Peter Ammon, German Ambassador to U.S., and wife Marliese Heimann-Ammon	Robert Sugarman, ADL national chair, and Ido Aharoni, Israeli Consul General
Henry Kissinger and Abraham Foxman
Peter Ammon and Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger and David Geanacopoulos
Peter Ammon and Marliese Heimann-Ammon with Golda and Abraham Foxman
Henry Kissinger, Anna Schneider, vice president of Volkswagen Group of America government relations, and David Geanacopoulos

ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
Volkswagen Donates Million Bucks
To Help ADL Fight Anti-Semitism

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM BOXER

G

ERMANY was the focus of attention as the Anti-Defamation League recognized that country’s leadership in the corporate sector and diplomatic realm.

ADL national director Abraham Foxman presented the automotive giant Volkswagen with the ADL International Leadership Award. And he honored a German mediator, Gerhard Conrad, for his diplomatic efforts to secure the release of IDF Sgt. Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas five years ago.

The president/CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Jonathan Browning, noted that his company, headquartered in Wolfsburg, employs "people from all backgrounds in many parts of the world." In the United States the company has opened a factory in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"Volkswagen is determined to be the world’s leading auto maker," Browning said.

He also announced a Volkswagen commitment of $1 million for ADL’s work in combatting anti-Semitism and strengthening its anti-bias education efforts.

Foxman said, "Our partnership with Volkswagen is so important because it enables us to expand our horizons and our reach."

"This is a company," he added, "that early on looked at itself in the mirror in terms of providing restitution to those Holocaust survivors who suffered as slave laborers. It has also looked to the future, being the first major European company to invest in Israel and its single largest European investor."

As an example he cited Volkswagen’s investment of $500 million in 1995 to establish a magnesium production facility at the Dead Sea.

The German ambassador to the United States, Peter Ammon, accepted the ADL Paul Ehrlich-Gunther K. Schwerin Human Rights Award on behalf of Gerhard Conrad.

"The United States and Germany have to stand together if you want tolerance and equality," he said.

He quoted German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "Israel’s security is part of our raison d’etre."

Among the 625 black-tie guests were Fox News anchor Uma Pemmaraju, Gossip Girls Kelli Rutherford, pollster Zev Furst, Rabbi Hank Sheinkopf, Matthew HiItzig, Ambassador Guillermo Rishchynski of Canada, German Consul General Busso von Alvensleben, Ambassador Casare Maria Ragalini of Italy, and Ambassador Witold Sobkow of Poland.