American Friends of Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh will present a memorial (Azkara) program in honor of its beloved longtime director, Mr. Eli Klein, at 8 p.m. on Thursday February 2, at the Fischel (Old) Beis Medrash on the Yeshiva University campus in upper Manhattan.

Mr. Klein gave his heart and soul to the yeshiva for more than 50 years. He served with great honor and distinction, and was responsible for lifting the yeshiva from its early years of development, standing on desolate ground, to the beautiful and spacious campus of today.

Mr. Klein became KBY’s director in 1964. Over the years, he made a positive impression on thousands of KBY parents, supporters and especially its overseas students, whose needs were always one of his top priorities. Following his retirement after 43 years of service, Mr. Klein continued to dedicate himself to the welfare of KBY and its students as a trusted and revered father figure for the yeshiva’s extended family around the world.

Mr. Klein was born in Germany and arrived in the United States with his family in 1940. He graduated from the Teacher’s Institute of Yeshiva University, served as an assistant chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and later as Director of Bnei Akiva of North America. Mr. Klein and his wife, Chava, settled in Eretz Yisroel in 1955 where they raised a family of three children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, all still living in Israel.

Prior to coming to KBY, he served as the principal of a regional elementary school for immigrant children. Mr. Klein was active in developing the concept of the Yeshivot Hesder, which KBY pioneered. He served on the boards of three other yeshivot, and as chairman of the Yavneh Regional Religious Council. He was also the President of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel.

Several prominent speakers will be featured on the Azkara program, according to Rabbi Mordechai Willig, a Rosh Yeshiva at YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), who will also serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

All members of the public are invited to attend. The American office of KBY can be contacted at 718-645-3130 or [email protected].