Women’s mission to Prague, Budapest slated

November 13, 2013, 5:10 pm 0 Edit

A group of Pittsburgh area women will be exploring Prague and Budapest next year on a Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Philanthropy Mission.

The journey, which will run from July 3 to 10, 2014, will begin in Prague, Czech Republic, with a walking tour of the Jewish Museum Complex and the newly restored Spanish Synagogue. Among other historical Jewish destinations will be the Altneushul (Old-New) Synagogue, the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe and the supposed resting place of the Golem of Prague, one of the most famous figures of Jewish folklore.

Among sites of Jewish significance in Budapest, Hungary, will be the Dohany Synagogue, the largest in Europe; the “Weeping Willow” Holocaust Memorial; and the Rumbach Street Synagogue, built in the Islamic style. Participants will attend a special Yizkor service at the Shoes on the Danube Promenade. The “Shoe Memorial,” which includes 60 pairs of iron shoes that line the stone walk along the river, honors those whom fascist militiamen shot and then pushed into the river in 1944.

“Seldom do we have an opportunity to visit Europe under the aegis of the Jewish Federation, giving us access to, not only sites of Jewish interest, but programs being impacted abroad by our efforts in Pittsburgh,” Linda Joshowitz, chair of women’s philanthropy, said in a prepared statement. “Traveling together as women will enable us to learn about each other as we connect to our history and heritage.”

Ellen Teri Kaplan Goldstein, Women’s Philanthropy campaign chair, added that “Mission participants tend to be passionate, and this trip will build friendships between them. Those friendships will be a lifetime resource for the women and create channels of action in Jewish Pittsburgh.”

The cost of the mission, land travel only, is $2,099 per person (price includes a $500 Federation subsidy) or, for young adults ages 22 to 45, $1,849 per person (price includes a $750 Federation subsidy).

Participation in this mission requires a minimum commitment of $1,000 each year to the 2015 and 2016 Federation annual campaigns, or $500 each year for women ages 22 to 45.

Contact Becca Hurowitz, women’s philanthropy director, at 412-992-5226 or at bhurowitz@jfedpgh.org for more information.