Zuckermans Help Ensure Vibrant Future for CESJDS with Bequest

Sue lights hanukkiyot with her grandchildren.

Susan and Alan Zuckerman were living in Exeter, England, where Alan was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar and their 5-year-old daughter was the only Jewish child her age in their town. “We had three children at the time,” Sue says, “and we felt strongly that we wanted a Jewish education for them.” A friend helped register Sharon for first grade at CESJDS in preparation for the family’s return to Maryland when Alan joined the faculty of the GU School of Medicine.

Sue and Alan are firm believers in Jewish education and feel obligated to ensure a strong, vibrant future for CESJDS, which is why they have included a bequest to the school in their will. “We want to be at least a small part of ensuring that JDS is here for future generations who can benefit from this extraordinary, unique, and special community.”

Sue and Alan’s children and grandchildren enjoy vacations together.

In time, all four Zuckerman children attended CESJDS and were involved in sports, arts, music, photography, and journalism. They made lifelong friends and benefited greatly from the vision of the school’s founders and benefactors. “The education at JDS is couched in Jewish values, which is the way they lead their lives,” they say. “Enrolling them in JDS is the best investment we ever made.”

Sue has worked at CESJDS now for over 40 years. She taught English and journalism, and she started the Lion’s Tale student newspaper in 1984. She is currently the Feder Family Educational Support Services Chair.

Abby, grade 11, and Eliana, grade 6, learn Daf Yom with their Zayde.

As members of the Bonim Society—which recognizes donors who have provided for the school through a bequest in their will or trust, endowment, or other planned gift—Sue and Alan want others in the CESJDS community to realize that every gift is significant and makes a difference.

“We hope others will understand the importance of the commitment to the future of JDS and Jewish education,” they conclude. “JDS educates the future leaders of the Jewish people, and we need people to renew their commitment—now more than ever.”