WHITEFISH BAY – One of the motorcycles zoomed into the JCC parking lot bearing a pair of large, flowing Israeli flags, fluttering off the ends of poles at the back of the chopper. Wendy and David Hefter rode the bike all the way from Baltimore.
“It’s a privilege and an honor,” David said. “It’s a good thing to do to show support for the State of Israel and in honor of those who cannot be here. We remember the Holocaust.”
The Hefters were among more than 100 motorcycle riders, all affiliated with the international Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance. Some came straight from the coasts, while others made Milwaukee a stop in a 4,000-mile tour, according to organizers.
Wendy and David Hefter rode this bike all the way from Baltimore, to Milwaukee for an event benefitting the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center with the international Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance.
A large portion of the group rumbled and rolled together into Milwaukee and then to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Whitefish Bay at around mid-day, June 9. This was the meeting spot for the 2023 annual Ride 2 Remember, always in memory of the Holocaust, but this year benefitting the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, a program of Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
The motorcyclists raised more than $45,000 for HERC, often from friends and family or just giving themselves.
“Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance riders were greeted by members of our Jewish community, including HERC board, staff, and volunteers, JCC staff, Gan Ami preschool, Holocaust survivors, and the general public,” said Samantha Abramson, executive director. “Over lunch they learned about HERC’s impact across Wisconsin and participated in a conversation with Holocaust survivor Eva Zaret. They also held a remembrance service at Pinat Hatikvah, HERC’s Corner of Hope installation and public space at the JCC.”
Faith Avner was a volunteer co-chair of the event, on behalf of the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance and the sponsoring local club, the Chicago-based Chaiway Riders.
When Chaiway Riders volunteers asked their Wisconsin contacts which organization to support in Milwaukee for Holocaust education, the answer was consistently HERC, Avner said. But the Chaiway Riders chose Milwaukee in the first place, at least in part, to encourage the creation of a Milwaukee-based Jewish motorcycle club, Avner said. (This has been their goal for years, as previously reported in the Chronicle.)
Maybe the publicity from this Ride 2 Remember will finally help make that happen? Riders say they sometimes get into motorcycling for years, before they realize there are a network of Jewish motorcycle clubs, all of them city and regional clubs affiliated with the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance.
After getting off his bike in the JCC parking lot, rider Arik Eigner has ridden in Israel, Canada, and now the United States. “It’s wonderful. Once you’ve ridden, it’s in your blood. You don’t forget even if you stop for a few years.”
Some riders wore caps sporting the HERC logo, this year’s Ride 2 Remember beneficiary.
“Never forget that that happened,” said Stacey Levitt, who rode into town with a group from Toronto. “And take a look around because things are still going on now, even though it’s not Hitler and the Holocaust. It’s still going on now in our world. And we have got to stop it.”
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The motorcyclists raised more than $45,000 for the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, often from friends and family or just giving themselves.
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