Reuben Rotman, executive director of the Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, and Ellin Cohen, its Holocaust Advisory Committee chair, at the dedication of the newly renamed Lore Ross Cafe Europa.
Photo by Robert Wiener
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September 9, 2009
Cafe Europa, a bimonthly social program for survivors of the Holocaust, is being given a new financial lease on life, thanks to a bequest from the estate of Lore Ross.
Ross — who escaped from internment at Camp Gurs in France at the start of World War II, then fled to Portugal and the United States — had been a longtime resident of South Orange, then Palm Beach, Fla. She died in February.
The organization was officially renamed the Lore Ross Café Europa at a brief ceremony Sept. 8 at Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange.
Although the amount of the gift to Cafe Europa was not specified, it is a “major asset,” said Reuben Rotman executive director of the Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, which operates the program.
“In recent we have struggled for funds as costs have escalated. There have been increases in transportation expenses, food expenses, programming, and staff expenses. This has been a major challenge, but this gift lessens the challenge significantly,” he said.
As a couple, Lore and Eric Ross were celebrated for the substantial gifts they made to Jewish charities in the MetroWest area and on a national level. With a contribution of $10 million, they became the largest single donors to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Eric Ross remains active in local philanthropy.
Since it began in 2001, the cafe has attracted upward of 150 people to some of its gatherings. Occasionally, people who had known one another in ghettoes or concentration camps have reconnected for the first time since World War II through cafe activities.
Up until now, the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey has provided the bulk of the program’s funding for its get-togethers — which feature a variety of events ranging from klezmer music to book discussions and include a kosher lunch.
JFS social workers attend to provide assistance to members as needed.
“They can recognize if someone has problems or concerns,” said Rotman. “If someone misses a couple of sessions, if something is going on at home, we can provide support and services for them.
“Without Café Europa, it could not happen in the same way.”
Apart from commemorations of Yom Hashoa — Holocaust Remembrance Day — “the programs are very uplifting and have nothing to do with the Holocaust,” Rotman said.
“To me, Lore Ross was our angel,” said Ellin Cohen, chair of the JFS Holocaust Advisory Committee. “She has made it possible for us to provide services for survivors whose needs might otherwise have been unnoticed. We want them to come away with a good feeling.”
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