Background

Incorporated in November 2004, the David and Emma Greenwood Memorial foundation actually started out much earlier. It started when – at some unannounced and anticipated moment – I recognized that my sister’s Naomi and myself had been blessed with two of the best possible parents in the world.

First of all, we never lacked food or shelter, and enjoyed all the necessary, physical creature comforts, and then some.

Beyond this we enjoyed from both mother and father an atmosphere of kindness, compassion, and thoroughly consistent caring in general, down to the last detail.

What they had to do to pull this off, I cannot say for sure. I do know – however – that both parents were steeped in Jewish learning and ideals, from which derived a common passion to raise their children well. And it worked.

As a corollary or natural consequence, they located an institution of higher Jewish learning in Philadelphia and started each of them at the great college school of Gratz college school of observation and practice at an early age. With that part time, they also went to public school full-time and learned to interact with the non-Jewish students through the high school years.

Part of growing up in the Greenwood home was exposure to the world of medicine, as David was a surgeon with a specialty in abdominal surgery who also kept up a busy general (or “family“) practice.

“We were keenly aware of his comings and goings, including multiple home visits.

Our mother Emma served the practice in many ways, including handling the telephone calls, appointment scheduling, etc., and Ms. Smyth served as his trusted RN for many years.”

David and Emma were always deeply interested in the state of Israel and belong to the ZOA and Hadassah and helped to support Gratz College as well as our synagogue. War. Nathaniel’s awareness of Israel’s position with her neighbors regarding geopolitical events started in 1956.

At that time, the Eisenhower administration was deliberating about two separate crises at once – the revolution in Hungary, and looming war in the Middle East, where all the Arab nations appeared to be united with their desire to overwhelm Israel.

At times, I caught glimpses of the news on CBS TV and heard my father, David, express his points of view, including disappointment at length.

“With an additional 48 hours they could’ve reached Cairo,” he declared.

But President Eisenhower preferred to listen to his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, who said “STOP“ well before that.

Of course the consequences were many, and Israel had to go to war again a decade later in the famed six day war. Just under 10 years old, I watched the news with interest and had numerous discussions with my parents – David and Emma Greenwood.

Mainly with my dad. He shared with me his insight as if speaking to a young adult, and I looked into ways of finding more information. Also, this experience led me to wonder if there could ever be a way to bring peace to this troubled planet, including the Jewish State, for whose survival I learned to hope and pray. Despite many losses, Israel did survive and grow, but she faced even graver dangers later, prior to her victory in the 1967 six day war.

Into Early Adulthood

The years passed, and by 1967 I found myself in Baltimore as an undergraduate student at the Johns Hopkins University. As the tumultuous rhetoric built up, it appeared that Israel was in grave danger.

I felt like I should help but had no basic training. Then, the miraculous six day war occurred. 

At that point, I decided to spend a full year in Israel.

Later, I did leave with a one-way ticket on Icelandic Airlines, then traveled to Athens for a student flight to Israel, where adventure awaited me.

Not for one year, but for three and more. My future became intertwined with that of Israel.

After touring for over a month on my own, I signed up for a six month program at WUJS – the world union of Jewish students based in Arad, Israel. My second night there I met Fania, who became my wife and the mother of three children and six grandchildren over the next 50 years – a half century.

Shaping of a Political Awareness with Regard to the Mid East Region 

With the intention of remaining in Israel for a full year for personal reasons, the year became three years.

Specifically, I arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport in August 1970 and stayed on through August of 1973. I signed up for a half year at WUJS**.

During that time, Fania and I married and later relocated to our apartment of Rehor Leib Yaffe in Herzlia, which I purchased at the time of our wedding.

**WUJS: The World Union of Jewish Students Institute at that time located in Arad, Israel. There I met Francouse Fania Vogel, who became my wife, the mother of my three children, and the grandmother of six.