Sheri KANTER

Feb 3, 1967 - May 22, 2015

Section; Congregation Tiferet Israel

*Obituary

ROSENBERG--Professor Sheri P., passed away on May 22, 2015 at her home in Philadelphia at the age of 48. Sheri was a loving mother to Markus, Maurice, and Margaux, and a wonderful wife to Gregg Kanter. She was devoted to her extended family, particularly her late sister Margot Pulitzer's children whom she loved and cared for as if they were her own. She treated others as if they were family, and many count her as a close friend. Sheri was committed to strengthening Jewish institutions in Philadelphia. She supported Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel by founding Bonim, a weekly program for young children, and serving on its Rabbi Search Committee. She initiated programs to improve the Perelman Jewish Day School, and served on the Board of HIAS Pennsylvania. Sheri was the founder and Director of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law's Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic. The Clinic won landmark victories, including persuading the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights that the Bosnian Constitution violated the European Convention of Human Rights by excluding ethnic minorities from Bosnia's Presidency. The Clinic partnered with the U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to assess early warning signs of genocide, and worked with the International Criminal Court's Trust for Victims to develop a field manual for identifying victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Sheri also founded and developed the Clinic's Refugee Representation Project for asylum seekers. Sheri was the Faculty Director of the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights, a leading global center dedicated to strengthening laws, norms, and institutions to prevent mass atrocities, and she co-founded its predecessor, Cardozo's Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Program. As an Associate Clinical Professor at Cardozo, Sheri taught international human rights law and inspired students to pursue careers in genocide prevention. Sheri lectured worldwide. She served on the Board of the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and regularly presented at its Raphael Lemkin Seminar for Genocide Prevention in Oswiecim, Poland. Sheri was a Consultant to the U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and authored the genocide prevention chapter in the U.N. training manual. She produced an award-winning documentary, Nuremberg: Reflection and Resonance, which traced Nuremberg's influence on modern international tribunals. Sheri published extensively and is co- editor of the forthcoming book Reconstructing Atrocity Prevention. Cardozo presented Sheri with the Telford Taylor Award and the Inspire Award; Yeshiva University presented her with the Point of Light Award; The Center for Peacebuilding (CIM) named her a 2015 Peace Ambassador; and the Anne Frank Center USA announced that Sheri would receive its Outstanding Educator Award. Before joining the Faculty at Cardozo, Sheri worked in Sarajevo as the Panel-Registrar and Judicial Law Clerk for the Human Rights Chamber of Bosnia & Herzegovina. In every area of her life, when Sheri noticed an injustice or a person or institution in need of help, she acted and achieved results, without drawing attention to herself. She was generous, warm, talented and, above all, humble. She lived her dreams by doing the work she loved. By combining brilliance and intellectual honesty with a tenacious work ethic, Sheri made the world a better place and inspired international human rights students and colleagues. She has a place among the righteous. Sheri's devotion to family, Jewish institutions, and combating ethnicity-based injustice was influenced by her parents, Ann Pappenheim Rosenberg and the late Marcus Rosenberg. They cherished extended families and built the Dallas Jewish community by founding Congregation Shaare Tefilla and Akiba Academy of Dallas, the city's first Orthodox day school. Their childhood experiences during the Holocaust -- Ann escaped from Vienna in November 1939, and Marcus lived under Nazi occupation in Bardejov, Czechoslovakia, before being sent to Auschwitz -- motivated Sheri to become a leading scholar of international human rights and genocide prevention. Those wishing to honor Sheri's memory can support the institutions that were important to her: the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, and Perelman Jewish Day School.

Published in New York Times on Jun. 14, 2015.

Photo courtesy of Annette Shaw

Contributed on 2/7/21 by hawkinsdonna48
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