Harold Lederman Award for Philanthropic Leadership
The Harold Lederman Award, in memory of Harold Lederman z”l, is presented by UJA’s Past Chairs Council to an outstanding philanthropic leader and volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and achievement of innovative approaches to challenges in the community. Harold, driven by a keen social conscience and strong support for Jewish communal life, believed in the importance of continuity. His message to future generations was to be responsible—a legacy of a real philanthropic leader.
HENRY KOSCHITZKY
Henry Koschitzky was born in 1935 in Katowice, Poland, to the late Israel and Golda Koschitzky. During World War II, Henry and his family were exiled to Siberia, surviving under harsh conditions. After the war, the family immigrated to Canada, first settling in Winnipeg and later in Calgary.
Henry studied engineering at the University of Winnipeg. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he studied politics, philosophy, and economics.
Throughout his life, Henry has devoted himself to philanthropy and communal leadership, both in Canada and internationally. His deepest passion has been supporting Jewish and Zionist education. He has been involved with Associated Hebrew Day School and the Bnei Akiva Schools, as well as Keren Hayesod and The Jewish Agency in Israel.
Together with his wife, Julia z”l, he has supported countless institutions of higher learning, as he is committed to expanding access to quality Jewish education for all.