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Esther Gottesman

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Esther G. Gottesman
Born
Esther Garfunkel

1898
DiedOctober 1, 1997 (aged 98)
NationalityAmerican
SpouseBenjamin Gottesman
Children2, including David Gottesman
RelativesSamuel Gottesman (brother-in-law)

Esther G. Gottesman (née Garfunkel; 1898–October 1, 1997) was an American philanthropist and Zionist.

Early life and education

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Gottesman was the daughter of Aaron and Sarah Garfunkel.[1] Her father was a founder of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.[2] She graduated from New York University in 1921, the year she married banker and investment manager Benjamin Gottesman; he died in 1979.[1]

Career

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Gottesman was a delegate to the first post-WWII World Zionist Congress, held in Basel, Switzerland, in 1946.[1] She was a member of World Zionist Organization Action Committee in the early years of Israeli statehood.[1]

She was active in the Board of Jewish Education (New York).[1] She was a member of the board of the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America from 1946 until her death.[1][2]

Gottesman is credited with developing Hadassah's house newsletter into Hadassah Magazine.[1][2]

Gottesman persuaded her brother-in-law Samuel Gottesman to purchase the Dead Sea Scrolls and give them to Israel; the family built the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum to hold the scrolls.[1][2]

Personal life

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The Gottesman's had two sons, David S. Gottesman and Milton M. Gottesman.[1]

Gottesman and her husband were donors to Yeshiva University, where the Mendel Gottesman Library is named after her father-in-law.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nemy, Enid (2 October 1997). "Esther G. Gottesman, 98, Zionist With Role in Scrolls Acquisition". New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Greenberg, Eric (8 April 1983). "Esther Gottesman: For 50 years a variety of hats for Hadassah". New York Jewish Week.