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Rabbi Josef Ekstein

It is the responsibility of those who understand the tragedy of these genetic diseases to use it for prevention. Nominator

Community Health Leaders
1996

Area(s) of expertise:
Genetic diseases

Leader’s Biography 1996:
Executive Director, Dor Yeshorim, Brooklyn, NY 
Ekstein founded and operates the first-in-the-nation program to significantly reduce the number of babies born with Tay Sachs and other lethal genetic diseases prevalent among Eastern European Jews. The father of four children who died from Tay Sachs, he built this program with no formal medical or scientific training, very few resources, and strong initial opposition from his Orthodox Jewish community which is bound by strict laws and rules of behavior. His program now reaches communities in Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit and Los Angeles, serving as a model for other communities at-risk for genetic diseases.