Ida Silverman | |
|---|---|
 Ida Silverman in 1957 | |
| Born | Ida Marcia Camelhor 31 October 1882 |
| Died | 1 November 1973 (aged 91) Herzliya, Israel |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Ida Kamelhorn |
| Years active | 1915—1973 |
| Known for | Zionist orator and fund-raiser |
| Spouse | Archibald Silverman |
| Children | 4[1] |
Ida Silverman (31 October 1882 – 1 November 1973) was a Jewish philanthropist, who with her husband helped found approximately 100 synagogues, mostly in Israel. She is the only woman to have served as vice president of the Zionist Organization of America and the American Jewish Congress.
A Russian immigrant, Silverman arrived in the United States before she was a year old. Her family settled in Providence, Rhode Island, where she completed her schooling, married, and had four children. While doing relief work during the First World War, she became aware of the depth of social problems and the effects of war on refugees. Joining the Zionist movement in the 1900s, within a decade she became a motivational speaker, advocating for the establishment of a permanent Jewish home in Palestine.
Between 1925 and the late 1940s, she logged over 600,000 air-miles traveling throughout the world, speaking and fund raising for the creation of a Jewish state. Even during World War II, she received special permission to travel into war-torn areas to evaluate conditions. At the war's end, Silverman turned her efforts toward building infrastructure in the new nation of Israel, but was also involved in philanthropy in her home state of Rhode Island, raising funds for hospitals and mental health organizations.
She received many honors and awards for her philanthropy including Jewish Mother of the Year, the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America's "Silver Medal" for building Israel, honorary doctorates, and jointly with her husband was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1971.
- ^ American Mothers Committee 1976, p. 479.