KOL ISRAEL FOUNDATION - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The KOL ISRAEL FOUNDATION is an organization of Cleveland survivors of the Holocaust. Kol Israel, which means "All of Israel," was founded in 1959 to represent area Holocaust survivors while helping secure special education, guidance, vocational training, economic and social adjustment for people from foreign lands settling in Greater Cleveland. It also supplies charitable support for the State of Israel. To those who had suffered in concentration camps, Kol Israel meetings became a refuge where they could meet with others with a similar past. Kol Israel helped newcomers arriving after its organization by providing financial assistance and locating housing and jobs for those without relatives, friends, or agencies to assist them.

An early group project was the erection of a monument to the memory of the 6 million victims of the Holocaust in Zion Memorial Park in 1961. Ashes of victims from 3 concentration camps were buried under the monument. In addition, both funds and ambulances were donated to Israel in the 1960s and 1970s. The foundation has participated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial Service since 1978 and in the successor Community Holocaust Remembrance Day observance. There is also a Kol Israel Sisterhood and Second Generation Kol Israel founded by young people in 1978, dedicated to continuance of the memory of Holocaust victims. The Second Generation group sponsors educational workshops while the foundation sponsors annual Holocaust commemoration events at different synagogues throughout the city.

In June 1995 Kol Israel celebrated the 50th anniversary of the liberation and defeat of Nazi Germany with services at GREEN ROAD SYNAGOGUE. In addition, the organization continued to support social and educational events for members at area schools and colleges. In 1995 Dr. Zev Harel served as president for the foundation's 500 members. Jake Hennenberg served as foundation historian.

Hennenberg, Jacob. "A History of the Kol Israel Foundation" (n.d.)

Related Article(s)

• IMMIGRATION AND ETHNICITY
• RELIGION

Related Link(s)

• Kol Israel Foundation