A New York real estate executive with holdings across several states, Shalom Lamm rehabilitates and repositions homes with significant upside potential. A strong community advocate, Shalom Lamm founded Operation Benjamin, a nonprofit that helps Jewish World War II soldiers buried under Christian crosses receive Star of David headstones.
The impetus of this mission was a visit by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter to the Normandy American Cemetery on the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. Moved by seeing graves of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom, the rabbi was surprised to see that only a few graves had Star of David headstones.
This led Mr. Lamm to research the matter and discover that, while 2.7 percent of the soldiers who fought for America in World War II were Jewish, only 1.5 percent of the graves in Normandy were marked with a Star of David. A database-enabled search discovered that many fallen Jewish soldiers were buried under the wrong headstone.
Operation Benjamin has evolved into an expanded global mission. Through its efforts, 11 soldiers have had marker changes approved by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
The impetus of this mission was a visit by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter to the Normandy American Cemetery on the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. Moved by seeing graves of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom, the rabbi was surprised to see that only a few graves had Star of David headstones.
This led Mr. Lamm to research the matter and discover that, while 2.7 percent of the soldiers who fought for America in World War II were Jewish, only 1.5 percent of the graves in Normandy were marked with a Star of David. A database-enabled search discovered that many fallen Jewish soldiers were buried under the wrong headstone.
Operation Benjamin has evolved into an expanded global mission. Through its efforts, 11 soldiers have had marker changes approved by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
