Ezekiel, Denise Tourover (1903–1980)

American Hadassah leader who saw the "Teheran Children" to safety and whose outraged voice demanded action from diplomats and presidents on behalf of disenfranchised and oppressed people around the world. Name variations: Denise Tourover. Pronunciation: TOUR-over. Born Denise Levy in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 16, 1903; died of congestive heart failure in Washington, D.C., on January 16, 1980; daughter of Leopold (a New Iberia, Louisiana, dry goods merchant) and Blanche (Cogenheim) Levy; graduated from George Washington University School of Law, LL.B., 1924; married Raphael Tourover, on November 14, 1926 (died, November 2, 1961); married Walter N. Ezekiel, on September 27, 1972; children: (first marriage) one daughter, Mendelle Tourover .

Moved to Washington, D.C. (1920); admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia (1924); began more than 50 years of service through Hadassah as member of Washington, D.C., section (1925); elected section president (1936); elected to National Board and chosen as Washington representative (1939); during World War II, served as Hadassah's liaison to diplomats, Congress and the White House to ensure safe passage of European refugees to Palestine; through Hadassah, coordinated food distribution to Israel from the U.S. Agency for International Development (1950–74) and Operation Reindeer (1953); represented Hadassah on State Department's American Food for Peace Council (1960–64); was a member of Actions Committee, World Zionist Organization (1956–76).

Presidents, diplomats and leaders of international organizations struggled to win freedom for 700 refugee children stranded in Persia (present-day Iran) during World War II, but Denise Tourover saved them. Known by many as the "Teheran Children," the 2-to-17-year-old refugees had been orphaned by Hitler's invasion of Poland and wandered across Eastern Europe for three years. Temporarily housed in a refugee camp, the children had been given papers allowing their immigration to Palestine. Without transportation and a safe route, however, no document would take them to the emerging Jewish State. During the war, Persia endured shortages of food and housing and strict limitations on air traffic. Opposed to Jewish settlement, the Iraqi government refused to allow the children to travel through their territory. Struggling to remain neutral, Turkey also refused to help.

In Washington, Denise Tourover worked tirelessly to find a solution. As a representative of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, she met with Eleanor Roosevelt , the president of Standard Oil Company, ambassadors from Iraq and Turkey, State Department officials, the Red Cross and the heads of various wartime agencies. Although her efforts put the children on President Franklin Roosevelt's agenda, the United States was unsuccessful in negotiations with Iraq. Frustrated, Tourover wrote in October 1942, "I am truly incensed that a 2 by 4 government like Iraq should set up its will against such a humanitarian effort when all the governments of the world have refugee committees concerned with the fate of helpless people." That December, she convinced Lord Halifax, the British ambassador to the United States, to intervene with the British War Ministry, and the children were taken to Palestine by British transport ship in January 1943.

When all the diplomats and others may have failed, I still feel that the voice of the outraged women of Hadassah can make itself heard by one means or another.

—Denise Ezekiel

The rescue of the Teheran children was the most dramatic example of Tourover's lifelong work on behalf of oppressed and disenfranchised people around the world. Born in 1903 in New Orleans, Louisiana, she moved with her father to Washington, D.C., after her mother's death in 1920. In 1924, she completed a law degree, won admission to the Bar of the District of Columbia and went to work on Capitol Hill. While she worked on the Congressional Record and committees set up to establish the Tennessee Valley Authority and examine the Teapot Dome Scandal, she made important political and media contacts. During an interview with Marlin Levin, she recalled, "When it became necessary to use some of these contacts for Hadassah, I reestablished those contacts. Friends made it possible for me to meet other people and doors were opened to me by many friends."

Although her paid employment ended sometime after her marriage to Raphael Tourover in 1926, her work continued. As early as 1925, she was on the board of directors of the Washington, D.C., section of Hadassah. Founded by Henrietta Szold in 1912, Hadassah funded hospitals, training schools and homes for Jewish settlers in Palestine and continues to support projects in Israel. In 1926, Tourover served as publicity chair of the Washington Section,

and she accepted increasing amounts of responsibility over the next ten years. She was elected president of the section in 1936.

Hadassah's work gained urgency as Nazi influence spread across Europe, and the national board, headquartered in New York, recognized the need for a strong voice in the U.S. capital. In 1939, Hadassah named Tourover their first Washington representative. Throughout World War II, her close friendship with Elinor Morgenthau , wife of the secretary of the treasury, helped her to win access to key diplomats, top government officials and the president. In addition to assisting thousands like the Teheran children who were fleeing Europe for Palestine, Tourover worked through the State Department and wartime agencies like the Combined Agency for Middle East Supply to obtain export licenses for sorely needed medical supplies and food.

Her work did not end with the war. After Israel declared its independence in May 1948, war erupted in the Middle East and the new state suffered many shortages. As a member of the President's Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, Hadassah was eligible to receive government surplus foods for free distribution. Tourover went to work ensuring that food from U.S. government warehouses reached families in Israel. Between 1950 and 1974, Tourover coordinated food distribution to Israel through Hadassah by serving on numerous government committees and projects including Operation Reindeer (1953), the State Department's American Food for Peace Council (1960–64) and food distribution projects of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID, 1950–74). Food and supplies were distributed to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, in bags stamped with insignias of both the United States and Hadassah.

In 1976, Denise Tourover retired from her position as Hadassah's Washington representative. Gradually, her failing health forced her to cut back on her work. She died of congestive heart failure in Washington, D.C., in 1980.

sources:

Geller, L.D. The Papers of Denise Tourover Ezekiel, 1936–1981, in the Hadassah Archives. NY: Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, 1984.

Levin, Marlin. Balm in Gilead: The Story of Hadassah. NY: Schocken, 1973.

suggested reading:

Sochen, June. Consecrate Every Day: The Public Lives of Jewish American Women, 1880–1981. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1981.

Sommers, David. Women in Organizations: An Analysis of the Role and Status of Women in American Voluntary Organizations. Washington, DC: B'nai B'rith International, 1983.

collections:

Correspondence, interviews, papers and photographs located in the Hadassah Archives, National Offices of Hadassah, New York; newspaper clippings and reference materials located in the Washingtoniana Division, Washington, D.C., Public Library, Martin Luther King Memorial Branch; Women's History Collection, Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, Lillian and Albert Small Museum, Washington, D.C.

related media:

Meringolo, Denise Danielle, curator. Tzedakah: Jewish Women Creating a Capital Community, 1895–1948. Exhibit at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, May 12, 1996 to December 1997.

Denise D. Meringolo , Ph.D. candidate, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.