Honorees
Michael Berman is an entrepreneur and investor working with a select group of early stage Medical companies. He currently serves on the boards of 11 companies. From 1995-2000 Mr. Berman was President of Boston Scientific Cardiology. In 2010 Mr. Berman was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Michael and his wife Judith live in Tel Aviv where Judith is a Professor of Biology at Tel Aviv University.
Michael comes from a Young Judaea family. He, both of his brothers, and all of their children were active in YJ, attending regional camps, Tel Yehudah and YJ Year Course.
In 2011, when Hadassah decided to spin off Young Judaea into an independent entity, Michael along with David Bechhofer, Steve Berman, Betsy Gold, Michael Sherman, Mike Lasday, Don Ashkenaze (z’l) and Shelley Sherman coalesced to take on the task of setting up YJ to be independent. Together, this group, along with dedicated YJ staff and dozens of additional lay volunteers, laid the foundation of YJG. Today, together, we all strengthen the extraordinary impact of YJG in shaping Jewish Youth and their relationship to Israel and the Jewish people.
Natan Sharansky was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. He was a spokesman for the human rights movement, a Prisoner of Zion and leader in the struggle for the right of Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel. Subsequent to his request to make aliya, Mr. Sharansky was arrested on trumped up charges of treason and espionage. He was convicted in a Soviet court and served nine years in the Gulag with many stretches in a punishing cell. Following massive public campaigns by the State of Israel, World Jewry and leaders of the free world, Mr. Sharansky was released in 1986, making aliya on the very day of his release.
In his first few years in Israel, Mr. Sharansky established the Zionist Forum to assist Soviet olim in their absorption in Israel. In the 1990's, he established the Yisrael B'Aliyah party in order to accelerate the integration of Russian Jews. He served in four successive Israeli governments, as Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
In 2018 he received the highest Israeli award - the Israel Prize for promoting Aliyah and the ingathering of the exiles.
Mr. Sharansky is the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1986 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006. He is the only living non-American citizen who is the recipient of these two highest American awards.
2009-2018 Natan Sharansky served as Chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel. After retirement from the Jewish Agency, he continues to serve as Chairman of the Shlihut Institute, which he founded.
In July 2019 Mr. Natan Sharansky became Chair of ISGAP (The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy).
Mr. Sharansky is also the author of four books:
- Fear No Evil
- The Case for Democracy
- Defending Identity
- Never Alone: Prison, Politics and My People.
For 75 years, Tel Yehudah (TY) has been the national teen leadership camp of Young Judaea. Since 1948, sharing its founding year with the State of Israel, TY has been the summer home for tens of thousands of Jewish teens from across the United States and around the world.
While the faces have changed, the mission remains. Each summer, a new, vibrant, pluralist community of teens forms and leaves their unique imprint along the banks of the Delaware River.
Teens build leadership skills and motivation, social responsibility, critical thinking and life-long commitment to Israel and the Jewish People. Through a dynamic program that continues to evolve and innovate with the times, TY leaves a lasting impact on the future leaders of our Jewish communities and beyond. Teens who pass through camp’s gates become committed, educated, engaged members of our Jewish communities while forging lifelong friendships.
There is nothing like a summer at Tel Yehudah, our very own “Israel on the Delaware”, to inspire Jewish youth to reach for a greater future, a stronger community, and a deeper commitment to their people. Here is to the Road to 100!