by NJJN Staff

December 25, 2008

Adele Lebersfeld, who lives in Livingston, until her recent retirement served for eight years on the board of trustees of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, including as chair of the JDC’s Africa and Asia Area Committee. In that position, she participated in the first leadership exchange mission to Morocco and Turkey. She also traveled to Tunisia.

Lebersfeld is a past general campaign chair for UJA MetroWest and former Women’s Philanthropy president and campaign chair.

NJJN: What accomplishment proved most important to you during your service with the JDC’s Africa and Asia Area Committee?

AL: In Casablanca we visited a building that housed 60 elderly Jewish people. The building was in deplorable condition in a slum neighborhood. None of the residents ever went out; it was too dangerous.

One of the members of our JDC board provided the seed money to build a new senior citizens facility in a much safer neighborhood. In 2007 we laid the cornerstone for the building, which should be completed in 2009.

The JDC also provides emergency relief to many areas of the world hit by disasters. Because they know how to mobilize that help, they receive funds from major campaigns like [those for] tsunami relief in Indonesia, the Turkish earthquake in 1999, the floods in Burma. These funds do not come from the UJA contributions collected from federations around the world; they come from major worldwide fund-raisers.

In Turkey we visited a town destroyed during the 1999 earthquake. JDC, through its Independent Development Project, provided emergency shelters in shipping containers brought over from Israel, outfitted with plumbing and electrical systems and windows, for the Muslim population of the town. JDC also provided the seed money to build a school for 1,000 Muslim children. All the computer equipment was donated from Israel. I participated in the grand opening of the school.

NJJN: How did you end up chairing the Africa and Asia Area Committee? Why are you stepping down?

AL: I served on the Africa and Asia Area Committee for four years. Ellen Heller, JDC president in 2005, asked me to serve as committee chair.

JDC requires a director to rotate off the board after two four-year terms. I hope I will be invited back next year. I will still attend the board meetings and participate in missions. In addition, my appointment to a four-year term as head of the Africa and Asia Area Committee also came to an end.

NJJN: What will you take on next?

AL: I am leading a mission to Morocco in May 2009. It will include visits to the Jewish communities and visiting sites in Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez, and Rabat.

NJJN: Has working with the JDC board changed your outlook on world Jewry or your own identity?

AL: I realize how dependent these Jewish communities are on our services. They would be completely isolated if it were not for JDC.

Working with the JDC has been the most rewarding volunteer experience that I have ever had. We are responsible for one another, and it is a privilege to serve our Jewish communities all over the world with caring, commitment, and sustenance. It’s a hands-on job. You see the faces on the other end of the dollars. You hold their hands and let them know they are not forgotten.

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