Continuing the Kristol legacy
Major fundraising campaign to benefit Kristol Center for Jewish Life
2:51 p.m., Dec. 20, 2011--In honor of the 100th birthday of Pearl Kristol, founding “mother” of the Kristol Center for Jewish Life at the University of Delaware, UD Hillel is announcing the launch of a major fundraising campaign. Mrs. Kristol, who died at age 98 in June 2010, would have turned 100 on Feb. 9, 2012.
The goal of the Pearl Kristol Centennial Campaign is to raise $100,000 to support Hillel’s mission of enriching the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that through their leadership they can enrich the Jewish world and beyond. Mrs. Kristol's three sons -- Dan, Howard and David -- will each match the first $25,000 in contributions of at least $100. For example, a $100 gift to the Kristol Center will be matched by an additional $300 gift. Though a minimum gift of $100 is required for the matching funds, student gifts in any amount will be matched.
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The campaign will recognize donors and their families at the following levels (to be published at the completion of the campaign, post June 2012):
• Donors at the $2,500 level ($10,000 when matched) will become members of the Weizmann Society of the Kristol Center. Chaim Weizmann was a world-renowned chemist who founded what became the Weizmann Institute of Science at Rehovot, Israel. As president of the British Zionist Federation, he helped obtain the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and, in 1949, became the first president of the state of Israel.
• Donors at the $1,000 level ($4,000 when matched) will become members of the Meir Society of the Kristol Center. Golda Meir, a teacher, was born in the Ukraine and lived for 15 years in the United States. In 1921, she made Aliyah and almost immediately became intensively involved in Israeli politics. She held a number of important government positions and was described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics. In 1969, she became Israel’s fourth prime minister.
• Donors at the $500 level ($2,000 when matched) will become members the Rabin Society of the Kristol Center. Yitzhak Rabin was a military commander and chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. As successor to Golda Meir, he was the first native-born Israeli prime minister. As signer of the Oslo Peace Accords, he was awarded, in conjunction with Shimon Peres, the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Donors of $100-499 will be recognized as Ben-Gurion Donors. David Ben-Gurion, a fervent Zionist, was the de facto leader of the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine. Upon independence in 1948, he became the head of the provisional government of Israel and, in 1949, was elected Israel’s first prime minister.
The three Kristol brothers have assumed the mantle of their parents’ leadership through their deep commitment to UD Hillel. Dan and Howard both actively serve on the Board of Directors. Asked why the mission of the Kristol Center is so important to them, they said, “It is the future of the Jewish people. The Hillel experience for young adults positively impacts the future of Jewish community leadership more than any other Jewish experience. That is why we believe in and support the Kristol Center.”
Supporting the Kristol brothers' belief in the importance of Hillel is a recent Avi Chai Foundation study of Jewish organization leaders in their 20s and 30s. That study found that Hillel involvement was the greatest single predictor of future Jewish leadership, outpacing all other shared Jewish experiences.
The Pearl Kristol Centennial Campaign launches in January 2012, and all gifts must be received by June 30, 2012. Gifts may be made through the Kristol Center website, by mail to the Kristol Center for Jewish Life, 47 Delaware Ave., Newark, DE 19711, or by contacting the center directly at 302453-0479.
For additional information, please contact Ronit Sherwin, executive director of the Kristol Center for Jewish Life at UD/Hillel Foundation, at rshwerin@udel.edu.