Betty was raised in a secular Jewish household and was educated at a Presbyterian school in Elizabeth, New Jersey where she learned to fight for her Jewish identity and searched for a connection to the Jewish community.  A visit and lifelong relationships with her father’s relatives in Israel helped her to become fully connected to Israel and to discover the observant lifestyle.

 

Betty was profoundly impacted by stories told by her father about the liberation of the Ohrdurf concentration camp in April 1945. An American soldier and physician, her father was assigned to triage and treat survivors. As he was talking to starving and sick survivors, he was also asking in German, Russian, Yiddish and Ukrainian whether anyone knew about his extended family. He never found any survivors and never learned about what had happened to them. Later, Betty researched Yad Vashem and found out that they were taken to a ravine outside of their shtetl, and shot with their entire community.

Betty is a Boston University Magna, where her involvement in Hillel cemented her Jewish identity and her commitment to Israel. She spent her Junior year in Tel Aviv and later in Jerusalem, learning Hebrew and appreciating the beauty of the country. After graduation, Betty spent 4 years in Jerusalem and met her husband David at Hebrew University.
Betty holds a master’s in social work and is a family therapist with specializations in family therapy and learning disabilities.   Betty and David are very proud of their children, Diana and Steven, his wife Ilana and her granddaughter, Emma.