The Jewish National Fund Wisconsin Region will honor 12 community activists at its annual dinner, to be held on Sunday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m., at Brynwood Country Club.
Honorees are: Dr. Melvin M. Askot, Debbie Carter Berkson and Rabbi Marc Berkson, Rachel and Dr. Jerome Cornfield, Judy and Norb Eglash, Donna and Leo Kleiner, Martin Kohler, and Michelle and Scott Wales.
“The coveted JNF Honoree Award is presented to show JNF’s appreciation to the honorees for their devotion to Jewish and other causes and the State of Israel,” said Dianne Spector, dinner co-chair with Neena Florsheim.
The program will also include a performance by Milwaukee Jewish Day School students.
As a result of Israel’s war with Hezbollah, JNF has changed its annual solicitation campaign. “We are raising funds for children who are under the threat of fire and missiles in the north. These children will be taken to camps in safe places in Israel,” said Audrey Brooks, Wisconsin Region co-president with Narda Forman.
“It is our goal at JNF to reach at least 10,000 of these children to bring them from the bunkers to the camps.
“Funds will also be used to build a security road along the Gaza border, and to provide emergency equipment for the firefighters and first responders who are working around the clock to put out forest fires caused by the rockets,” she said.
Milwaukee native Dr. Melvin M. Askot practiced pediatrics in a private practice from 1956-2000. A member of the American Medical Association and Wisconsin Medical Society, he is a past president of the Wisconsin Pediatric Society.
He is a member of Congregations Beth Israel and Shalom, B’nai B’rith, the Wisconsin Society for Jewish Learning, the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Advocates for Israel in Milwaukee and the Congregation Shalom Yiddish Vinkel. He is the incoming president of Parents of North American Israelis (PNAI).
Askot has visited Israel more than 30 times. He teaches a class about Israel at the North Shore School for Seniors. He also tutors third graders in reading, math and telling time at Milwaukee Public Schools’ Byron Kilbourn School.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Debbie Carter Berkson earned a master’s degree in social work and has worked with special needs children and their families, and with cardiac surgery patients.
She is now program associate at Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee. She also serves as chair of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun’s Social Action Committee and vice chair of the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Rabbi Marc Berkson has been spiritual leader of Emanu-El since 1999. Ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1978, he came to Milwaukee from Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Ill.
President of the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis, he previously served as president of the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis and has served on numerous boards, including Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee, which he helped to found.
He serves as faculty member at Olin Sang Ruby Institute since 1980 and has been chair of the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of the Oconomowoc camp. Also, he sits on the national board of the Association of Reform Zionists of America.
Rachel and Dr. Jerome Cornfield have supported JNF for many years. Rachel is a native of Marinette, which had a Jewish population of 40 families in the 1940s. Her grandfather started one of the local synagogues.
Jerome Cornfield is a retired physician in general practice. His father, Rabbi Maurice Cornfield, was a Hebrew teacher at Beth El for many years. His mother volunteered for many years at the JNF office.
Both Milwaukee natives, Judy and Norb Eglash owned and operated NE Creative Services, a graphic art and typesetting business, for over 30 years. Judy also taught Sunday school at Congregation Shalom and Temple Menorah for several years.
Judy has been involved in Hadassah since she was a child and has held many positions at its group, chapter and regional levels, including three years as president of the organization’s Milwaukee chapter.
She served five years as president of PNAI’s Milwaukee chapter and is currently a co-chair of the Day of Discovery, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Coalition for Jewish Learning. She is a member of various committees, including the Israel Task Force of the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations. She volunteers twice monthly for the Jewish Community Pantry.
In 1989, Judy received the Colitiscope Award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America-Wisconsin Chapter (CCFA).
Norb has held various leadership roles at Temple Menorah, including two years as president. He is a life member of the synagogue’s Men’s Club. He has been involved in the CCFA, PNAI and is a Hadassah Associate. Throughout the years, he has been a member of several local Zionist organizations.
A speech-language pathologist with the Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District, Donna Kleiner is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association.
A Milwaukee native, she serves on several committees at Congregation Beth Israel, including the family programming committee, youth commission, social action committee and education committee, of which she is a co-chair.
She was co-chair of CBI’s mishloach manot fundraiser and helped plan Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee’s Teen Day of Social Action. She is a member of the Tikkun Ha-Ir social action committee and volunteers at Cathedral Center.
A certified public accountant, Leo Kleiner is manager of treasury and tax at Charter Manufacturing Co., Inc. Born in Milwaukee, Kleiner has served CBI in various capacities, including a term as a member of the board of trustees. He is currently synagogue treasurer and co-chair of its budget and finance committee.
A member of CJL’s Nathan & Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, he is a board member of Generation After, an organization of people whose parents survived the Holocaust, as well as others devoted to the mission of Holocaust remembrance and education.
He serves on the Yom HaShoah committee and is a volunteer teacher with Junior Achievement.
Martin Kohler has been recognized by Newsweek as a prominent criminal defense attorney and by Milwaukee Magazine as a leading attorney. He is a program coordinator for The Center of Continuing Legal Studies at Marquette University Law School and a frequent public speaker.
He sponsors summer camp programs through Camp Gan Israel and is on the board of directors of Centro Legal, Inc.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Michelle Wales has lived in Milwaukee for 10 years. She is administrator of the Cancer Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
She is co-chair of the federation Welcoming Committee, has served on the MJF Women’s Division’s board of directors, executive committee and various other committees.
She has held several positions with the National Council of Jewish Women and is currently a member of its board. She volunteers throughout the community, including at Congregation Beth Israel, Children’s Lubavitch Living and Learning Center, the federation’s Jewish Chaplaincy Program and the local organization of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
Native Milwaukeean Scott Wales is an attorney with Safer and Stein Law Offices. He is a member of the Wisconsin and Illinois Bar Associations, the Milwaukee Bar Association and the Wisconsin Criminal Defense Attorney Association.
He has volunteered with the federation in various committees, including Strategic Planning and a Young Leadership Division. A former B’nai B’rith Youth Organization advisor, he has also served as a literacy tutor in public schools.
Loading ...