To Mathilde Albers, Israel is more than a startup nation with nice beaches. It’s the safe harbor for world Jewry, and had it existed before World War II, she says her parents and brothers might have survived the Holocaust.
Albers was more fortunate. She managed to make it out of her native Germany days before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, as she and her husband sailed to England and, eventually, to the United States. With only a few dollars in their pockets, the couple built a successful hospital equipment supply company in Oakland.
Albers, 99, has been giving back to Israel and the Jewish community ever since.
The Jewish Federation of the East Bay will honor Albers, along with community activist and former federation president Jerry Yanowitz, at Israel Out Loud, set for Wednesday, May 18, in Berkeley. The event will begin with a 6 p.m. reception at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, and then continue with the program across the street at the Magnes museum, 2121 Allston Way.
Rabbi James Brandt, federation CEO, praised Albers and Yanowitz for their “exemplary commitment” as community and philanthropic leaders. “Over the years, Mathilde and Jerry’s commitment to Israel and the Jewish people has inspired both giving and doing,” he added.
Yanowitz, a Cleveland native, moved to the Bay Area in the early 1970s and has served in various lay capacities with the Jewish Public Affairs Committee, Oakland Hebrew Day School and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In addition, he currently is serving as a member of J.’s board of directors.
Albers said she feels honored by the federation salute.
“I think it’s very nice that they’re doing this, even though there are lots of other people who deserve the same honor,” she said. “It’s very nice to recognize what I was trying to do for the Jewish people, for the community, for Israel.”
A native of Westphalia, Germany, Albers was a college student when she and her husband, Henry, fled to England as World War II began. Once they received visas, they sailed for the United States, a 16-week journey that took them through the Panama Canal.
After disembarking in California, the couple built a business and enjoyed a classic American success story. Henry died in the early 1970s, but his wife never stopped working, even after selling the Pacific Hospital Equipment and Supply Company in 1976. Albers has one son, Dennis, and two grandchildren.
Albers has sat on the boards of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, AIPAC, Israel Bonds and many more. She has given donations to those entities, as well as to the Weizmann Institute, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and other Israeli institutions.
She said she supports as many Israeli causes as she can, because she fears the alternative.
“Look at what’s happening to the Jews in France,” she said. “Many go to Israel. It’s the only place they are welcome. That’s why it’s important to support Israel in any form or shape.”