The What Would Leibel Do (WWLD)? Awards Dinner

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Named for long-time APN Board Member Leonard "Leibel" Fein, who passed away in August, the event will be Sunday, January 11, in Boston.

Sidney Topol will receive the inaugural "Leonard Fein Justice Award," and Rabbi Toba Spitzer the "Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award."  

Invitation to Come

SIDNEY TOPOL: The Leonard Fein Justice Award
APN Board Member and past Treasurer Sidney Topol is a pioneer in television and satellite technologies. His career as Chairman and CEO of Scientific Atlanta spanned the nuclear age and space age, helping to spur the globalization of telecommunication. In recognition of his contributions, Mr. Topol has been inducted into several technology Halls of Fame. In addition, his time, energy, and resources generously support a broad range of organizations and academic institutions working for peace in the Middle East, human and civil rights, social justice, and nonviolence. Sidney fondest wish is to sit on the White House lawn for the handshake sealing the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. APN is proud to present the inaugural Leonard Fein Justice Award to Sidney Topol, who is reaching his 90th birthday milestone.

RABBI TOBA SPITZER: Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award
Rabbi Toba Spitzer has served Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in West Newton, MA, since 1997. She is a popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, among other subjects, and has been involved for many years in American Jewish efforts to help foster a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rabbi Spitzer served as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association from 2007-2009, becoming the first lesbian or gay rabbi to head a national rabbinic organization. She has been included in Newsweek’s Top 50 Rabbis in America, the Forward 50 list of most influential American Jews, and the Forward list of 50 Female Rabbis Who Are Making A Difference.

Leonard “Leibel” Fein fixed the wrongs he saw. He didn’t just write about them: he saw hunger, he founded Mazon; he saw illiteracy, he founded the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy; he felt there needed to be an ongoing, diverse accounting of Jewish life, he founded Moment Magazine; and he co-founded Americans for Peace Now because he knew the conflict between Israel and her neighbors needed to end. Fein served on the APN Board from 1981 until his death on August 14, 2014, and APN has inaugurated the Leonard Fein Justice Award in his memory.

APN Board Member Dr. Elizabeth Wyner Mark was a clinical psychologist, Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and Clinical Supervisor at McLean Hospital. After her passing in 2006, APN established the “Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award” which is presented in her native Boston to pay tribute to her activism, scholarship, and memory.