Hedy and Daniel Whitebook

Hedy and Daniel Whitebook

Hedy and Daniel Whitebook

Hedy and Daniel Whitebook Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

The Whitebook/Perez and Drucker/Berkowitz families all came to the United States in the late 1800s (Daniel’s side) and settled in New York. The Goodstein side also arrived in

New York in the late 1800s and the Gliner side (both Hedy’s maternal family) arrived after World War I. The Gottlieb and Kloda sides survived the Holocaust in Europe and then moved all over the globe. Over time both families ended up in North Miami Beach, Florida. That is where Danny and I grew up, Danny was born in Miami. We lived on the same street two houses away from each other. On the street where we lived, almost everyone was Jewish and it was very important to both of us to marry someone Jewish and to continue being Jewish. Danny went to public school, afternoon Hebrew School and a Jewish summer camp. I went to an Orthodox Day School and traveled to Israel every year to visit my family there. Neither one of us grew up in a religious home. We both had grandmothers

who we adored and feel that these women shaped our Jewish identities. When we got married, we became involved in many Jewish organizations. We joined a synagogue, the same one that both of our families’ belonged to. We became involved in our children’s day school and in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, where Hedy has created a legacy gift. We are also active in Kesher, the organization for which we are creating a leaving gift along with the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces

and the University of Miami. We have two children. Our daughter Jolie, is married to Harold Rivner and they have a daughter, Eva. They are living in North Miami Beach. We also have a son, Adam, who lives with us and is the main reason for this legacy gift. When Adam was two years old, he was diagnosed with

autism. We wanted for him to attend a Jewish day school in our neighborhood like his sister, but there was not a suitable one. He was sent from school to school. We were never satisfied and none of the schools were in our neighborhood. Then, when he was entering the third grade we found Kesher. This was a special education day school inside of a regular day school. Most students had learning disabilities, but there were some who had developmental disabilities. The community was backing the program and we are forever grateful. Adam attending Kesher changed our lives. I served as the school’s president for seven years. That is why we wanted to leave a

legacy gift to Kesher. Danny and I both believe that if you can help someone, you should. This program was there for our family. We could not have accomplished the benefits on our own. We want future families to be able to send their children to Kesher and receive all of the benefits that we received. We want the graduates to live in and be part of the Miami Jewish community.

We are honored to be able to leave something to Kesher as part of our Jewish legacy. In 2022 the Kesher School was renamed the “Kloda Whitebook Kesher Academy”. This was to honor the 25+ years that we and Hedy’s parents, Cheryl & Ruben Kloda, have continued help other families as benefactors to the school. Adam Whitebook

Hedy and Danny Whitebook with granddaughters

Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School

Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation