The New Gloria and Henry I. Zeisel and Family Junior College

Gloria Zeisel has always considered education as a paramount value in creating opportunities for children and ensuring their success. Throughout their life together, Gloria and her husband, Henry, z”l, emphasized chesed and having a positive impact on their local community, the Jewish community at large, and the State of Israel.

Gloria decided to combine all of those elements and, together with her children, Cheryl and Abe Kramer, Elliot and Mary Zeisel, Howard Zeisel, and Debbie and Sam Moed, created a lasting legacy by making a generous gift to establish The Gloria and Henry I. Zeisel and Family Junior College at Kfar Blatt.

Gloria had long thought about making a gift that would provide children with opportunities they might not have otherwise, and decided on the junior college because she knew it would have been incredibly meaningful for Henry, z”l. As Gloria explained, “My husband greatly valued vocational training and the prospects that a good education can provide.”

The Zeisels’ vision of chesed and self-empowerment will be carried on in the junior college. Run in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces, this state-of-the-art facility trains students in auto-tech, through The Lewis and Wolkoff Preparatory Army Program, a highly specialized field that helps the army maintain and repair its most sophisticated machinery.

After receiving their technical bagrut, graduates enter the army equipped with the knowledge and training that enables them to become officers. The advanced technical training also opens doors for them after the army by giving them in-demand skills.

Henry Zeisel, z”l, would have been gratified that this dedication will have a life-changing effect on the lives of students in the AMIT network. Not only was Henry’s mother involved in Mizrachi Women, AMIT’s previous incarnation, but Gloria was a chapter president of Mizrachi Women in Brooklyn. “I knew Bessie Gotsfeld well,” said Gloria. “She had wonderful, innovative ideas that resulted in the founding of Mizrachi Women, now AMIT.”

The Gloria and Henry I. Zeisel and Family Junior College at Kfar Blatt is a direct extension of those ideas. Gloria said she hopes this gift will inspire others to do the same.