Tag Archives: American Jews

Jew of the Week: Irene Rosenfeld

Irene Rosenfeld

Irene Blecker Rosenfeld (b. 1953) was born in New York to a Jewish family of Romanian and German descent. She studied psychology at Cornell, then earned a Master’s in business, followed by a Ph.D. in marketing. Soon after, she got a job with an ad agency in New York, then worked in consumer research for General Foods, the company famous for its cereals, Jell-O, and Maxwell House coffee (and now owned by Altria Group Inc., formerly known as Philip Morris). In 2004, Rosenfeld was elected CEO of Frito-Lay, the company that makes Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos, Lay’s, and Ruffles. During her successful tenure, she shifted the focus of the company towards healthier ingredients and products. Two years later, she moved on to become CEO of Kraft Foods (also owned by Altria). After overseeing a great deal of growth within Kraft, including the acquisition of Cadbury, the largest confectioner in the UK, Rosenfeld engineered the company’s split into two new corporations. She remained as chairwoman and CEO of the snacks division, now known as Mondelez International. This new multi-billion dollar company employs over 100,000 people globally, and makes popular foods like Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, Peek Freans, Toblerone, Halls, Ritz, and both Trident and Dentyne gums. Not surprisingly, Rosenfeld has been ranked by Forbes among the world’s most powerful women on multiple occasions. She currently lives in a Chicago suburb, where she is a central member of the local Reform synagogue. Rosenfeld is a noted philanthropist, too, known for discretely donating large sums of money to hospitals, schools, and other institutions. She is also an avid basketball player, tennis player, and rollerblader.

Today is the 3rd Day of Sukkot. Chag Sameach!

Words of the Week

Just as it is incumbent upon every Jew to put on tefillin every day, so is there an unequivocal duty which rests upon every individual, from the greatest scholar to the most simple of folk, to set aside a half-hour each day in which to think about the education of his children.
– Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn, the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe

Jew of the Week: Janet Yellen

Janet Yellen

Janet Louise Yellen (b. 1946) was born to a Jewish family of Polish descent in Brooklyn. Though initially interested in studying math, science, and philosophy, she ended up majoring in economics, and eventually earned a Ph.D in economics from Yale. She went on to teach economics at Harvard, The London School of Economics and Political Science, and UC Berkeley. In 1997, Yellen chaired President Clinton’s Council of Economics Advisers. Between 2004 and 2010 she was president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and following that, the vice-chair of the US Federal Reserve. Last year, she became the Fed’s chairwoman, the first woman in history to hold that position. Yellen has been described as a “dove” in economics, focusing on relieving unemployment and keeping inflation in check. She has been hailed for redefining the Federal Reserve, and has stated her objective as helping “Main Street, not Wall Street”. In 2014, Forbes ranked her the second most powerful woman in the world, and more recently the 6th most powerful person on the planet.

Words of the Week

In this world there is no beauty without ugliness, no joy without sorrow, no pleasure without pain. You cannot invent a thing that will provide benefit without threat of harm. Neither is there a human on this earth who does only good without fault… Therefore, do not reject any thing for the harm it may render, nor despise any man for the ugliness you find within him. Rather, use each thing towards the purpose for which God conceived it, and learn from each person all the good they have to offer.
– Tzvi Freeman, based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Jew of the Week: Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Bernard Sanders (b. 1941) was born in Brooklyn. He studied political science at the University of Chicago in the 1960s, and was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement on campus, for which he was once arrested. After graduating, he spent some time in a kibbutz in Israel. In 1971, Sanders joined the socialist, anti-war Liberty Union Party. He ran for governor and senator many times, but never won. In 1981, he was elected mayor of Burlington, the largest city in Vermont. Sanders brought Burlington back to life, balancing the city’s budget, rebuilding its downtown area, and making Burlington the first city in US history to finance community housing. Sanders was an extremely popular mayor, and was re-elected for four terms. He then briefly taught political science at Harvard before finally winning a Congressional seat in 1990. This made him the first independent to be elected to the House of Representatives in 40 years. He served as a Representative until 2007, and as a Senator since then. That makes him the longest-serving independent Congressman in American history, as well as the only Congressman to openly identify as a socialist. Sanders opposed both wars in Iraq, the bailout of banks in 2008, the NSA, and the unpopular Patriot Act, along with many other bills aimed at expanding government powers. As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, he has focused on “rebuilding the middle class” and is working towards raising minimum wages and social security. He has also been voted the top senator with regards to environmental action, and won an award for his support of war veterans. Not surprisingly, Sanders has won essentially all of his elections by huge landslides, and holds a very high approval rating, making him among the most popular senators in the US. In 2010, following his incredible 8.5 hour speech to Congress that focused on helping the disadvantaged, many began urging Sanders to run for president. On April 30, 2015, he finally announced his candidacy. True to his beliefs, he rejected large “Super PAC” donations, and said he will finance his campaign through small individual contributions. Within 24 hours of this announcement, he raised $1.5 million through small donations averaging $43. By July 2nd, his campaign already raised $15 million through 400,000 donors (nearly triple the number that Obama had, and in less time). The day before, his speech in Wisconsin was attended by over 10,000 people, making it the largest turnout thus far for any presidential candidate. Among other issues, Sanders’ platform is focused on wealth inequality, “getting big money out of politics”, free university education, Wall Street reform, media reform, and investing in more renewable energy sources. He is now considered a top candidate for winning the presidency, which would make him the first Jewish president in American history.

Words of the Week

A guy named Adolf Hitler won an election in 1932. He won an election, and 50 million people died as a result of that election in World War II, including 6 million Jews. So what I learned as a little kid is that politics is, in fact, very important.
– Bernie Sanders