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Florence Berger, 83, Cornell professor and practitioner of the art of Jewish matchmaking
(JTA) — Florence Berger, as a much-admired professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, once wrote a scholarly article about the executive-search industry. “Sensitivity to the interaction between persons and organizations is a major characteristic of executive recruits who are able to make the proper match between candidate and client,” she wrote.
Berger, who died July 13 at age 83, applied the same philosophy in a side gig that arguably made her better known than her scholarship: As an amateur matchmaker, she reportedly arranged more than two dozen matches that resulted in successful marriages, from the children of her academic colleagues to family members to couples she met on sabbatical in Japan and France.
Berger “is the kind of old-fashioned matchmaker who used to exist all over but is now regarded as a kind of archaic angel,” wrote Melanie Thernstrom in a 2005 New York Times Magazine article, “The New Arranged Marriage,” which focused largely on Jewish matchmakers, or shadchaniot. “Once Florence inscribes someone in her head, she doesn’t cross him or her off until he is wed.”
“I am fearless when it comes to matching,” Berger agreed in the same article, which also described some of her rules for dating and matchmaking. She tended not to match anyone under 30, suspecting that they wouldn’t be sufficiently “marriage minded.” And she made the couple promise to go out twice, “regardless of how they felt on the first date.” (Aleeza Ben Shalom, the star of the hit Netflix dating series “Jewish Matchmaking,” has a similar rule, which she calls “date ’em till you hate ’em.”)
And if there was a secret to Berger’s success, beyond persistence, it boiled down to something rather obvious: “finding partners with similar values and backgrounds.”
Born May 3, 1940, Florence Cohen grew up in West Hempstead on Long Island. She married her own high school sweetheart, Toby Berger, in 1961. (Toby Berger, an electrical engineering professor at Cornell and a nephew of the legendary New York Times reporter Meyer Berger, died in 2022.)
Florence attended Goucher College, then earned a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. As an assistant professor at Cornell, she taught courses in organizational behavior, human relations skills and hospitality industry training.
When she served as assistant dean of students at Cornell, “the art of being a Jewish mother was professionalized — keeping everyone safe, well-fed, making them feel welcome, and managing it all,” her son Larry told the New York Times.
In 1999, Berger received Cornell University’s highest teaching award, the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Berger’s persistence in bringing people together was evident in the 2005 Times profile. When she learned that the reporter was not herself interested in a match, Berger responded: “Don’t be so sure about that!”
“I know this will make you angry,” Berger wrote Thernstrom as she continued to suggest matches, “but … I’ve made some people angry on the way to making them happy.”
Berger, who was residing in Charlottesville, Virginia at the time of her death, is survived by her son Larry and daughter, Elizabeth Mandell; her sister, Trudy Cohen Labell, and four grandchildren.
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The post Florence Berger, 83, Cornell professor and practitioner of the art of Jewish matchmaking appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp revealed their latest missile systems on Saturday, which have been deployed on three different Iranian islands.
This comes amid increased US pressure to return to the negotiation table over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with US President Donald Trump implementing a return to his “maximum pressure” policy.
Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the IRGC’s naval force, threatened that “the enemy would be beaten” in the event of a military confrontation. He boasted missile units, submarines, unmanned aircraft, and defense systems deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the Persian Gulf, and in the islands in the region.
A new hangar was revealed in one of the sites that contains the new missile systems. According to the IRGC, these missiles have the ability to destroy maritime targets up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) from their deployment sites.
Last week, a US official told i24NEWS that Trump gave Khamenei a two-month ultimatum to reach a nuclear agreement. National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes threatened “devastating” results.
Therefore, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attacked Donald Trump in a speech he made, saying “I will not negotiate with you even under threats.” This, after a few days prior, Trump wrote a letter to Iran, asking to restart negotiations on the nuclear issue.
The post Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi military force intended to be sent to fight in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Houthis claimed on Sunday that they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with their alleged hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile, with the strike “successfully achieving its goal.”
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree boasted that air traffic at the airport was suspended for more than half an hour.
Additionally, Saree claimed Houthi forces launched missiles and drones at the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. There is no indication that this attack succeeded, contrary to the Houthi statement.
At around 7:30 am, sirens blared throughout central Israel, with no injuries reported. The IDF said that a Houthi missile had been intercepted successfully outside of Israeli airspace.
This comes after the Houthis restarted their attacks on the Jewish state last week, triggering sirens in central Israel and the Jerusalem area.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command began an offensive against high-level Houthis and terrorist infrastructure in Yemen. US President Donald Trump has also stated that he will hold Iran responsible for any attack emanating from the Houthis.
The post Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike
Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil. Photo: File.
i24 News – Hamas confirmed on Sunday that Salah al-Bardawil, a member of its political bureau, had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
His wife also perished in the attack. This targeted killing, initially reported by the Palestinian press agency Shehab, affiliated with Hamas, is said to have targeted “tents sheltering displaced persons.” The Israeli authorities have not yet commented on the reports.
This strike is part of a series of targeted operations carried out by Israel against the Hamas leadership. Over the weekend, the Israeli army and Shin Bet security agency also announced that they had eliminated Osama Tabash, who was the chief of military intelligence for Hamas in southern Gaza and led the organization’s surveillance and targeting unit.
According to the joint statement from the army and Shin Bet, Tabash was a “high-ranking terrorist” who possessed “significant operational knowledge for the terrorist organization.” He had held various positions of importance, including that of battalion commander in the Khan Yunis brigade.
The Israeli services attribute to him involvement in several attacks, including a suicide bombing carried out in 2005 at the Gush Katif crossroads in Gaza, which cost the life of Oded Sharon. In his recent roles, Tabash was responsible for developing the Hamas combat strategy and had participated in planning infiltrations during the massacre on October 7 in the Israeli communities in the south of the country.
The post Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.