I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to travel to Poland later this month to join the international Jewish community in an extraordinary 60-mile bike ride from Auschwitz-Birkenau to the JCC Krakow. This is an especially meaningful opportunity for me as I visited Auschwitz, Birkenau and the Warsaw Ghetto on the way to Israel in 1979. It has been a personal goal of mine to return as an adult to pay homage to those who suffered and died and to reconfirm present day Jewry's duty to NEVER FORGET.
Sadly, this year’s RIDE FOR THE LIVING is taking place at an extraordinary moment with Israel at war and a worldwide increase in both antisemitism and propaganda. And yet, thousands of miles away from us, there is a thriving Jewish community in Krakow, right in the shadow of one of the biggest atrocities in human history. Today, JCC Krakow is a beacon of hope, reconnecting Jews to their culture and community.
I am so incredibly honored that I have the ability to support this organization as I embark on the 10th Annual Ride For The Living! Money raised during Ride For The Living will provide necessary support to the Jewish Community Center of Krakow, which serves as the focal point for the revival of the Jewish community in Krakow. With over 1,100 Jewish members, including a Senior Club with 60 Holocaust survivors, a Hillel with almost 70 members, and the FRAJDA Preschool & Nursery, Krakow’s Jewish community is flourishing.
Additionally, in the last three years, JCC Krakow has been a key partner in providing humanitarian assistance to over 400,000 Ukrainians, 98% of whom are not Jewish and hundreds of displaced Israelis after October 7 attacks.
I hope you will consider helping make a difference in the lives of hundreds of Jews in Krakow who deserve the opportunity to flourish in a vibrant, welcoming, and modern Jewish community.