Council

Hon. Christopher Kerosky, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Poland in San Francisco.
Shana Penn, Executive Director, Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture
Professor Michael Steinlauf, Professor of History, Gratz College, Pennsylvania
Dr. Zohar Weiman Kelman
Dr. Marc Dollinger Professor of Jewish Studies, San Francisco State University

"Our Taube Jewish Heritage tour was an exceptional experience. Thanks to Helise Lieberman for designing the itinerary in both Warsaw and Krakow with great precision and emphasis on historical (ie. the Warsaw Ghetto and Podgorze ghetto) as well as contemporary Jewish Poland (ie. the Krakow JCC). Each of our guides provided a well informed context for our daily excursions and were always willing to go the extra mile to answer our questions and provide a context for our understanding of the Polish Jewish culture then and now. The highlight for me was visiting my grandmother’s shtetl, a place that would have remained a mystery had my driver not called ahead to the Town Hall and found out that some Jewish records were still in existence. Indeed I found my great grandparents death certificates which listed their parents’ names—great great grandparents whose existence was unknown to me. Our trip to Poland, thanks to the Taube Foundation, is a trip that I will treasure for the rest of my life."

- Susan Berkon enjoyed a custom-tailored tour in September which included Warsaw and Krakow.

“We cannot pick out one particular or several particular events as each experience we participated in and of itself was a particularly rewarding one. We were especially impressed with the Mi Dor Le Dor young people who accompanied us to most of the activities and shared their knowledge and historical facts with us.”

- Participant on the Gratz College Study Tour 2012

"I can't begin to express our gratitude for all that you did for us. You made the trip a dream come true for our daughter. For all of us, it opened our eyes to the sparks that are still burning in Poland. I learned that Poland is not in black and white, and that the people are not blurry! It is a beautiful country and I now understand why the Jews settled and stayed there. Shabbos in Krakow, was an unforgettable event. Our guides were second to none. They were lovely and so knowledgeable! Our trip was beyond our expectations and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

- The Birnbaum Family, Taube Jewish Heritage Family Tour 2014.

“We are just beginning to process all that we experienced on the Legacy Study Tour. It was truly an amazing experience for all! I cannot thank you and the Taube staff in Poland enough for an absolutely wonderful experience while we were in Poland. The scholarship and personal attention to making sure our time in Poland went well was absolutely outstanding. Helise Lieberman and all the education components she set up were exceptional.”

- Morgan Blum, Educational Director, Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center

“In a Jewish day school and at home, I was never taught to think of Poland as more than a cemetery for millions of Jews. To see a functioning, modern European society was a nice shock to the system, and I left optimistic about Poland. It was especially nice to spend time with people from the Jewish community, and to really feel their energy and optimism.”

- Jacob Portes, participant on the NCSJ Student Leadership Program Visits to Moscow and Warsaw 2011

“I want to thank you for the amazing educational experience and tours you provided for the CET students during our traveling seminar to Poland in March. The students were particularly impressed with the Taube Foundation and the Taube Center, and were very pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with Polish-Jewish students. For many, it was not easy to get ready for a trip to Poland, but with your help we were able to provide a study abroad experience which our students will never forget!”

- Jarka Vitamvasova, Resident Director, CET Jewish Studies Program, Prague

"Last summer, our family embarked on a Taube Jewish Heritage Tour as our daughter prepared to become a bat mitzvah. Our experience in Poland, and the three other eastern European countries included, transformed our understanding of Jewish history. Each day, we journeyed to our own family's past, learned about Poland as the one-time center of world Jewish life, reflected on the Shoah, and engaged with so many who are rebuilding Jewish life today… As we tell and retell our experiences to our friends, we are asked, again and again, how did you organize all of that? With a smile, we tell them the Taube Jewish Heritage Tour professionals took our family history information, translated it into an ambitious itinerary, then provided all the reservations and staffing we would need to make it happen.”

- The Dollinger Family

"This trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was very well organized and all of the guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and fun both those from Hillel and those from Poland. The biggest impact that the trip had on me was to definitively dispel my preconceived notion of Poland being a land of anti-Semites who do not care about Jews. While there still is some anti Semitism, there is also a growing interest in Jewish culture and religion. This realization was definitely one of the best aspects of this trip and I will highly recommend the trip to everyone I know. Thank you again for an amazing experience."

- Adam Mayer, participant on the Baltimore Area Hillel Study Tour 2013: Encountering Poland Past and Future. The tour was organized by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland

“The work you do with the Taube Foundation and your passion for bringing and preserving Jewish life in Poland is inspiring…Your emotions evoked a passion within us that enhanced our studies in Poland …”

- From a letter sent by Elyse Warren writing on behalf of Prof. Jared Stark and the Holocaust Memory Class (May 2012) Eckerd College

"Thank you for all of the hard work that the Taube Center staff did to insure a wonderful and meaningful experience in Jewish Poland. You taught us history. You showed us the darkness, introduced us to the light and gave us a taste of what can be. Our trip to Poland shattered our preconceived images of the country. The story of Polish Jewry has started a new chapter, and we are fortunate to be part of it."

- The Minks, Gratz College Study Tour 2012

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