Joe Adler, an immigrant’s story

By Joe Adler

Some come to America to escape oppression, others because of lack of opportunity and hunger. Most, however, are drawn to our country’s promise of a better tomorrow, not just for themselves, but, more importantly, for their children. For me, it was my mother's idea... 

I arrived in the United States at age 15, unaccompanied, after a two-week voyage on board the trans-Atlantic Israeli Zim Lines cruise ship SS Zion, in June, 1957.

My story, however, began 16 years earlier, in 1941, when my parents, Olga and Aaron Adler, escaped Hungary on board the Darien II, the very last refugee ship out of Europe.

U.S. Navy couple Marchel and Alice Tevelson generous in life, legacy

The Tevelsons, Alice and Marchel

Alice J. Tevelson and Marchel Charles Tevelson of La Mesa, California, shared a great love for each other and the life they created together. 

Married in 1957, Alice gave up her teaching career to become a Navy wife. Charlie, as he was known to his family, was a graduate of Temple University and a decorated commander in the U.S. Navy, serving in World War II and Vietnam. Charlie served in the U.S. maritime and naval forces on active duty and as a civilian for a total of 54 years. In 1972, while on active duty and having completed several decorated combat tours, Charlie became director of the Navy’s worldwide humanitarian mission, Project Handclasp. He held this position as both an active duty commander and civilian director until 2006.

'The lives of these kids will live on': Boy's touching tribute to children of the Holocaust

A young Max Levin, with parents Bud and Judy, in front of the B'nai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall in Jerusalem’s American Independence Park in 2006.

When 12-year-old Max Levin was looking for a meaningful way to celebrate his upcoming bar mitzvah, he decided on a project in Israel that did more than simply mark his "coming of age" ceremony. His decision in 2006 created a unique link between today's teens and their peers who died in the Holocaust before ever reaching that special milestone. 

“I used to come to Israel every year with my parents, partly because of my dad’s work, but mostly because our family is very Zionistic," said Max, today 22 and a paratrooper and officer in the Israel Defense Forces. His father, Bud Levin, is Jewish National Fund vice president, Negev and Galil and oversees organizational efforts in the southern and northern regions of Israel.  

“That year, we came searching for a bar mitzvah project and considered many options. Eventually we looked at the Golden Books of Honor that JNF keeps at its offices in Jerusalem,” Levin said, recalling the volumes that over the years have documented donations to the organization and that by now contain more than 200,000 inscriptions.