January 14, 2010/28 Tevet, 5770

A third generation donor from the Rothberg family in the United States is now actively involved in assisting the prestigious Rothberg High School in Ramat Hasharon, named after her husband's grandfather, Sam Rothberg, who founded the institution.

The Rothberg High School in Ramat Hasharon was built in 1969 by Sam Rothberg, and is one of the first schools built through the Jewish Agency’s Education Fund.  Several years after the school was built, Sam Rothberg established a special fund to help the school.  Each year since 1978, the fund grants the school assistance for various needs. For the last 32 years, the school has received a generous annual donation from the Rothberg Fund.

The family, however, had no connection with the school after Sam's death as the funds were transferred automatically from the estate.  Mrs. Sheryl Rothberg, the wife of Peter Rothberg – Sam’s grandson – never even knew about Sam Rothberg’s generous donation to Israel or of the school he built in Ramat Hasharon.  Sheryl is very closely connected to Israel and is among the first American Jews who studied at the Hebrew University immediately following the Six Day War.  She has many relatives in Israel, speaks Hebrew well, and makes frequent visits to the Jewish State.

During one of her visits, approximately 13 years ago, a relative told her about the Rothberg High School in Ramat Hasharon, and even volunteered to show her the school building.  It was then that Sheryl discovered, to her surprise, that the funds for building the school were donated by her husband’s grandfather.  And so began the “love story” between the third generation of the Rothberg family and the Rothberg High School.

Three years ago, Sheryl came with her son to visit the school, and was duly impressed by the high level of instruction, the devotion of Principal Gili Mallik, the faculty, the school’s special programming, and the integration of students from different neighborhoods in the city.

When Sheryl visited the school library, she discovered another surprise, that the librarians had studied with her at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  As a result of this visit, Sheryl decided to get involved in the Rothberg Fund’s donations and, together with her husband, Peter, earmarked the most recent donation for the purchase of computers for the school library.

Sheryl came to visit the Rothberg High School on January 13, 2010, and was given an overview of the school’s programs by the principal, Mrs. Gili Mallik.  She attended several classes and got a firsthand look at the new computers that were recently purchased and installed in the school library.  Afterward, she met with several students who told her of how the school has contributed to their academic achievement.

Sheryl was visibly gratified by the visit, and promised to maintain the family’s strong bond with the school, and to transmit this legacy of connectedness with Israel and with the Rothberg High School to her son and grandson.