ANY well-heeled individuals support the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in its mission to bridge the gap between diverse communities. But John B. Rhea, a managing director at Lehman Brothers, stands out as a "yes man." Hip hop impresario Russell Simmons, the foundation chairman, said that whenever he calls upon Rhea, the man says yes.
"I know why he always says yes," Simmons said. "He’s so rich."
"You should call him more often," said Rabbi Marc Schneier, the president.
Simmons and Schneier presented the foundation’s Joseph Papp Racial Harmony Award to Rhea, TV personality Leon H. Charney, and George L. Van Amson, a managing director at Morgan Stanley, at a reception at the Helen Yarmak Penthouse on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
Charney mentioned the day he escorted Sammy Davis Jr. to Israel.
"Baby, I’m in my homeland!" Davis exclaimed.
"Sammy," Charney said, "this is Israel, not Uganda."
"No, I converted."
Among the guests were Walter Sebastian Adler, 23, and Hassan Askari, 20. Both had black eyes and bruises.
Adler and three friends were on the subway to Brooklyn from a Chanukah party in Manhattan when they were attacked recently by 14 young people. Askari was the only man on the crowded train who helped Adler fight off the Jew-bashing assailants.
"The miracle of Chanukah," Adler said, "is not just a Muslim standing up to help a Jew, but a heroic man who came to the aid of total strangers."
Schneier, spiritual leader of the Hampton and New York Synagogues, was so impressed with Adler’s talk that he announced, "I’m going to invite you to deliver a sermon."
