Last week, popular Israeli rock-band Ethnix performed at a tribute concert for Israeli emergency medical service organization United Hatzalah and the Danielle Foundation. The concert was organized by the founder and donors of the newly opened Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. The Museum will not officially be open to the public until the end of 2020, but they are holding special events for organizations who fit the criteria of tolerance and working towards building a better future together.
Some of the VIPs in attendance at the event included U.S. Congressman from California Kevin McCarthy, Israeli Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Jerusalem Council Member Ofir Berkovitz, as well as the Former Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office Eli Groner.
The guest of honor of the evening was Moti Sonnenfeld, Founder and Director of the Danielle Foundation and a long-time supporter of United Hatzalah’s work. President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer, together with the newly appointed Chairman of the organization Moshe Teitelbaum, presented Sonnenfeld with an award for his support and for his work with the Danielle Foundation. Beer thanked Sonnenfeld in a speech by saying: “It is an honor for us to keep the memory of your daughter Danielle in our hearts and minds every day while we undertake the lifesaving work that we do.”
Danielle was a volunteer in the oncology ward of the Schneider Children’s Hospital while she was performing her national service. She had aspirations to study medicine when she finished her service but her life and dreams were cut short four-and-a-half-years-ago by a tragic car accident that claimed her life while she was returning home from her national service one day. She was twenty-years-old when the accident occurred.
Sonnenfeld thanked United Hatzalah and the Museum of Tolerance and said: “Where can we find another capital city like Jerusalem in which the country has prevented the construction of art and culture center for more than 20 years in order to avoid harming the Muslim graveyard that lay underneath the planned building site. They continued this until a suitable solution was found. Is there is a greater statement of the tolerance present in Jerusalem and Israel than that?”
American philanthropist Larry Maisel, who was among the founders of the museum and who was responsible for bringing in millions of dollars of donations for it, relayed a message through his representative Jonathan Riss. He said that it was important to them to open the activities of the Museum by hosting organizations who represent tolerance within Israeli society such as United Hatzalah, an organization that works to save the lives of all Israelis regardless of race, religion or gender.
(Photo credit: Yechiel Gurfein, Efrat Mammon and Eli Rosenthal)
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