Generation to Generation

Event Co-Chairs: Elyse & Howard Butnick, Evelyn & Harry Goldfeier, Rita Lerner & Cliff Salm, Susan & Robert P. Morgenthau, Ann Oster, Marilyn Rosen, and Deborah & Wayne Zuckerman

Cocktail Attire | Dietary Laws Observed

The Museum requires that all event attendees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Please bring proof of COVID-19 vaccination and a state-issued ID to the event.

The annual L’dor V’dor, Generation to Generation Event, brings together friends and family to help support the Museum of Jewish Heritage‘s timely mission to fight bigotry and antisemitism through lessons of the Holocaust.

GEORGE KLEIN was appointed in 1982 as Chairman of Mayor Ed Koch’s Task Force on the Holocaust and is a Founding Co-Chairman and Vice Chair of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

He is Chairman and CEO of Park Tower Group, a real estate development company headquartered in New York.

He is Chairman of the United Nations Development Corporation and a Founder and Honorary Chairman of Manhattan High School for Girls. He serves on the Christie’s Americas Advisory Board, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Klein is a refugee from Vienna and the son of Stephen Klein z”l, who served during and post-World War II as a Chairman of the Vaad Hatzala (a Jewish rescue organization), an officer of UNRRA, and a Co-Chair of Rescue Children, Inc.

Mr. Klein resides in New York with his family.

ROBERT M. MORGENTHAU Z”L was a Founding Co-Chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and is Chairman Emeritus. He was Co-Chairman of the New York City Holocaust Memorial Commission. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County. Prior, on the appointment of John F. Kennedy, Morgenthau served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York throughout much of the 1960s. At retirement, Morgenthau was the longest-serving District Attorney in the history of the State of New York.  

Morgenthau was an American lawyer who carried on his father’s and grandfather’s tradition of unflinching public service. A graduate of Amherst College and Yale Law School, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1941-45, practiced corporate law prior to his time in office, and twice ran for Governor of New York. He had seven children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. 

MANFRED OHRENSTEIN is a prominent attorney, and a political and civic leader. He is a Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. 

He served in the New York State Senate for over thirty years, including twenty as its Democratic Leader. He was an architect of the New York City fiscal rescue, worked to strengthen the state university system, championed civil rights issues, and secured support and funding to establish the Museum of Jewish Heritage. In private law practice, he counsels clients on a broad range of legal, strategic, and government affairs matters.  

He received his BA, cum laude, from Brooklyn College and his law degree with honors from Columbia University. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.  

Mr. Ohrenstein was born in Mannheim, Germany and immigrated to the United States at thirteen years old. He is married to Dr. Lynn Bacher Ohrenstein, and they have two children and four grandchildren.  

PETER A. COHEN is an investor with holdings in technology, biotechnology, and real estate. He was Chairman and CEO of Cowen Inc., which was acquired in 2009 by Ramius Capital, an asset manager founded by Mr. Cohen in 1994. Mr. Cohen formed Republic New York Securities for Republic New York Corporation and served as Vice Chairman and Board Member. He spent two decades at Shearson Lehman Brothers, which merged with American Express in 1981. He was named Chairman and CEO in 1983.

Among the boards he served on were The New York Stock Exchange, American Express, L-3 Communications, and the Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is currently on the boards of ButterflyMX and Quadrant Biosciences, and is Chairman of the Board of the Museum of American Finance. 

Mr. Cohen has degrees from The Ohio State University and Columbia University. He has three children and resides in New York City with his wife. 

HOWARD RUBENSTEIN Z”L presided as the Founder and Chairman of Rubenstein Public Relations for more than 60 years. Today, with a staff of nearly 200 and hundreds of clients, the firm is one of the nation’s largest independent public relations agencies.

He served as a member of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Real Estate Board of New York, NYC & Co., the Association for a Better New York, the Foundation for the National Archives, and the City University of New York Business Leadership Council. He was the Vice Chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and served on the Mayor’s Committee on Business & Economic Development.

He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and held an honorary Doctor of Law degree from St. John’s University School of Law. Howard was greatly loved by his wife, Amy, his three children, and his seven grandchildren.



The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to Never Forget and a memorial to the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. We are a place of memory and education, where the unforgettable stories of survivors are kept alive for future generations. Since opening our doors in 1997, we have educated over two million visitors—including tens of thousands of students a year—about the lessons of the Holocaust and the dangers of where hate and bigotry can lead. For over two decades, the Museum has worked to protect the historical record and deepen the public’s understanding of Jewish history and heritage through our exhibitions, permanent collection, and public programs that reach audiences around the world.

For more information, contact Jessica Kamens, Director of Events at jkamens@mjhnyc.org or 646.437.4225.