Former presidents share highlights, memories of their tenure

During his tenure as president of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation from 1964-1967, Dr. Sam Mantel saw one
Hillel House razed … and another raised. Finding an architect and securing funds for the prospective Hillel House – and watching those efforts come to fruition – is one of Mantel’s fondest memories of his presidency.

“The former Hillel House was rundown and very tough to maintain,” recalls Mantel. “Bill Gould, a Clevelander, was the architect for the new house, and the building won an award.” And, he says proudly, the very first religious activity of any kind held there was his son’s bar mitzvah. “We had moved to Cincinnati by that time, but it was important to him to go back to Cleveland to have it there.”

In addition, says Mantel, “Hillel was funded exclusively by B’nai B’rith in those early days and we really needed
to expand beyond that support. Elaine Rocker and Charlotte Paris were marvelous in getting us on board with
Federation, which doubled our budget. It’s gone up every year since.”

Elaine Rocker served as vice president under Mantel, and then as president from 1967-1970. She describes
those years as “a very tumultuous time. It was the height of student protests because of the Vietnam War.”
Hillel had a room set aside for counseling students who had been called up by the Army, says Rocker. “It was
used heavily. The students were upset about Vietnam and having to serve, and they hoped other avenues were open to them. We advised the students of their rights and options.”

During Rocker’s presidency, Hillel expanded into a regional organization. “We began to not only be the Hillel for Case Western Reserve University, but for all the campuses – Kent, Oberlin and Cleveland State,” she explains. In addition, Hillel expanded its calendar from September to May into a yearround organization in
order to accommodate students who were home for the summer. That change was permanent; Hillel still maintains its campus presence 12 months a year.

Henry Goodman, president of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation from 1970-1973, also remembers serving during
tumultuous times. “In the late ’60s, there was a major uprising all across the country among youth speaking out against the establishment,” recalls Goodman. “Hillel was in the center of the eye of the storm. Our kids in college rose up to say, ‘We don’t like y o u r programs. We don’t like what you’re doing.’”

At that time, G o o d m a n explains, he chaired the College Youth Committee under the aegis of Federation. The committee studied the “college youth phenomenon” extensively before Goodman set out to negotiate change.

“I went to parents and leadership on campus and said, ‘You’re not giving enough power to the students.’ Then, I went to the students and told them they couldn’t just be critics. They’d have to help raise funds, contribute money and take on responsibilities if they wanted some power.”

During his first year as p r e s i d e n t , Goodman raised money to pay off the mortgage on the new Hillel building at CWRU, and then started an endowment fund. Hillel also underwent a major corporate change during his presidency. “We kept Hillel intact but changed its nature,” he explains. “The modern Hillel as we know it was born at that time. Ten to 12 years later, the entire country picked up the Cleveland plan.”

Recruiting Rabbi Alan Lettofsky to come to Cleveland to be director was the principal highlight of Zack Paris’
presidency. “He was a veteran Hillel director with strong academic and Judaic credentials,” says Paris, president from 1982-85. “He brought leadership, experience and skills to the post which he held for about 15 years. He was a great asset for Hillel.”

Strengthening the relationship between the Cleveland Hillel Foundation and the Cleveland Jewish community as a whole was a hallmark of Scott Garson’s presidency from 2001 to 2004. An advisory board made up of
seasoned community leaders who provided assistance in elevating the status of Hillel within the community
was established during his tenure, Garson notes. That, in turn, led to the establishment of the Renaissance Society, which helped increase funding from the general community from approximately $70,000 to nearly $100,000.

In addition, says Garson, there was an “increased exposure of Hillel within the Cleveland Jewish community, leading to an acceptance of the importance of Hillel’s role in strengthening Jewish continuity. Keeping abreast of the challenges on campus, Hillel also dealt successfully with increased pro-Palestinian sentiments, specifically at Oberlin College.”

Bruce Mandel likes to joke that the “30 or 35 emails I got a day from Hillel’s executive director Marcia Bloomberg” are what he’ll always remember most about his presidency, from 2004-06.

“Actually,” he admits on a more serious note, “I’m a strong supporter of Israel, so strengthening the Israel Advocacy program was especially pleasing to me. It showed us that students want to be advocates of Israel if given the wherewithal to do so. Through its wonderful programs, Hillel is creating the next generation of Israel advocates.”

In addition, Mandel was pleased Hillel has been able to get its message out. “Hillel is located a little bit away from it all, but Marcia was instrumental in getting us in the spotlight. That’s important because Hillel bridges the gap between high school and postcollege. Hillel offers students an opportunity to formulate their own
appreciation of Judaism during this important time of discovery in their lives.”