In her piece for The Times of Israel Blog, Lonye Rasch, the medical news chair, for the Hadassah Medical Organization, discusses the profound and moving response of Entrata, a Utah tech company, after a shocking act of antisemitism by one of its principals. Entrata’s board ousted its Chairman David Bateman after he sent an email to colleagues and local political leaders claiming that the COVID-19 vaccine was part of a plot by Jews to exterminate fellow Americans. While struggling with Bateman’s actions, Rasch focused more on the company’s CEO, Adam Edmunds, and its board members. They decided they needed to learn why these slurs are made so often, make amends and fight antisemitism. Edmunds invited Rabbi Spector of Salt Lake City’s Kol Ami synagogue to speak to Entrata’s board about the roots of antisemitism and how it has persisted throughout the centuries. Teary-eyed board members asked Rabbi Spector what they could do to help the local Jewish community. He mentioned that the synagogue needed repairs and the company responded with a six-figure donation. Rasch notes that, while one could view the company as taking steps to ensure its chairman’s actions did not affect the bottom line, she chose to pause and think about whether she had ever seen a company rise to the occasion with an apology that carried so much substance. “They didn’t just ask their chairman to resign, they didn’t just disavow his views,” she says. “They took the time to understand how such virulent antisemitism could occur within their company and countered it with a gift to their local Jewish community.” She praises CEO Adam Edmunds for coming to understand that he and his fellow entrepreneurs are stewards of their community, and that if you put good energy into the universe, it will come back to you.
Loyne Rasch is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a program of the Media & Public Relations Office that offers volunteer leaders, members and our professional staff an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about Hadassah’s work in the US and Israel.