Jean Gluck, wife of Eugen Gluck, 91, a Holocaust survivor like herself and later the owner of Armitron Watches—one of the first, mass-produced, affordable digital watches, passed away on Friday.
US Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, a relative of the Gluck family, said in a statement: “Jean Gluck was living proof of the famous passage from the Book of Psalms, ‘Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.’ From a tragic beginning in the Nazi death camps, Jean rose up with her beloved husband Eugen to build countless Jewish institutions, the most important being her beautiful family. Her strength, courage and warmth will always inspire those lucky enough to know her.”
Jean (Gita) Gluck and her husband Eugen, who live in Forest Hills, NY, have been among the earliest Jewish-American philanthropists who supported the settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem.
Former MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz of Bet El, in Samaria, said that “the fact that there are today over 300,000 Jews in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem and some 450,000 in Judea and Samaria is due in great part to Mrs. Jean Gluck, of blessed memory, and her husband Eugen, may he continue to live a healthy and happy life.”
Katz stated: “A Woman of Valor has passed away, a woman who, with her husband, rose from the ashes of Nazi Germany and evolved as the leaders of Diaspora Jewry in strengthening Israel’s Jewish and Zionist education, security, and building of the Land. May her memory be for a blessing.”