The Helyn B. Reich Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 in memory of Helyn B. Reich, wife of founding AZM President Seymour D. Reich. Reich scholarships are awarded each fall and spring to a limited number of American students who have chosen to study at one of several designated Israeli universities or post-college long-term programs in Israel. The scholarship seeks to recognize candidates who have demonstrated academic excellence, pro-Israel activity in their personal lives, and a dedicated commitment to future involvement with the Jewish and Zionist community in the United States.
The American Zionist Movement is pleased to announce the winners of the Fall 2007 Helyn B. Reich Memorial Scholarship. The recipients are accomplished young Americans Zionists dedicated to AZM’s mission, who are thrilled to be spending the next year living and immersing themselves in Israel.
Zachary Bercu, a medical student at Emory University, will study at the WUJS Peace & Social Justice Program. Zach, who wrote his Harvard University undergraduate thesis comparing kibbutzniks and a population in Tel Aviv as relative models of collectivistic and individualistic community, aspires to be a radiologist.
“I want to further my personal connection to Israel as I continue my professional path.”
Laura Finkelstein, a graduate student in fine arts at Boston University, will participate in the WUJS Arts Program. Laura is a budding painter who finds artistic inspiration in the landscape, cities and people of Israel.
“I would hope to encourage other Jewish artists to share and develop their work in Israel, and to also positively explore their own ideas about Israel and Zionism here in America.”
Katherine Hallman, seen here on Masada during her Birthright trip last summer, will attend the WUJS Land, Language & Society Program. Kate received her masters in social work from the University of Washington and now works at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
“This is a very personal project for me, as we were the only Jewish family in town when I was growing up. We experienced much more outright ignorance than anti-Semitism, and I would be thrilled to educate students about the modern state of Israel.”
Danny Moss, a rising junior at Oberlin College, will be taking a year abroad at the University of Haifa. A double major in Jewish Studies and religion, Danny is a veteran camper and counselor at the Union for Reform Judaism Camp OSRUI and an active member of Oberlin College Hillel and Zionist student group.
“I was raised with a strong Jewish Zionist identity, and the activities I have chosen to pursue reflect my unyielding commitment to the Jewish Homeland.”
