on one herring a day to save money to rescue my grandmother and their families from the Nazis. He was a modest and humble man, but when it came to being Jewish,
he stood tall. From him I learned that in a world rife with antisemitism, embracing Jewish values, Jewish customs, and commitment to family are our most meaningful endeavors. Jewish pride in everyday life and in support of Israel is our best defense.” The KipnisWilson/Friedland Award was created as a tribute to Norma Kipnis-Wilson and Toby Friedland, both of blessed memory, who co-founded the Lion of Judah program in 1972. Fromer is one of more than Dr. Carol Bub Fromer 18,000 Lions around resent our community again the world who contribute and receive this award at this $5,000 or more annually in year’s International Lion of their own names to their local Judah Conference,” said Lee Jewish Federation’s Annual Kestecher Solomon, the Lehigh Campaign for Jewish Needs. Valley Federation’s director of Eileen Ufberg was the last community engagement. local winner of the Kipnis If you’re a Lion or are planaward. Fromer was in the ning to become one, please audience at the December 2023 consider attending the 2025 conference in Phoenix when conference in January. For Ufberg was honored. “We are more information visit excited that Carol will replionconference.org.