This fall hundreds of peacemakers and their supporters from around the world gathered at Tanenbaum’s annual gala, to celebrate the life of Leonard Polonsky, one of the event’s honorees. Tanenbaum, a nonprofit committed to interreligious understanding, has spent over three decades transforming workplaces, schools, health care institutions and global areas of conflict. And Dr. Polonsky’s support as a board member and funder has been critical to the organization’s success and growth since 2000, eight years after its founding by Dr. Georgette Bennett, who later became his wife.
As Dr. Polonsky’s stepson, Josh Tanenbaum, said at the event, “He gave fearlessly, freely and generously, not just his resources but his heart. And when this organization faced its toughest financial moments, when the future of Tannenbaum hung in the balance, Leonard stepped up to the plate to secure its longevity.”
Before his passing in 2025, Mr. Polonsky was one of FJC’s most imaginative and committed philanthropists. The donation of his Aspen vacation home to FJC in 2018 raised significant proceeds that helped establish The Polonsky Treasures Exhibition at the New York Public Library. As described in his New York Times obituary, the exhibition:
At the Tanenbaum event, Mr. Polonlsky’s son Marc celebrated his philanthropic outlook: “A common thread in his business life and his philanthropy was his faith in people. He would look hard to identify the right leader and then leave them to do their work without undue interference.”
… resembles a gilded curio shop of priceless items — among them, George Washington’s copy of the Bill of Rights (with 12 amendments instead of 10); Thomas Jefferson’s annotated version of the Declaration of Independence; a Gutenberg Bible; an Andy Warhol painting of a Studio 54 ticket; and stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh.”
The idea for the exhibition — which, as of this month, had attracted some three million visitors — emerged from a 2016 meeting Mr. Polonsky had with Anthony W. Marx, the president and chief executive of the New York Public Library.
Mr. Marx happened to show Mr. Polonsky a letter Christopher Columbus wrote in 1493, informing the Spanish royal court of land he had discovered. “The whole colonial enterprise was laid out in that letter,” Ms. Bennett, his wife, said in an interview. “Leonard said, ‘This is the New York Public Library — why am I the only one who’s seeing this?’”
The event also featured a video of Dr. Polonsky describing the values that led him to fund Tanenbaum’s work. “There are so many innocent errors,” he said, “and the only way to put an end to them is education…With a little extra thought you can make sure that this group and that group don’t feel as outsiders.”
At FJC we mourn Dr. Polonsky’s passing while we look ahead with optimism about working with his family to continue his philanthropic legacy.
