The Andrea Silagi (z”l) Fund for Education
About the Fund
The Andrea Silagi Fund for Education, Advocacy, and Outreach helps women and girls access the information they need to live healthy, informed, and productive lives. Established in 2022 with a $1 million gift from Andrea’s husband Moshe Silagi and their daughter Karen Silagi Freedman, the fund honors Andrea’s passion for education and love of teaching. A professional educator, both in Jewish and secular settings, Andrea saw teaching as an outlet to help individuals grow and communities thrive.
The Silagi Fund, which will be spent over 20 years, supports initiatives that include, but are not limited to:
- Advancing the status of women and providing financial assistance where needed in traditional academic settings.
- Lifelong learning within the Jewish community that empowers women and girls to be equal participants and decisionmakers in Jewish life.
- Vocational and skills-based training that enables people to become economically independent or advance in their careers.
- Trauma-informed and culturally appropriate education for those who have been affected by war or conflict or who have experienced other forms of trauma.
The organizations supported by the fund are selected through the Hadassah Foundation’s regular grantmaking processes and meet the Foundation’s overall funding criteria.
Starting in 2024, Hadassah Foundation will host an annual program to highlight one or more organizations supported by the Silagi Fund. To be notified about this and other Hadassah Foundation programs, sign up for our email list.
“Anyone who knew Andrea could see that helping people grow and thrive was important to her.”
Moshe Silagi
About Andrea Silagi
Andrea Silagi (nee Rosenberg) was born in Los Angeles in 1948, the same year the State of Israel was founded. She began working in Jewish education while still a teenager, teaching Hebrew at Temple Ner Tamid in the Los Angeles area. After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles, she moved to Israel, where she completed a master’s degree in social work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and worked for several years as a social worker. In 1972, she met Moshe Silagi, and the two married a few months later. The couple moved with their young daughter Karen back to Los Angeles in 1976.
Andrea taught kindergarten at the Stephen S. Wise Day School for 15 years. Following a brief retirement, she then taught at Temple Beth Am’s Pressman Academy, winning the prestigious Milken Jewish Educator Award in 1995. A longtime member of Hadassah, Andrea served in numerous regional and national leadership roles for the organization, eventually joining the board of the Hadassah Foundation. In addition to her support of Hadassah and the Hadassah Foundation, she was a major support of the DeLet Education Program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Andrea died of cancer in 2018, leaving behind her husband, daughter, four grandchildren, and countless friends.
Silagi Fund Grantees
Since its establishment, the Silagi Fund has underwritten two-year grants of $70,000 each, which the Hadassah Foundation awarded to two Israeli organizations:
- The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center of Bar-Ilan University provides legal representation, academic expertise, and policy recommendations to improve the status of women in Israel’s family laws and policies. The Silagi Fund supports Rackman’s advocacy initiatives as well as their pro-bono legal support and counseling for women who lack the resources and information they need to navigate Israel’s court systems.
- Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW) provides women with the knowledge and tools to create their own businesses and become financially independent. The Silagi Fund provides general operating support, which goes toward EEW’s many programs including: empowerment training, business forums, personal consultations, and lectures.
Each year the grants of two organizations will be underwritten by the Silagi Fund.
“She felt it was her responsibility to give generously and with purpose, and she strongly encouraged me to do the same.”
Karen Silagi Freedman
News & Events
Grantmaking
Our Approach
We support organizations that work through a gender lens and that are creating social change. Learn what that means and about our grantmaking practices. Read more
Meet Our Grantees
Our grant recipients in Israel and the United States address a variety of issues affecting those who identify as women and girls. Learn about our current and past grant recipients. Read More