Eitan Sasson, Dan Hotel marketing director in
North America; Tova Weiss of Tova Gilead Tours; and Michael
Rosin, EL AL northeast sales manager |
Dan Gillerman, former Israeli Ambassador to UN,
and Maled Abdelaziz, Egyptian Ambassador to UN |
Diane S. Abrams, senior vp of Brown Harris
Stevens Residential Sales, and husband Robert Abrams, former New
York State attorney general |
Shari R. Michels, New York City Criminal Court
justice, and Robert Abrams |
Ron Prosor, Israeli Ambassador to UN (from
left); Zeev Rubinstein, executive director of American Council
for World Jewry; and Dan Gillerman, former Israeli Ambassador to
UN |
AMERICA ISRAEL FRIENDSHIP LEAGUE
Peter Yarrow Tells School Kids To Stop Bullying Each Other
STORY AND PHOTOS BY TIM BOXER
N a trip to Israel Peter Yarrow (of
Peter, Paul and Mary fame) brought his guitar and message to
schools in Lod and Petach Tikva. His aim was to bring Jewish and
Arab kids together to prevent bullying and intimidation among
schoolchildren.
At a recent America Israel Friendship League
dinner at The Plaza, Yarrow performed the song that most
resonated with the kids:
Don’t laugh at me, don’t call me names, Don’t get your pleasure from my pain. In God’s eyes we’re all the same. Some day we’ll all have perfect wings Don’t laugh at me.
The dinner featured a panel discussion on Israel
as an incubator of high tech innovations. The speakers included
Dan Senor and Saul Singer, authors of Start-up
Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.
Former Mayor Ed Koch was especially
animated when he discussed the rise of anti-Semitism. "Of
course, you can criticize Israel," he said, "but I believe the
attacks on Israel are anti-Semitic. You think you can count on
the French. They can’t count on themselves. They voted in favor
of the Palestinian Authority in Unesco. And that 81-year-old
lady on the flotilla who wanted to break the Gaza blockade – why
doesn’t she go to Syria if she wants to help persecuted Arabs?"
The evening’s honorees were Idan Ofer and Shai
Agassi, chairman and CEO, respectively, of Better Place, a
global provider of electric vehicle networks and services. Two
years ago Better Place introduced Israel’s first electric
vehicle.
AIFL was founded in 1971 to bring state
legislators, business leaders, campus newspaper editors and
architects to visit Israel and strengthen the bond between the
Jewish state and the U.S. Early on, when Robert Abrams
was the New York state attorney general, he brought colleagues
from various states to Israel.
|
Harley Lippman, AIFL president; Malcolm
Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Presidents Conference;
and Dr. Alex Grobman, AIFL executive director |
Peter Yarrow and Nina Boxer |
|