University's Nostra Aetate awards go to three Jewish leaders

Published: 2003-12-08

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., gave its annual Nostra Aetate awards Dec. 4 to three Jewish honorees -- Georgette F. Bennett and, posthumously, Henry J. Leir and his wife, Erna D. Leir. Bennett, the widow of Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, who was a prominent figure in Jewish-Christian relations for many years, is founder and director of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, an agency based in New York. Henry Leir, like his wife a native of Germany, became a prominent figure in the mining industry, and continued in the business after coming to the United States in 1938. Through the Leir Charitable Foundations and Trusts the couple contributed to many causes and supported a series of conferences sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding.

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