On the evening of May 24th in the Upper East Side, 150 supporters of JOIN Israel came together to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of JOIN Israel. This extraordinary gala took place at The Rooftop of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun where attendees could truly experience, A Night of City Lights. This sold-out event raised funds that will go towards JOIN Israel furthering its future and present initiatives in supporting social welfare programs targeted at helping at-risk youth, families, and elderly in Israel.
The night began with a speech from gala host – Jeffery Goldberg. Following Goldberg’s speech, renown opera singer and actor David Serero led attendees in the Israeli and American national anthems. Followed by JOIN Israel’s Young Leadership Board member Adam Koeppel, who made a heartfelt speech and honored the memory Vyacheslav Golev.
Koeppel’s speech who was followed by Ambassador Assaf Zamir. Ambassador Zamir currently serves as The Consul General of Israel in New York and gave a moving speech which was accompanied by a beautiful dinner catered by Foremost Caterers.
As the chatter from dinner was subsiding, Director of Development for JOIN Israel – Alex Schieber gave a speech highlighting his experience with JOIN Israel and introduced the keynote speaker of the gala – Caroline Aaron. Aaron is an Award-Winning actress and is most recently recognized for her work in the Grammy Award Winning series – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Aaron’s connection to JOIN Israel’s goals is a personal one which she explained in her powerful speech:
“In the early days of my career, I wondered if there would be enough money to cover me, much less if there would ever be such a thing as extra money. If there was, what would be my philanthropic personality, how would I leave the world a better place then I found it. Now I know, these Jews, our parents and grandparents, Holocaust survivors, fighters in the IDF, who were instrumental in the creation of the Jewish state, they need us. (Referring to project JOIN Lifeline). Need is everywhere, but to begin to heal the world, it makes the most sense to start with home. To open our hearts and our pocketbooks to the Israelis that live on the margins, praying for our people to take note and give,” said Aaron.
The night continued with a speech from JOIN Israel’s Executive Director, Stephen Bisk. Bisk illustrated the importance of JOIN Israel’s mission and commitment to being effective “change makers” in Israel. Bisk awarded plaques to the Co-Chairs of the gala, Norma & Murray Dayan and Melissa & Doug Cohen.
The awards continued as Goldberg awarded Adam Sussman the Spirit of Israel Young Leadership Award. Sussman has helped in furthering JOIN Israel’s initiatives through his role on the Young Leadership Board.
The night was not over yet as JOIN Israel Board member Murray Dayan introduced JOIN Israel’s leading project – JOIN Lifeline which helps Israeli elderly suffering from immense financial distress and in need of emergency help. Dayan’s introduction was followed by a video about JOIN Lifeline.
The night concluded with Goldberg and Bisk addressing the attendees with a closing speech. JOIN Israel is grateful for everyone who came to the gala in support of our organization and is excited about the next 30 years of JOIN Israel.
