Sue Swartz's Reflection

Marcia came to our southern Indiana town in 2003 to meet with our Brit Tzedek chapter and speak at an event held at our university town synagogue. Although we were a small chapter in a relatively Republican state, Marcia was warm and generous with our group, posing for photos & treating us with seriousness—as if there were no place else on Earth she would rather be. What I remember most was her energy and encouragement of our work.

In the first half of 2007, both Marcia and I were in Tel Aviv and arranged to meet at an outdoor cafe. By then, I was a Brit Tzedek Board member and had watched Marcia in action many times both behind-the-scenes and in public, and was struck by her determination and purpose. I’ll admit that I was slightly nervous hanging out with her one on one (eating, as I recall, really good hummus & salad), but after an initial awkwardness we fell into a lovely conversation about family, writing, and life outside the struggle. We spent a couple hours moving seamlessly between work and not-work in a surprisingly sweet way. I was bummed to get in the car to leave.

Marcia could be difficult (can’t we all?) and I hope she came to the end of her life knowing she made a difference in so many ways and with so many of us.

May her memory be a blessing.
Sue Swartz

Julie Bloom, Catherine Goldstein, Don Lichtenberg z’l, ?, Marcia z”l, Jenny Bass, Rita Lichtenberg, Madi Hirschland & back row, Bruce Solomon, Audrey Heller, Larry Moss, Shana Ritter, Jordan Shifriss, Sue Swartz.

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