Susan Ruth Gelman | |
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![]() Susan Gelman at the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize award ceremony | |
Born | Susan Goldman San Francisco, California, US |
Education | Harvard University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
Occupation | Chairwoman of the Israel Policy Forum |
Parent(s) | Rhoda Haas Goldman Richard Goldman |
Family | John D. Goldman (brother) Douglas E. Goldman (brother) Walter A. Haas (grandfather) Abraham Haas (great-grandfather) David Stern (great-grandfather) |
Susie Gelman is an American activist and philanthropist who is the chairwoman of the Israel Policy Forum. [1]
Gelman was born Susan Goldman the daughter of Rhoda (née Haas) and Richard Goldman. [2] She has three brothers: John D. Goldman, Douglas E. Goldman, and Richard W. Goldman (deceased). [3] Her grandfather was Walter A. Haas, president and owner of Levi Strauss & Co. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Georgetown University Law Center. [2] She served for three terms as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and is a lifetime member of its board of directors. [2] Gelman co-chaired the Israel Religious Expressions Platform of the Jewish Federations of North America which promotes freedom of choice of marriage in Israel. [2] She has also served as the inaugural chair and ongoing board member of the Birthright Israel Foundation; on the Taglit-Birthright Israel Planning Committee; co-chair of United Jewish Communities (now Jewish Federations of North America) Israel; and co-chaired the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Jerusalem in 2003 and 2013. [2] [4] In 2016, she was named chairman of the board for the Israel Policy Forum, [2] a New York, NY based American Jewish organization that works for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict though advocacy, education and policy research. [5] [6] Gelman is a member of the Board of Governors of The Hebrew University; was awarded an honorary fellowship at Brandeis University; served for 12 years on the Georgetown Day School Board of Trustees, including two years as president of the board; serves as president of the board of the Goldman Environmental Foundation; [2] and served on the Board of Managers of Adas Israel Congregation. [4] In 2012, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund closed down and distributed its $280 million in assets to the three siblings. [7] Susie and her husband channel their charitable activities through the Morningstar Foundation. [8]
She believes that Israeli annexation of the West Bank is possible and would have terrible consequences for Israel threatening its legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic state. [9] [10]
She is married to Michael Gelman. Together they have three children, [2] a son and two daughters. [4] In May, 2024 it was revealed that her daughter Rachel Gelman, through her Bafrayung Fund, is a major sponsor of pro-Palestinian activist groups involved in campus demonstrations and adjacent actions. [11] [12]
Michael Gelman was founding partner of the accounting firm Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman. [13] She met her husband while they were in UJA's (now JFNA) Young Leadership program and were engaged at Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar during a Federation mission to Israel. [4]