With “Shared Passion for the Hadassah Mission,” Super South Leaders Come Together

November 19, 2024

The “TrebleMakers” came together with one purpose: to connect, inspire and empower.

Karen Rosenson Ulm, Teri Gross and Heidi Natan were strangers when they first met to plan the Hadassah Super South Tri-Region Experience, held in Nashville, TN, from November 8 to 10. But they gelled almost immediately in mapping out the conference, which hosted 100 Hadassah leaders from the Super South geographic area over Shabbat.

“For me, this assignment brought to the fore, once again, how women who might have wildly disparate backgrounds can form a bond of respect and friendship when they share a common goal,” Ulm said.

“From our first collaboration, we discovered the significance of sharing ideas, listening to each other, and combining our voices,” Natan said. “As we developed our vision, we became a trio of Hadassah women who offered each other a safe space, uplifted one another and truly brought out the best in each of us.”

The conference featured powerful updates from Hadassah leadership, including remarks from Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz, a session on the life-changing psychological treatment taking place at the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, and stories of resilience at Hadassah’s Youth Aliyah villages from Marcie Natan, past national president and current national Youth Aliyah co-chair.

On the first night, women from Evolve Hadassah: The Next Generation led ice breakers that connected women from all generations. Throughout the conference, Evolve women provided beautiful music to welcome Shabbat, for the Shabbat service and Havdalah.

At a timely program on confronting antisemitism in our communities, Eytan Davidson, director of ADL’s southeast region, spoke about the types of antisemitic incidents being reported; Barbara Dab, editor of the Nashville Jewish Observer, talked about what it’s like to write for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on this topic, and Joyce Laiter, co-coordinator of Hadassah’s Education & Advocacy Division, spoke about how Hadassah’s power comes from the strength of its advocates across the country, in nearly every Congressional district.

In a follow-up session, Hadassah women –– as young as 24 –– shared their feelings about direct antisemitic incidents they had experienced. “As a participant in this session, the sharing opened up the pain I had kept bottled up, while at the same time it made me realize that those painful experiences helped define who I am,” said Gross.

The session “highlighted the incredible support system among our fellow Hadassah members and the importance of taking care of ourselves and each other before becoming empowered to take meaningful action,” Natan added.

In another session, Georgia State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Hadassah life member and co-sponsor of legislation in Georgia adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, told her own empowering story and encouraged women to attend school board meetings at the grassroots level and even run for office.

June Hersh, best-selling author of Food, Hope & Resilience; Authentic Recipes and Remarkable Stories from Holocaust Survivors, shared her first-hand account of how her cookbook came together. Anat Sultan-Dadon, consul general of Israel to the southeast United States, spoke about standing up and speaking out, and a special commemoration to remember Kristallnacht was held on Shabbat morning.

Attendees made “bracelets for healing,” which Schwartz, Hadassah’s national president, delivered to the patients and staff at the Gandel Rehabilitation Center in Jerusalem only days later, along with toys for the children in the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Mother and Child Center at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem.

Feedback from attendees has demonstrated the tremendous impact of the conference and validated the timeliness of and need for the topics covered, said Margo Gold, managing director of Hadassah Super South.

“It’s important to have gatherings like this to underscore the power of connection, of supporting and inspiring one another, learning together, experiencing together and being able to share face-to-face with each other and with the presenters,” Gold said.

“Seeing the crowd of 100 women alternately chatting, bonding, participating and rapt throughout the weekend underscored the value of these gatherings while strengthening my own comfort as a Jew in these trying times,” Ulm said.

“The energy was palpable, as everyone came together with a unified purpose and a shared passion for the Hadassah mission,” said Natan. “Despite the challenging and difficult topics we tackled, the sense of community and mutual support created a warm and safe space.”

“It felt great to be with such amazing Hadassah supporters,” said Gross. “I felt supported, safe, connected and empowered with the courage to do more.”