Judy Gilbert-Gould OF BLESSED MEMORY
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Judy Gilbert-Gould OF BLESSED MEMORY
I was born in 1934 prior to World War II and the founding of the State of Israel. The world was in turmoil and the fledgling Miami Jewish community was not organized and there was no central body to galvanize the community into action. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my father’s shoulders at the Coast Guard Station on the MacArthur Causeway, looking out at the lights of the ship, the St. Louis, as it was being turned away from our shores. Although I didn’t understand the significance at the time, I knew what was happening was important and that it greatly troubled my father. I remember him saying, “There are Jews on that ship.”
Judy’s mother, Martha Myers, installing her as President of the Greater Miami Section of the National Council of Jewish Women
I was born into a family where it was understood that each member had an obligation to make the world a better place in
which to live. Though I was never told this in so many words, I learned it through the deeds of my parents, Stanley and Martha Myers. My father moved to Miami in 1925 and helped form the Jewish Welfare Society (now Jewish Community Services) and Beth David Congregation, where he met my mother. He founded the Greater Miami Jewish Federation in 1938 and became its first President. My mother was head of the Red
Cross and served as President of National Council of Jewish Women. The conversations at our dinner table centered around Jewish topics and values like social justice, helping the needy and the founding of the State of Israel. These life shaping experiences are what influenced me and my late brother, Kenneth Myers, to put those Jewish values we learned into
Judy Gilbert-Gould and Gerry Gould
action. Kenneth, an attorney, was elected to public office and served for many years in both the Florida House and Senate, dedicating his tenure to improving human and social services. As a volunteer, I served as President of Miami’s National Council of Jewish Women and Vice President of Federation’s Women’s Division. Professionally, I began my career working under Janet Reno in the Florida State Attorney’s Office as Director of Victim- Witness Services where I created and developed a program to help prepare rape victims to testify in court. From there I served as Director of the Southeast Region of
American Jewish Congress followed by 25 years in GMJF’s Jewish Community Relations Council, as Associate Director and then Director. One of my most memorable experiences was being involved in the Soviet Jewry movement as the lead professional of the Miami Delegation for the March for Soviet Jewry on Washington in 1987. Another was meeting my late husband, Gerald Gould, on the 1991 Mega Mission to Israel. I am the proud mother
of three – Bobby (Nancy), Carolyn and Mark (Belinda) – and grandmother of eight, all of whom have grown up attending Temple Beth Am’s Religious and Day Schools, where we remain a committed multi-generational family. My family is my legacy, and I hope and trust they will continue
to strengthen the link of Jewish continuity begun so many years ago, by putting their Jewish values into action to make the world a better place in which to live. The Gilbert Family
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Judy’s father, Stanley Myers with brother Kenneth Myers
Judy Gilbert-Gould and Natan Sharansky
Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
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