Brandeis

The Brandeis Committee is entrusted with the vital task of running the annual Louis D. Brandeis Gala, from which a substantial portion of BZD’s total operating budget is derived.

The first task of the Committee is to select two honorees who exemplify the intellectual rigor, commitment to social values, and Jewish pride that Louis Brandeis showed, first as a distinguished scholar and jurist on the New York bench, and then as the first Jewish justice on the United States Supreme Court.  Traditionally, one honoree has been a leader within our own Jewish community, with the other honoree being a person of national or international prominence.  The recipient of the 2007 Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award was Foreign Press Advisor Miri Eisen and the Humanitarian Awards Recipient was Dr. Irving J. Taylor. Past honorees have included Ambassador Dennis Ross, United States Senator Barbara Mikulski, Barry Levinson, and Alan King.

The second major task of the Committee is to help raise funds and promote attendance at the Gala.  Proceeds raised through the Brandeis Gala help support the scholarships which enable teens and college students to travel to Israel, enable BZD to organize community-wide social, cultural, and political events, and provide funding for programs for students of all ages at both religious and public schools.

The third major task is the actual planning and implementation of the Gala itself.  Each year, the dedicated work of the Brandeis Committee makes this one of the most festive and elegant events in the Baltimore Jewish social calendar.

Brandeis Committee Chair: Ron Eisenberg and William Yerman