April 10, 2025

Melrose Park, PA – 

Gratz College will dedicate an Anne Frank tree on April 22, 2025 at its new headquarters in Bala Cynwyd. The tree was awarded to Gratz by Anne Frank USA for the College’s leadership in Holocaust education. The sapling is derived from the horse chestnut tree that Anne Frank viewed from the window of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam. The ceremony will coincide with both Yom HaShoah and Earth Day. 

Gratz President Zev Eleff is overjoyed about the gift. “We are humbled to connect to Anne Frank’s legacy and her posthumous mission to champion human rights and deep compassion,” said Eleff. “The tree sapling will be a constant reminder to our community that there’s always room to grow.” 

Gratz College is one of the most recent awardees of the Anne Frank Center USA's Sapling Project. There are a limited number of Anne Frank tree saplings in the United States. Saplings have been planted at the United Nations in New York and the Capitol grounds in Washington DC. The Project began in 2009 with efforts by the Anne Frank House to gather and germinate chestnuts to give to organizations dedicated to Anne Frank’s memory. The original aging chestnut tree eventually toppled during a windstorm in 2010. Since that time, saplings have been given to several sites across the country. The Gratz College sapling is the only one in the Philadelphia area. 

Lauren Bairnsfather, CEO of the Anne Frank Center USA describes the decision to include Gratz in the sapling project: “The Anne Frank Center USA awards Anne Frank saplings and trees to organizations whose work is aligned with our educational mission. By introducing the first graduate degrees in antisemitism studies, first an MA and now a PhD, Gratz has demonstrated its commitment to learning from the past to build a more compassionate and just future." 

The evening events of April 22 will include the tree dedication with remarks by Bairnsfather, as well as Gratz graduate students and community members. After the outdoor ceremony, the community will gather inside for a Holocaust Remembrance program. A renowned panel of experts will engage in a powerful dialogue about the diverse approaches used in healing, reconciliation, and community-building in the aftermath of trauma. 

This powerful evening will also serve as the official launch of the world’s first Ph.D. in Antisemitism Studies, a groundbreaking step that Gratz has taken toward defining and building global expertise in combating Jew-hatred. 

In 2024, Gratz launched the first MA in Antisemitism Studies in American higher education. The program was quickly fully enrolled. 

Director of Gratz’s Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights Ayal Feinberg remarks, “Commemorating the increasingly distant Holocaust at a time of hyper-salient antisemitism is particularly painful for so many. This evening, Gratz is reminding us all that we have the agency and power to improve our own future. Our antisemitism studies graduate program is paving the way for new, real experts to transform how we counter Jew-hatred.” 

The dedication ceremony and program will take place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, April 22 at 327 Levering Mill Road in Bala Cynwyd. 

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Gratz College, a private non-profit institution based in the Philadelphia area, is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Founded in 1895, Gratz College is the oldest independent college for Jewish studies in North America. Today, Gratz enrolls a diverse population of students from around the world in graduate-level programs that reflect its historic focus on Jewish studies and education. An early adopter of online education, Gratz's premiere programs include Doctorates in Holocaust/Genocide Studies and Education Leadership, as well as the only Master’s in Antisemitism Studies in the United States