Ilana, her sister, Dena, and a group of volunteers on an IDF base. Submitted photo
CAMDEN — The Camden Public Library will host an online presentation by Ilana Blumenthal about her volunteer work on Israeli Defense Force (IDF) bases through an international program called Volunteers for Israel (VFI) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25. The program will be held on the Zoom platform. Email jpierce@librarycamden.org to request a link to attend.
Sisters, Dena and Ilana Blumenthal volunteering in Israel. Submitted photo
Ilana Blumenthal Submitted photo
Blumenthal, who lives in Philadelphia, lived in Israel as a child. She is the great-grandchild of Eastern European Jewish refugees. She will discuss how her ancestors’ and immediate family’s deep involvement with and strong connection to the dream of a Jewish State have influenced her choices, actions, career and activism. “My feeling of obligation to the Jewish community of the diaspora (the dispersion of the Jews beyond Israel), as well as the Jewish community in Israel, is what has led to my commitment to the IDF,” says Blumenthal.
Blumenthal has served on medical bases, communications bases and air force bases, and works from the U.S. with VFI as manager of recruitment, VFI Educates associate and graphic designer. Her presentation will highlight the organization’s history and her experiences on the bases with other volunteers of various backgrounds.
In addition to her work with VFI, Blumenthal is presently the creative marketing manager and VFI Plus agent for The Gil Travel Group. Prior to this, she spent 12 years in marketing, public relations, graphic design and objects care and research at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Blumenthal received a BA in theatre design and writing from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania and an MA in museology with a focus on artifact management and care from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
For more information on this and other library programs, visit librarycamden.org.
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