Left to right: Julie Waltzer, Adeena Sussman, Vicki Osherow. Credit: Rebecca Golden

By Allie Willensky

The 20th annual Shalom Austin Women’s Philanthropy Mosaic luncheon which took place on Thursday, October 26 at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas was a meaningful gathering and enormous success. With more than 700 in attendance, together attendees harnessed the power of women and the collective responsibility to positively impact the local and global Jewish communities.

This year, Mosaic was a call to action raising critical funds for Israel and the Jewish community to support Jewish Federations of North America’s efforts that have already exceeded $500 million dollars directly supporting the people of Israel. In this moment of coming together, attendees heard about all the nonprofit organization work done in years past which helped enable the community to help in times of crisis and were also able to see their donation dollars in action immediately.

Mosaic Co-chairs Vicki Osherow and Julie Waltzer drew upon the theme of the importance of community and togetherness. This theme has never been more important as the community continues to see the outpouring of love and support for its Israeli brothers and sisters. The Austin Jewish community is standing together now more than ever.

Suzanne Newberg was honored as the 2023 Marilyn Stahl Woman of Valor which holds special significance as Stahl was Newberg’s aunt. There is no one who embodies the L’dor V’dor spirit more than Newberg, who has shown tremendous support for Shalom Austin’s Women’s Philanthropy and the greater Austin Jewish community. Newberg hopes to help pave the way for younger generations to step-up in various ways within the community just as her aunt inspired her.

An event highlight was Women’s Philanthropy’s Co-chair Jill Graham’s conversation with Adeena Sussman, The New York Times bestselling author of Israel inspired cookbooks “Shabbat” and “Sababa.” Sussman spoke about how the Shabbat table is a nurturing force and people must join together with family and friends to celebrate Jewish traditions. She also shared about how uplifting it has been to see the food and service community come together at her home in Tel Aviv, where restaurants have converted into commissaries and people are uniting in ways never seen before. Many are returning to traditions, including the preparation of the Shabbat meal as a way to feel grounded during this time.

The collective impact the Shalom Austin community has is incredible. The Women’s Philanthropy and Mosaic leadership gives a special thanks to the Mosaic sponsors who helped make the event possible, including Austin Private Wealth, BubbieCare and Loewy Law Firm whose generosity sustains the critical work of Shalom Austin. And to LizaBeth Jewelry, whose raffle donation raised $14,000 for JFNA’s Israel Emergency Campaign.