ImpactIsrael represents Yemin Orde Youth Village at memorial service for the remarkable life of Dr. Nicholas N. Kittrie.
Dr. Kittrie passed away on Dec. 9, 2019, at the age of 93. On Monday, January 27, 2020, a memorial service and celebration of his life was held at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Kittrie was a distinguished university law professor, scholar, author and editor of more than 15 books. He knew British Major General Orde Charles Wingate and so admired his valor that he named one of sons, Orde. Yemin Orde Youth Village was named in memory of Orde Wingate, who is honored throughout Israel for his impact and is credited with shaping the Israel Defense Forces.
Karen Sallerson, Executive Director, ImpactIsrael, addressed guests at the memorial service and said how Dr. Kittrie was deeply inspired by the impact of the Village Way in Israel.
“Nicholas will be remembered on Mt. Carmel, where Orde Wingate’s memory is kept alive,” said Karen Sallerson, Executive Director, ImpactIsrael. “Nicholas really breathed life into the figure of Orde Charles Wingate. One could tell that Wingate’s powerful persona has left an everlasting imprint on Nicholas – which binds us all together.”
Other presenters at the service were: Russell J. Wilson (attorney who co-taught with Dr. Kittrie for 10 years); Hazzan Arianne Brown (Adas Israel Congregation, Washington, DC); the Honorable Constance A. Morella (former Member of Congress and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development); Congressman Jaime Raskin (remarks via video); Professor David E. Aaronson (American University law professor); Professor Sherman Cohn (Georgetown University law professor); Christina Cerna (law professor, Human Rights Specialist); and David Mazower (Bibliographer and Editorial Director, Yiddish Book Center).
Dr. Nicholas Kittrie, Orde Wingate and Chaim Peri
Dr. Kittrie met Orde Wingate (photo, right) when he was a teen living in Israel and considered him a friend for many years. Later, Dr. Kittrie met Chaim Peri, Founder, Village Way Educational Initiatives and Director-Emeritus, Yemin Orde Youth Village, and formed another lasting friendship.
“Chaim and Nicholas became friends and Nicholas was determined to promote the story of Yemin Orde Youth Village as a contemporary social and educational institution in memory of Orde Wingate,” Sallerson added in her remarks.
In 2016, Dr. Kittrie commissioned a sculpture to be created and installed at Yemin Orde, called “Rainbow in the Clouds” and dedicated it to his friend, Maj. Gen. Orde Wingate.