Jewish Contributions to Humanity

#2 in a series

“I think spirituality, being observant,
being accepting of constraints, gives you a
balance … a sense of grounding.”

Two of Europe’s
Musical Greats.

— NEIL SCHLOSS

ed vehicles. Connected vehicles are
critical because they not only allow
the communication to and from
the vehicle to provide drivers with
services, but they also provide cities
with information about what drivers
are doing within their limits.”
Technology is going to play a role in
what the future looks like, he added.
“When it comes to autonomous
vehicles, the technology will be
there long before the ability to
actually use them in a significant
way,” he said. “It will take some
time for consumers to accept them
and for the regulators to determine
the rules around how they can be
operated.”
It’s not just vehicles that will
be changing but mobility itself,
Schloss said.
“Ten years ago, Uber didn’t exist
and look at what it does today.
You’ve got bikes and scooters,
especially in cities like New York,
Miami and Chicago. These other
forms of transportation become
part of a transportation ecosystem.
In the future, cars will clearly play
a significant role, but so will other
forms of transportation from walk-
ing to autonomous vehicles.
“The industry is evolving.
Vehicles are going to become much
more integrated into how we live
our lives.”

A LASTING LEGACY
Schloss doesn’t consider himself to
be a “car guy.” He’s never worked in
an auto plant, tinkered under the
hood or participated in a vehicle
product program.
However, he has lived and
breathed the auto industry from the
inside and knows how it fits within
the broader manufacturing ecosys-
tem and economy. He was one of

the first hires at Ford Mobility and
was able to help shape its direc-
tion. But mainly, he believes he
will be remembered for ushering
Ford through the financial crisis of
2009 without government help and
ensuring its financial future.
He said he’s not going to miss
being around the cars. “What I am
going to miss is the people.”
There will be no fanfare when
Schloss leaves Ford headquarters
for the last time. “Maybe some cake
and coffee in the conference room,”
he said. “I’ll say good-bye my own
way to the individuals I’m leaving
behind … but I plan on staying in
contact with many.”
He said he and Terry will keep
a home base in Michigan, but
he’d prefer to limit his time in
the Mitten State during the win-
ter. He’ll be able to pass the cold
months visiting his mom in San
Diego or at his other homes in
Miami and Jerusalem. Between the
three, he can chase the sun and
avoid the snow.
But at 59, Schloss says he is “way
too young” to stop work entirely.
He plans to set up an LLC and do a
combination of board work, advi-
sory and consulting work. His first
post-Ford opportunity is as an inde-
pendent director on the board of
Karamba Security, an Israeli provid-
er of end-to-end automotive cyber-
security prevention solutions. He
also plans to continue his work on
the board of Kids Kicking Cancer, a
nonprofit dear to his heart.
“I plan to stay active and keep
looking forward,” Schloss said. ■

To see a video of Neil Schloss talking
about his Judaism, visit
https://tinyurl.com/y8qmwncw.

Bronislaw Huberman

Dmitri Shostakovich

BRONISLAW HUBERMAN ( 1882-1947).
b. Czestochowa, Poland. d. Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
Founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
The founder of the Palestine Symphony (now the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra) and one of the greatest violinists ever, Bronislaw Huberman’s family
sensed that from an early age he was destined for musical greatness. A young
Bronislaw first performed in public at age seven at The Warsaw Institute of Music.
The Hubermans moved to Berlin when Bronislaw was 10, and by the next year
he was playing for audiences on some of the world’s most famous stages in
Germany, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. In 1895, Huberman wowed
Johannes Brahms himself, performing the composer’s Concerto in D Major.
Huberman, famed for his tone color and expressiveness, was soon performing
in the United States and Russia, and was recognized as one of the world’s
top violinists before he turned 20. With the rise of the Nazis in the early ‘30s,
Huberman left Germany for Austria, and began making trips to Palestine in an
effort to organize an orchestra. In 1936, his efforts came to fruition, with Arturo
Toscanini conducting the first Palestine Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra
consisted of a group of Jewish musicians from Europe’s greatest orchestras.
Huberman helped them and their families escape Nazi persecution.

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975).
b. St. Petersburg, Russia. d. Moscow, Russia.
A righteous gentile.
A piano and composition prodigy from a young age, Dmitri Shostakovich
was not Jewish, but he did more for the Jews than most people by defying the
Soviet government, and bringing attention to Russian and European Jewry’s
plight in the 20th century. He entered the Petrograd Conservatory in 1919, and
five years later, his Symphony No. 1 became known worldwide. Even under
the early rule of the Bolsheviks, Shostakovich enjoyed relative autonomy and
musical freedom. But beginning in 1928, with Joseph Stalin’s first five-year
plan, Shostakovich was restricted, and created music in a climate in which the
government-run press attacked him. He regained favor, though, with his rousing
Seventh Symphony, which he began writing in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) after
the Nazi siege in 1941. That same year, he set a poem memorializing the Babi
Yar massacre to music, turning it into his 13th Symphony—a risky move given
the government’s opposition to singling out anti-Semitism as a problem. He
also hid a Jewish refugee from the government, and intervened to ensure that
sculptor Ilya Slonim would not be sent into combat. In 1948, Shostakovich
was again denounced in the infamous Zhdanov doctrine. The Soviets called
his work Western “imperialist.” Nevertheless, he produced a song cycle From
Jewish Folk Poetry, based on a book of Jewish folk songs by I. Dobrushin and
A. Yuditsky. Shostakovich’s goal was to highlight the oppression of Jews in
the Soviet Union, and he was banned from performing it publically until Stalin’s
death in 1953. Following this, Shostakovich enjoyed a creative renaissance as
the Soviet government eased up on its past restriction of his work.

Original Research by Walter L. Field Sponsored by Irwin S. Field Written by Jared Sichel

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December 27 • 2018

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