Joy Kurland will be honored by the Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey at its annual gala on May 17 at Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff. The JHSNJ annually honors a member of the Jewish Community in North Jersey who contributes remarkably to it.
Joy retired briefly from a stellar career, most recently as Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey (1990–2015), only to be recruited back into community service in March. She was a board member of the JHSNJ when she was approached to be the Executive Director of the organization, which recently expanded from its long-time headquarters in the basement of Barnert Hospital in Paterson, to a home of its own on River Road in Fair Lawn.
“Joy is the perfect person to be honored by the JHSNJ at its Annual Gala and why I was so happy to nominate her,” said Treasurer and last year’s honoree, Moe Liss. “Joy has devoted most of her adult life, both professional and personal, to furthering Jewish intragroup and intergroup relations. As Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey she was instrumental in fostering understanding and mutual respect among the many racial, ethnic and religious groups in our northern Jersey area.”
In 2001, Joy was the recipient of the prestigious ADL Community Service Award in recognition of her efforts toward community building and fostering intergroup understanding in Bergen County. In 2011, Joy received the Interfaith Dialog Center Award for Peace and Understanding. In October 2015, she was honored by the Bergen County NAACP as a recipient of its Community Service Award.
Fostering intergroup relations, coalition building and promoting efforts that contributed to enhancing the Jewish community relations agenda have been the major focus of Joy Kurland’s professional career in Jewish communal service. She worked closely with individuals and organizations that comprise the rich diversity of northern New Jersey. Her efforts toward fostering understanding and mutual respect among the many racial, ethnic and religious groups resulted in the creation and expansion of various collaborative endeavors.
Tickets to the Gala Event Honoring Joy Kurland are available to the community. Sales benefit the Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey, a 501(c)3 organization. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Rishon, 585 Russell Avenue, Wyckoff, New Jersey. “It will be a night of celebration as we share our memories over a haimish dinner,” the invitation promises. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information contact: Ina Cohen Harris at [email protected], Anne Friedman Meyers at [email protected], Mireille Schuck at [email protected] or JHSNJ at 201-300-6590. Make checks payable to the JHSNJ. Mail before May 1, 2016 to Mireille Schuck, 90 Harding Road, Glen Rock, NJ 07452.
By Alison Faubert
