By Carl Zebrowski
Editor

Maybe it was just a coincidence that the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley hosted an evening celebrating community volunteers, leaders, and donors on June 10. Or maybe not. But the previous Shabbat’s parsha, the weekly portion of the Torah read aloud in synagogues, has Moses telling God that he can’t handle all the responsibilities of leading his people by himself. 

“The parsha teaches a lesson,” Jewish Federation director of development Aaron Gorodzinsky told those gathered in the JCC for the Federation’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Community Celebration: “Healthy communities are built when leadership is shared.”

The people who share responsibility for our local Jewish community were well represented in the audience. “You are the heart of Jewish life in the Lehigh Valley,” said Federation executive director Jeri Zimmerman, “and we are profoundly grateful for everything you do. You have given generously of your time and talent, and our community is stronger because of your service.”

Federation president Bill Markson lauded the efforts these people gave over recent months. “This was an exceptionally productive year,” he said.

Markson then presented the President’s Award, a Federation honor bestowed in years when the president sees fit to give special recognition to a community member. “The real reason I said yes to becoming president,” he said, “is that I had the discretion to give the President’s Award to Lenny Abrams.”

Markson turned the presentation into part personal story and part good-natured roast that kept the crowd laughing. He told of a young Abrams moving with his family to the Lehigh Valley in 1956 from Brooklyn, where his father had worked as a cutter for a shirtmaker. His dad opened his own factory in Fleetwood and the family settled in Allentown. The business boomed.

“Lenny was and remains deeply devoted to our community and to Israel,” Markson said, highlighting his service on the Federation board, as chair of its Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs, and as its president. “Lenny gave his time and his hard-earned money as well.” He’s “hall-of-fame level.”

Rabbi Yaacov Halperin of Chabad of the Lehigh Valley added some praise of his own. “Walking in,” he said, “Lenny changes the vibe of a room, a man vibrant with life. The Lehigh Valley Jewish community is very much indebted to you.”

Abrams took the mic in turn. “I have trouble figuring out what I did to deserve this award,” he said, “but whatever it is, I appreciate it.”

Zimmerman then presented the Mark L. Goldstein Award for Outstanding Jewish Communal Professionals to Lee Kestecher Solomon, the Federation’s Israel-born director of community engagement who moved to the Lehigh Valley from Toronto in 2022 to join the staff. Her duties since arriving have expanded to include oversight of the Federation affinity groups Women’s Philanthropy and NextGen and the Partnership2Gether program that connects the Lehigh Valley with Yoav, Israel. 

“What sets Lee apart,” Zimmerman told the audience, “is her gift for relationship building—and, as everyone here knows, her hugs. Lee creates lasting bonds that enrich our communal fabric.”

Federation’s Holocaust Resource Center director, Shari Spark, presented the Schiff Award for Prejudice Reduction to Emmaus High School and Jill E. Kuebler, teacher and theater director at the school. The award is presented annually to a person or group that has worked to promote tolerance and understanding between Jews and people of different faiths. 

Last November, the school’s theater department put on the play “The Diary of Anne Frank.” With Kuebler as director and Rabbi Rebecca Einstein Schorr as dramaturg and Jewish cultural consultant, 13 student cast members performed to a full auditorium for three nights. 

The school, meanwhile, invited Spark in to make presentations to students and set up the HRC’s traveling Holocaust exhibit to educate students, teachers, and others, with the goal of the play and exhibit being to challenge prejudice and build bridges of understanding to prevent antisemitism, racism, and bigotry. 
Spark emphasized how so many people at Emmaus, from administrators to teachers to students, came together to make all this happen. “Teachers reached out and received whole-hearted support from their administrators,” she said. 

The final presentation of the celebration night was the Vickie Wax Jewish Student Campus Leadership Award for an outstanding college student who’s demonstrated exemplary leadership in the Jewish community through service on their campus. This was the first-ever presentation of the award, established last year by friends and family of Vicki Wax in her honor.

Emily Fulton, a sophomore studying political science at Muhlenberg College, was the recipient. Fulton has spent the past two years deeply engaged with her Hillel community. Starting out as the Hillel’s Israel chair, she now serves as its student president, interacting with students and collaborating with staff to create an inclusive Jewish space on campus. 

Fulton was unable to attend the ceremony—for very good reason. “She is not here because she is in Israel,” said Gorodzinsky, who presented the award and accepted it for Fulton. “If she would have been here instead of being in Israel, she would have been upset. So we’re glad she’s in Israel.”

The event closed with official business, including a round of voting for the Federation’s board and officers conducted by Federation past president Robby Wax. 

Markson offered some parting words on the promise of another successful year of Federation educational programs, volunteer efforts in the community, fundraising, and more. He encouraged people to work to bring new members and potential leaders into the community.  

“There are lots and lots of folks who are proud to be Jewish and can be recruited,” he said.
If you’d like to become active in the community, or get more involved than you currently are, contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at [email protected] or 610-821-5500.