Jewish Community Hero awards – semifinalists

After much urging for votes from participants in first Jewish Community Hero awards, the polls closed and the UJC/the Jewish Federations of North American has announced 20 semi-finalists. More than 570,000 votes were placed for 430 nominees, according to a press release issued Oct. 13 announcing he semi-finalists.

The release states that “A panel of 10 judges will select the Jewish Community Hero of the Year along with four additional finalists, who will be announced at this fall’s General Assembly (GA) in Washington, D.C., which takes place Nov. 8-100.. The Jewish Community Hero will receive $25,000 to put toward his or her work. “

The 20 semifinalists are as follows:

Eli Backman, College Park, MD
Devora Benjamin, Brooklyn, NY
Yonah Bookstein, Los Angeles, CA
Alex Budnitsky, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Moishe Engel, Long Beach, CA
Rabbi Mannis Friedman, St. Paul, MN
Aryeh Goldsmith, Brooklyn, NY
Pearl Krasnjansky, Honolulu, HI
Bentzion Kravitz, Los Angeles, CA
Chaim Lazaroff, Houston, TX
William Levin, Brooklyn, NY
Mendel Rivkin, New Orleans, LA
Mike Rovinsky, St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Mendel & Raizy Rubin, Albany, NY
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, West Bloomfield, MI
Rabbi Ephraim Simon, Teaneck, NJ
Ari Teman, New York, NY
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, Cambridge, MA
Shmuly Yankowitz, New York, NY
Benny Zippel, Salt Lake City, UT

The judges will vote for five finalists from this group, who “show exceptional qualities and commitment that exemplify the mission of UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America: strengthening the Jewish community, and the ideals of tikkun olam (repairing the world). The individual who receives the highest number of votes from the judges will be named the Jewish Community Hero of the Year.,” according to the release.

For more information, visit the Jewish Community Heroes Web site at www.jewishcommunityheroes.org.