By COLlive reporter
With anti-Semitic attacks on the rise, and a greater risk of owning your Judaism publicly, Jew in the City’s All Star Awards couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Now in its 6th year, the All Star Awards highlight some of the most accomplished religious Jews in the world today as part of Jew in the City’s mission of rebranding Orthodox Jews and Judaism.
Ten exceptional individuals have been named the 6th class of Orthodox Jewish All Stars by Jew in the City and will be honored at an award show on December 2, 2019 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
Honored will be Karen Barrow, Senior Editor at the New York Times; AJ Edelman, First Orthodox Jewish Male Olympian; Joseph Essas, CTO of OpenTable; Bat-El Gatterer, First Orthodox Jewish Female Olympian; Dov Kramer, Executive Producer at WFAN radio; David Friedman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Shulem Lemmer, the first Hasidic Jew to sign with a major record label; Secretary of Transportation of Massachusetts, Stephanie Pollack; Sam Rascoff, Former Director of the NYPD Intelligence Analysis Unit; Jerry Wittenstein, NASA scientist who developed 3 out of the 6 trajectories for Apollo 11.
In addition to the All Stars, Dr. Mayim Bialik will be recognized that evening for her historic commitment to Jewish observance in the midst of secular Hollywood, receiving a Keter Shem Tov Award, as she has improved how Orthodox Jews are regarded in the world.
Jew in the City, a non-profit founded in 2007 by Allison Josephs, reverses negative associations about religious Jews by highlighting an approach based on kindness, tolerance, sincerity, and critical thinking and makes engaging and meaningful Orthodox Judaism known and accessible. Its recently launched initiative, Project Makom, helps Jews raised with negative experiences in the Haredi world, find a positive place to belong within the Jewish community.
Jew in the City is reshaping the way the world views Orthodox Jews and Judaism. It publicizes the message that Orthodox Jews can be funny, approachable, educated, pro-women and open-minded—and that Orthodox Judaism links the Jewish people to a deep and beautiful heritage that is just as relevant today as it ever was. With a mix of light humor and rich content, Jew in the City explores controversial topics in a pleasant and easy-to-understand fashion, appealing to anyone who is curious to learn more about Orthodox Jews and observant Judaism, whether they are Jewish or not.
Past Orthodox Jewish All Stars have included former Senator Joe Lieberman; Ford Motor Company VP and Treasurer, Neil Schloss; UK Pensions Minister, Baroness Ros Altmann; Ruchie Freier, the first Hasidic Female judge; Nobel Laureate Robert Aumann; Emmy winning producer Ilana Wernick; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; CEO of advertising agency 360i, Sarah Hofstetter, Creative Director of BCBGeneration, Joyce Azria, and Chief Risk Officer at the NSA, Anne Neuberger.
The Orthodox Jewish All Stars will take place December 2, 2019. Click here for more information.
Another good person to honor would be Betty Deutsch. To all those being honored, keep making that Kiddish Hashem daily.
May we soon enter the time when every Yid will shine very brightly with the coming of משיח כאו!!