On a very chilly Sunday morning last month, Mona Flax, president-elect of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Jodi Klebanoff, past UJFT Women’s Philanthropy chair, Amy Zelenka, UJFT chief development officer, and I travelled to the 2025 International Lion of Judah Conference in Atlanta. Throughout the conference, we were four extremely proud women from Tidewater, participating in an emotional, inspiring, and powerful experience.
The opening plenary and overall theme of the conference was “Proud to be!” A highlight from that session was the presentation of the very first Ruth Bader Ginsburg award to Israel’s first lady, Michal Herzog, who eloquently expressed her gratitude. “I am deeply moved by this unique honor,” she said. “I accept it on behalf of the brave and resilient women of Israel, who – since October 7th – have demonstrated their strength on all fronts: as mothers, daughters, sisters, fighters, caregivers, and as voices for victims who cannot speak for themselves; and especially, their tireless struggle to bring the hostages home.” In response, the crowd of 1,700 women in the plenary hall began the chant, “BRING THEM HOME! BRING THEM HOME!”
The conference was made even richer by the inclusion of a house band, The Shuk Music Group, which played throughout various plenaries each day. Israeli superstar, and 2024 Israeli Eurovision representative Eden Golan, opened the conference performing her song, Hurricane.
Monday morning’s plenary was “Proud to be a Zionist.” Among others, this session featured Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersch Goldberg-Polin was murdered in the tunnels of Gaza in August 2024. Goldberg’s remarks were gut-wrenching and inspiring, all at once. And with her, an overarching theme of resiliency began weaving itself throughout the conference (especially in the sessions relating to October 7). To talk about resilience, one must talk about the events that precede its necessity. And so, 1,700 women pulled out their Kleenex and would reach for them again and again for the next two days.
Amos Hochstein, then senior advisor to the US President for Energy and Investment, had been a pivotal actor in the Middle East, serving as chief negotiator of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and leading negotiations for the US across the region. He spoke with Liz Shrayer, president and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, about the status of negotiations and thoughts on if or how the presidential transition may impact those negotiations. Hochstein explained how negotiations were being done and about the various outcomes, noting that nothing was certain (including the then-impending ceasefire that was being “pre-announced.”) Along with other speakers, Hochstein was hopeful, but cautious about “getting his hopes up too high.” Hope, however, was another overarching theme throughout the conference.
At a breakout session, “The Nova Festival Survivors and Families: Building a Network of support,” Natalie Sanandaji, a Nova Festival survivor, spoke of her harrowing experience that day and of how she narrowly survived the festival massacre. Her traumatic experience led her to transform her life – she switched career paths and now works for Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism. Also in this session was Sigal Manzuri, a mother of three. On October 7, her world changed forever, as Hamas terrorists murdered her two beautiful daughters, Norelle and Roya, along with Norelle’s fiancée, Amit Cohen, at the Nova music festival. Sigal endured the notification of her daughters’ deaths 48 hours apart. Since that day, she and her husband Menashe and their 15-year-old son, Shai, have been advocating for all the victims and to honor the memories of Norelle, Roya, and Amit, who she described as “three rare flowers who grew and blossomed with endless love and devotion of their parents and their family and friends around them.”
A similarly powerful conversation with families of hostages and a returned captive, Aviva Siegel, were featured at another session. Siegel was held hostage for 51 days, while her husband Keith (an American Israeli), was still being held in Gaza at the time of the conference. (He was released on Feb. 1 (See page 9) “It was the worst thing any human could go through,” she said. “They tortured my Keith, and they tortured the young girls with us. I saw fear in their faces.” The entire panel, including Siegel, agreed that it was important to share their loved ones’ stories to make sure that the world hears about what took place.
About hearing from these families, Jodi Klebanoff, a Tidewater Lion, says, “The courage, strength, and resiliency demonstrated by these families is unlike anything I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. They have traveled the world tirelessly for months, under the most excruciating circumstances, in their fight to bring the remaining hostages home.”
In addition to Israel, other places of Jewish struggle were not forgotten at the conference. UJFT’s overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) has been addressing the needs of Israelis from its very founding, and has revved up its support since October 7. Still, it also continues to operate around-the-clock in the Jewish communities of Ukraine, now in its third winter of war. Inna Vdovychenko, a member of JDC’s Ukraine Crisis Team, addressed a breakout session sharing some of the coping techniques that she and her colleagues employ as the war drags on. Hearing her story, alongside those of fellow-professionals Talia Levanon, CEO of the Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC); and Yael Raz, director of the Fund for the Victims of Terror of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), brought an extra appreciation for the work taking place in the field – the sacrifices the professionals are making (self, family, friends, etc.) and the vital work they are doing.
On the final day of the conference, eyes puffy from shedding endless tears and still a bit overwhelmed by the stories and testimonies heard, it must be said that the group also felt tremendous empowerment and pride.
A plenary session, “Proud to be a Lion,” highlighted Federation’s impact on communities that are local, in Israel, in Ukraine, and around the world. Having heard throughout the conference from individuals whose lives have been transformed by Federation’s support, and reflecting on the horrific, unimaginable firsthand accounts and testimonies from hostage family members whose loved ones were murdered on October 7, and learning from experts what might be expected in the coming days, weeks, months, and years… the group’s brains and hearts were full to bursting.
The closing plenary – “Proud to be Jewish” – brought everyone together for a final time to hear from inspiring philanthropists and brave allies of the Jewish people. Anila Ali, a native of Pakistan, Muslim activist, and women’s rights activist, spoke passionately about her rejection of hatred in general, and Hamas in particular, and of her support for Israel. Actress and social activist, Patricia Heaton, spoke about using her visibility to support causes close to her heart. She is a celebrity Ambassador for World Vision and founder of the October 7th Coalition (O7C) – a Christian movement aimed at supporting and protecting the Jewish community. Both women have been targeted, bullied online and in person, and have withstood tremendous pressure from their respective communities to sit down and be quiet. And yet they will not. Both subscribe to the belief that only love can conquer hate. And both risk their well-being and livelihoods to fight for what is right. Amazing women.
Mona Flax, a Tidewater Lion, says that it’s truly amazing how “collectively and individually, we do the work and get the job done.”
Klebanoff adds “that it never ceases to amaze me, how ordinary people can do the most extraordinary things to make a difference.”
We are PROUD. Bring them HOME. Am Israel CHAI.
Linda Ausch is United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Development director. She may be reached at lausch@ujft.org.