The key players were Arnold Cohen, David Chontow, and Reb Jeffery (Chaim Yaakov) Davis o’h, Avrohom Goldberg o’h, Chaim Guttentag o’h, Yitzchok Katz and Dov Rowe. A number of fundraising dinners were made in the 70’s and 80’s and 90’s but then the public side of the Alumni was dormant until the first dinner in July 2011.
Annual shiurim were arranged before Rosh Hashonoh each year – given originally by Reb Leib Lopian, then Reb Matisyohu Solomon (Mashgiach of Gateshead Yeshiva and currently Lakewood) and more recently by Reb Mordechai Yosef Karnowsky But during the dormant period, the alumni was very active ‘behind the scenes’ raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the yeshiva, arranging regular shiurim in London for the Roshei yeshiva, accompanying them on their fund raising trips and providing much help to the hanholoh.
In 2014, a second dinner was arranged, and at the same time a new initiative was launched to provide a link to all the alumni – using technologies of the digital era:
- A newsgroup for all the alumni to be in touch with each other via email. A prototype was set up in January 2014 for the Dinner Committee and a second one was launched before the Dinner to which attendees of the dinner were subscribed. To join this newsgroup, please email YitzKatz@gmail.com.
- Website for the Alumni. The main purpose of this is to share general information about the Yeshiva and provide statistics about the alumni, key personalities. A list of all GY alumni.
- Details of any forthcoming visits or shiurim by the members of the Hanholoh
- And for the future a constantly updated list of all alumni (names, time in yeshiva & city – only) A live site for alumni to enter their own details, if they so wish, and to swap anecdotes.
- Eventually both services will become a source of networking to swap business details and opportunities, contacts when on travel to new places, news of social events among the alumni and perhaps a repository for shiurim at the yeshiva that are digitally recorded. But it will be moderated to ensure that only “kosher stuff” is shown.