Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld to receive Builders of Jerusalem Award

Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld will be awarded the Jerusalem Foundation’s Builders of Jerusalem Award at a gala to be held at the Sotheby’s auction house on Dec. 8.

Sotheby’s will auction work by Israeli artists including Marc Chagall, Reuven Rubin and Nachum Gutman, with proceeds benefiting co-sponsor, the Jerusalem Season of Culture, and artists in Jerusalem. The evening will also mark the centennial of former mayor of Jerusalem and organization founder Teddy Kollek’s birth.

The Jerusalem Foundation calls Hassenfeld a staunch supporter of the city and organization who helped renovate the Sultan’s Pool Amphitheater among many other philanthropic works.

Three generations of the Hassenfeld family have supported Brandeis, beginning with a gift in 1950 from Henry Hassenfeld, Sylvia's father-in-law. 

The family established the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Chair in Islamic Studies, which is held by Kanan Makiya.

 Sylvia's son Alan is a member of the Board of Overseers at the Brandeis International Business School and recently established the Hassenfeld Fellows Overseas Immersion Program. 

Sylvia's daughter Ellen Hassenfeld Block is a member of the Board of Overseers at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.