Martyrdom & Resistance, September/October 2000

ID Transcript mare2701_01 "OCT 3 0 2000 MARTYRDOM AND RESISTANCE PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM, INC. Vol. 27 - No. 1 ISSN 0892-1571 September-October 2000 - Elul-Tishri 5761 Sixteenth Annual Yad Vashem Dinner November 19 Honorees Are Judith Wilf and Barry S. Sternlicht The 16th Annual Dinner of the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem inaugurates their first occasion for remembrance in this century. The 2000 Tribute Dinner will be held Sunday, November 19, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers. It will be a memorable evening honoring devoted supporters of remembrance. The Dinner also offers visible proof of the development of Yad Vashem 2001. The honorees — a survivor and a child of survivors — eminently reflect the vigorous involvement in remembrance that unites the supporters of Yad Vashem 2001. The honorees are Judith Wilf, National Vice-Chair of the American Society for Yad Vashem and Barry S. Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. Mrs. Wilf will receive the Yad Vashem Remembrance Award and Mr. Sternlicht, the Young Leadership Remembrance Award. The General Chairmen are Edgar M. Bronfman and Dr. Israel Singer. The honoring of Judith Wilf adds one more illustrious chapter to a family that for decades has supported Yad Vashem and championed the cause of remembrance. Elizabeth and Joseph Wilf were the 1985 honorees and their children Mark and Jane Wilf were honored in 1997. WAR YEARS IN HARD LABOR Born in Poland, Judith Wilf was the fifth of seven children. She was educated both in the public school system and at a Bais Yaakov school. Her peaceful lifestyle in Tarnow was disrupted at the start of the war. Judith Wilf spent the war years in hard labor in Si- Judith Wilf beria and Uzbekistan. She returned to postwar Poland to find a graveyard for her family and millions of other Jews. In Uzbekistan, she met a fellow survivor, Harry Wilf. They were married in 1946. They have one child, Leonard. Harry Wilf died in 1992. The wartime experiences of the Wilfs spurred them to active involvement in numerous philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors, among them United Jewish Appeal, Israel Bonds, the Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Diaspora Yeshiva in the hills of Jerusalem, Yeshiva University, and Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Her concern for the health care needs of Jerusalem citizenry earned her a SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON DAUGHTER OF SURVIVORS IN RACE FOR WHITE HOUSE Throughout its 26 years, M&R has taken pride in presenting the achievements of survivors and children of survivors. No announcement has been received with such enthusiasm by our readership as that identifying a daughter of survivors being married to the candidate for Vice President of the U.S. Beyond that, Mrs. Hadassah Lieberman excited readers in speaking with fervor of her background when Joseph Lieberman accepted the nomination for high office. Hadassah Lieberman Within a matter of minutes after the official announcement, Mrs. Lieberman proclaimed her message as a daughter of survivors at a World War II memorial in Nashville: ""Here I am,"" she said, ""the daughter of survivors from the Holocaust, the most horrendous thing that happened. And here I am in the place that commemorates the American heroes, the soldiers who actually liberated my mother in Dachau and Auschwitz. Whether you and your family immigrated from Europe, Africa, Latin America, or Asia, I am standing here for you. This country is our country."" Born Hadassah Freilich in post-war Czechoslovakia, her mother, Ella, survived Auschwitz and Dachau. Her father, Rabbi Samuel Freilich, survived a Nazi labor camp. Mrs. Lieberman's brother, Ary Freilich, added his comments on being a child of survivors. ""The Holocaust survivor families always have a little bit of sadness in them,"" he said. ""There is an appreciation for the fragility of society ... there is an immense appreciation of life that comes from people who always lived at the very edge."" Barry S. Sternlicht special presentation by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Harry and Joseph Wilf families are major donors of the New Historical Museum under construction at Yad Vashem. Judith, along with her son, Leonard, is a senior partner in Garden Homes Management Corporation, a real estate development building and management company in New Jersey. She has four grandchildren. Recognized as one of the youngest and most respected leaders in the hotel and leisure industry, Barry Sternlicht presides over more than 725 hotels in 80 countries worldwide. His commitment to perpetuating the legacy of the Shoah can be traced to his eagerness to learn of his father's experiences during the Holocaust. ""Dad, I would like to accompany you, to Poland and the former Czechoslovakia. I want to trace your roots with you..."" Following this poignant journey, Barry insisted that his father give videotape testimony to the Shoah Foundation. That has become among Barry Stern- licht's most treasured possessions. (Continued on page 8) The International Society for Yad Vashem and Martyrdom and Resistance extend their best wishes for a Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year "