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Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter
Note: This post was originally written last week during the Jewish Federation’s General Assembly, a day after this one.
Two inspiring mornings in a row. NETWORK author Marilyn Berger (This is a Soul) shared her story with a very lucky audience this morning at the GA. Prompted by stories about Dr. Rick Hodes, Marilyn traveled to Ethiopia several years ago to learn more about the man who moved to Ethiopia in the early 90′s to help with Operation Solomon, an operation which helped Ethiopian Jews move to Israel, and never left. Dr. Hodes has spent the past twenty years helping Jews and non-Jews alike throughout Ethiopia, Africa, and nearby regions. This is a Soul tells not only the story about this incredible man, a man recently honored by ABC as a “Person of the Week” and a finalist in 2007 for “CNN Heroes”, but also Marilyn’s own story about traveling to Ethiopia and about a boy who changed her life.
An incredible book and an incredible story. Read more here.
Parents: Need an inspiring giveaway for your child’s bar/bat mitzvah? This is it.
Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Naomi Firestone-Teeter is the CEO of the Jewish Book Council. Prior to becoming executive director and then CEO, she served as founding editor of the JBC website and managing editor of Jewish Book World. Naomi sits on the board of Jewish Creativity International.Naomi was named to the New York Jewish Week’s 2019 “36 Under 36” and Algemeiner’s 2018 list of the 100 people positively influencing Jewish life and was included on the Global Jewish 100 list by Izzy in 2020. She graduated from Emory University with degrees in English and Art History and, in addition, studied at University College London. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
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