, New York’s
mayor, came to the Grand Hyatt last month where the Tel Aviv
Foundation was celebrating Tel Aviv’s centennial, and remarked, "I
hope I look as good as Tel Aviv when I’m a hundred."
Alon Pinkas, former consul general in New York,
said Tel Aviv is not a city but an idea – the idea of Zionism.
Rumored to become Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
next summer, Pinkas called Israel "New York’s sixth borough."
Not to be outdone in the quipster marathon, Mike
Burstyn chimed in that he was born in the Bronx but raised in
Israel. "That was safer than the Bronx. Even Gaza was safer than the
Bronx."
At the dinner Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai
honored two Gotham stalwarts: Josh S. Weston, honorary
chairman of Automatic Data Processing, and Harvey M. Krueger,
vice chairman of Barclays Capital.
Huldai, re-elected last year for a third five-year
term, reminded Weston, "When I first met you and Judy for the first
time in New Jersey, I was a pilot in the Israeli air force. We
believed we have to create a bridge between the new generation of
Israelis and Americans.
"You hosted me in your beautiful home. I saved a few
dollars and gained a friend for life.
"When I decided to run for the Mayor’s office, you
burst into laughter, expressing your opinion that there is no chance
for me to win!
"Since you were a dear friend, and didn't want to
disappoint me, you supported my campaign. You told me that as far as
you can remember, this is the first and only time that you will
invest in something you are sure will never succeed.
"Since then, this investment (which succeeded three
times by the way) has cost you a fortune as the chairman of the Tel
Aviv Foundation and one of our most generous supporters."
Harvey Krueger was chairman of Lehman Bros. which,
as you know, went belly up. He had committed to build a gym at a
school in Jaffa. When money became an issue, he called Josh Weston.
"Josh told me he’d help finish the project," Krueger
said. "And he did."
