HAKOL

By Carl Zebrowski Editor The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley will officially launch its 2027 Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs with an invitation-only Major Gifts Reception with a  community-wide presentation to follow featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Bret Stephens on Thursday, September 17, at Muhlenberg College.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor Maybe it was just a coincidence that the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley hosted an evening celebrating community volunteers, leaders, and donors on June 10. Or maybe not. But the previous Shabbat’s parsha, the weekly portion of the Torah read aloud in synagogues, has Moses telling God that he can’t handle all the responsibilities of leading his people by himself.

By Lee Kestecher Solomon Director of Community Engagement I had the privilege of traveling to Israel on June 14 as part of a delegation from the Lehigh Valley through our Partnership2Gether (P2G) program. We spent a meaningful week with our partners in the Yoav Regional Council, strengthening relationships, participating in collaborative meetings, and visiting projects supported by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor Dr. Houman and Lori Ahdieh had a rough time right after they moved to the Lehigh Valley in 1995 for him to work. The area was very different from what they knew, and they had no personal ties here. “It’s hard for a younger couple to move to an area that you have no real connection with initially,” said Houman, who began his tenure as president of the Jewish Federation’s Maimonides Society of healthcare professionals on July 1.

Like most members of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, the three trustees of the Charles and Figa Kline Foundation didn’t personally know the institution’s husband-and-wife founders. “None of us ever met Charles and Figa Kline,” said trustee Barnet Fraenkel. “My father was on this board, and he knew them, but our generation? None of us knew them.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley has announced the winners of its annual awards for volunteers, leaders, and others who made extraordinary contributions to the Jewish community in 2025-26. The five winners will be honored at the Federation’s Community Celebration and Annual Meeting in the JCC’s Kline Auditorium on Wednesday, June 10.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor From the buzzing lobby of the Paul C. Empie Theatre at Muhlenberg College before the “Unity in the Community 2.0: Broadway Celebrates the Lehigh Valley” show began, to the packed seats and dynamic performances inside, to the stars posing afterward for pictures with the guests, the Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley enjoyed a festive, uplifting, and empowering handful of hours on Thursday night, May 28.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor “Forty years ago a group of community leaders made a choice,” Dr. Zach Goldsmith, outgoing president of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Maimonides Society told the crowd gathered at Temple Beth El on May 7 to celebrate the society’s 40th anniversary. “They made a choice to start the very first Maimonides Society in America,” he said. He paused to ask the founders of the healthcare professionals organization to stand.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor It’s hard to beat this elevator pitch for Israel advocate: Nerdy Israeli farm girl who spent a year in the hospital fighting a serious blood disorder grows up to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, enters Miss Universe competition at her mother’s prodding, wins the Miss Israel crown, gets called back to active military duty after the October 7 Hamas attacks, and turns her unlikely run of experiences into a global platform to change minds about Israel.

By Carl Zebrowski Editor Beth Kozinn of Allentown is joining the board of the Jewish Federations of North America Women’s Philanthropy. The board is made up of 200 of the most influential women leaders in Jewish philanthropy from more than 60 Federations across the continent. Kozinn will work alongside Carol Bub Fromer, who was appointed to the board in 2021.