{"id":40320,"date":"2022-12-23T01:29:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T09:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=40320"},"modified":"2022-12-22T09:17:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T17:17:23","slug":"bgu-family-mourns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/12\/23\/bgu-family-mourns\/","title":{"rendered":"BGU family mourns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben-Gurion University Canada chief executive officer Mark Mendelson passed away in Montreal without warning on Nov. 14 at the age of 73.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, Mendelson\u2019s imprint has been felt throughout BGU Canada. Helping create new purpose and hard results, connecting communities with Ben-Gurion University and Israel, his life, experience and leadership were transformative: the organizations he touched, the chapters he helped grow and the voices he helped raise, were the product of a life dedicated to the singular purpose of protecting and nurturing, manifested in boundless energy and enormous reach, helping BGU Canada grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took what was a small but respected organization to a national powerhouse,\u201d said Montreal and Ottawa executive director Simon Bensimon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A leader who gave people around him the space to excel while daring them to wow him, Mendelson\u2019s energy, enthusiasm and resilience were infectious, and served his gift for reaching out and making valuable connections between donors, volunteers and stakeholders. \u201cA character who had character,\u201d said B.C. and Alberta Region president Adam Korbin. \u201cHe was a blessing in my life, a mentor, confidant and friend.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As much of Canada\u2019s nonprofit sector slowed and then scrambled for relevance and community engagement during the pandemic, Mendelson helped steward BGU Canada through and maintain the interest, enthusiasm and commitment towards the cause.<\/p>\n

His legacy for BGU is omnipresent in the organization and on the ground in Israel. For the national organization, this is embodied in the new archives building in Sde Boker, for which Mendelson marshaled his best efforts and drive to realize and, ultimately, stood before as great affirmation of one of the crowning achievements of his BGU Canada career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendelson understood the importance of each national chapter. \u201cFrom the outset, he was committed to putting Vancouver on the map and was determined that we should hold a gala,\u201d recalled David Berson, executive director, B.C. and Alberta region. \u201cHis love for BGU and Israel were first and foremost \u2013 alongside fishing and food!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Montreal-born-and-raised son of Dr. Hyman and Audrey Lynne Mendelson, Mark spent a lifetime dedicated to Israel and Jewry \u2013 as a kibbutznik, as an IDF paratrooper, as a social worker, an entrepreneur and then as a leading advocate. He held fast in his belief in Israel, securing her future through grit, diplomacy, and the Jewish people\u2019s greatest currency: knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of my success as president, and much of what BGU is today, is because of Mark\u2019s complete dedication to the task of building Ben-Gurion University,\u201d said BGU president Prof. Daniel Chamovitz.<\/p>\n

At Mendelson\u2019s funeral in Montreal, Chamovitz recalled this \u201clarge man wearing a loud plaid sport jacket, bearing a gift of fresh salmon whose smell permeated the air, and having one of the most endearing smiles anywhere.\u201d It was their first meeting. \u201cI had been president for only three weeks and, somehow or another, no one had prepared me for Mark Mendelson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mendelson had a keen understanding of the ongoing relationship between the Diaspora and Israel, and he followed through on his promise to Chamovitz that, despite Canada\u2019s modest Jewish population, BGU Canada was poised to make a major jump in its philanthropy: \u201cWe punch way over our weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university, the Negev, Israel and dare I say the world,\u201d said Chamovitz, \u201cis a better place because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Courtesy Ben-Gurion University Canada<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben-Gurion University Canada chief executive officer Mark Mendelson passed away in Montreal without warning on Nov. 14 at the age of 73.\u00a0 Over the years, Mendelson\u2019s imprint has been felt throughout BGU Canada. Helping create new purpose and hard results, connecting communities with Ben-Gurion University and Israel, his life, experience and leadership were transformative: the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[19706,1908,1910,21462,705,20606],"class_list":["post-40320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national","tag-adam-korbin","tag-ben-gurion-university","tag-bgu","tag-daniel-chamovitz","tag-david-berson","tag-mark-mendelson"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}