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Ironically, Myra Chack Fleischer’s relationship with Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA) began with resistance.
Nearly 20 years ago, Myra’s close friend Lauren Lizerbram began encouraging her to get involved. At the time, Myra was already serving on numerous professional, synagogue, and school boards. She was far beyond overextended, and her husband persuaded her to say no—possibly for the first time in her life.
However, Lauren was persistent.
Myra was ultimately asked not merely to join the JNF-USA San Diego Board of Directors, but to become its president. Having had no previous involvement with JNF-USA—and not entirely knowing what she was getting herself into—she set out to learn everything she could.
Her first real immersion came at a JNF-USA National Conference. Conferences were smaller and more intimate then, giving her exactly what she needed: the opportunity to dive straight into the deep end. What she discovered felt immediately familiar. “Every Conference is a learning experience. I learn something each time I attend, and not only that, I am surrounded by like-minded Zionists, which is a true comfort," says Myra.
"JNF-USA is all about Israel," she recalls. "And I’m all about Israel. From that point, I got it."
She has never looked back.
There’s an expression: “The more you do, the more you can do.” Myra may be its perfect embodiment. Those who know Myra marvel not only at how much she accomplishes, but at how distinctly she does it: with style, flair, grace, dedication, seemingly limitless energy, and extraordinary generosity. She earned degrees in both accounting and law, founded and grew a successful law firm, and assumed leadership roles on numerous professional, community, and Jewish organizational boards—all while she and her husband raised their children. Myra jokes that what drives her is “insanity.” Then she explains it more seriously: “When you want something badly enough, you’ll do whatever it takes.” That attitude carried her from her childhood home in Philadelphia to Tucson, AZ, and, eventually, to San Diego—and into a life larger and more accomplished than she ever paused long enough to imagine.
Through every turn, one constant remained: her love of Israel.
Myra absorbed that connection from childhood, growing up in a deeply pro-Israel home. Her great-grandparents were involved in the movement that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. Her great-grandfather was scheduled to attend the First Zionist Congress until the birth of Myra’s grandmother changed those plans.
Her connection to Israel has always been intensely personal and familial. Growing up, trips to Israel meant visiting family and exploring the country together. In fact, she never stayed in a hotel there until she joined a Jewish National Fund-USA mission.
Myra served first as vice president and then as president of the National Women for Israel (WFI) Executive Board. “As President of the WFI National Board, I'm most proud of starting our annual WFI national board retreats and annual goal setting.” On women’s giving, Myra proudly states, "I appreciate the women of Women for Israel because it recognizes that women do more than volunteer time; they earn their own donor dollars, and as the world has changed, many times outpace earnings of their male counterparts."
Over the years, Myra has held a range of local and national leadership positions within JNF-USA. She served as president of the San Diego Board and contributed to task forces focused on areas ranging from Disabilities to Heritage Sites. She was a member of Makor, an elite JNF-USA group trained to speak publicly about the organization’s work and its fundraising mission. Today, she serves on the JNF-USA National Board of Directors, as a member of the Audit and Budget Committee, the Campaign Cabinet, and has served as National Secretary. Through it all, she has also participated in numerous JNF-USA missions to Israel.
In support of the JNF-USA conferences that sparked her initial love of the organization, she is the sponsorship chair for this month’s JNF-USA Global Conference for Israel, being held in her hometown of San Diego. JNF-USA expects about 2500 attendees.
Now semi-retired, Myra practices law and accounting on her own terms. She enjoys public speaking and, most of all, spending time with her family. After a lifetime of moving directly from one responsibility to the next, she has finally begun to look back—and finds herself gobsmacked by how much she took on and how much she accomplished.
Yet after a life filled with remarkable professional achievements, communal leadership, and enduring service to Israel, one of Myra’s most treasured possessions is strikingly simple: a JNF-USA tree certificate from 1952, given in memory of her grandfather.
Perhaps that small certificate holds the thread connecting it all—family, memory, and a lifelong determination to turn her love of Israel into action.
Learn more about Women for Israel. Get involved! Use your voice. Meet like-minded women. Contact Sara King, National Director, Women’s Campaign.
Written by Jackie Goldstein, Proud President Circle and Sapphire Society Member, National WFI Executive Board, JNF-USA Board of Directors, Atlanta, WFI Steering Committee, Master Class, and JNF-USA Arts & Entertainment Circle.
