The Times of Israel:
A woman who played a major role in personalizing the battle for the release of Soviet Jews in the 1970s is now in the midst of her own battle — for the kidney transplant to save her life.
Beginning in the early 1970s, Enid Wurtman, now 70, became involved with the cause of Soviet Jewry, working on publicity, fund-raising and political activism from her home in Philadelphia. She is credited with putting a face to each refusenik’s story in a way that galvanized greater Jewish support. After moving with her family to Israel in 1977, Wurtman continued to work with immigrants from the former Soviet Union and does so to this day.
However, in 2010, Wurtman’s own campaign began when she was diagnosed with kidney failure. Her health has been in decline ever since and now Wurtman desperately requires a kidney transplant.
In June, she found the person who might save her. An altruistic Israeli donor came forward, but there are still multiple obstacles ahead before the transplant can be finalized. She is now in the midst of a two- to three-month waiting period; the donor must pass numerous tests and the transplant still requires approval from the National Kidney Board, Wurtman said.
While waiting for a kidney, Wurtman, now a grandmother of six, continues to charge ahead with her life’s work. [Read more]
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