Netta Barzilai headlined a gala evening in a prestigious London venue last night that aimed to raise funds for Israel’s largest fully-volunteer emergency medical services organization, United Hatzalah. The event took place at One Marylebone event hall and was a sold-out engagement with more than 500 people in attendance.
The reigning Eurovision champion was preceded by Co-Hosts Sara Idan and Adar Gandelsman, Miss Iraq 2017 and Miss Israel 2017 respectively, who told the story of how they met and introduced a video of one the organization’s religious female first responders who drop whatever it is that they are doing and saves the lives of anyone who needs assistance in Israel, regardless of their race or religion.
In addition to the stars of the evening, Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Mr. Mark Regev, spoke about the excellent work that United Hatzalah does across the country. Gala Chairman and Hotelier Ami Pomeranc spoke about his emotional connection to UH and how he’s been working to raise funds for the charity all over the world.
London philanthropist Aida Dellal was honored during the event and spoke about her family coming from Iraq to the UK and how that inspired her to support Miss Israel and Miss Iraq working together to save lives in Israel.
Philanthropist Michael Goodman from New York donated the first vehicle of the evening, followed by an anonymous donor who donated an ambulance. Pomeranc then appealed to the crowd for further donations and the evening culminated in numerous vehicles and sums being donated to the organization. The total amount raised over the course of the evening was closed to 500,000 pounds or approximately $700,000. South African Philanthropist Isy Danon got on stage and donated 100,000 pounds on behalf of the people of London.
“I believe in this cause wholeheartedly. Eli has built an organization of 5,000 volunteers that saves the lives of more than 30,000 people each year and that is something that is incredible to me. 30,000 people are now alive this year because of Eli Beer and United Hatzalah. These people are children, siblings, husbands, wives, parents, everyone from different races and religions. It doesn’t matter, because Eli just sees a heartbeat and he wants that heart to beat. It shows the power of what one person can achieve. So I encourage everyone to give from the heart, whatever you can give. This is a great organization and everything you give will ultimately save lives, and there is no greater gift than saving a life.”
President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli beer said: “This is our first ever Gala event in London and I was amazed by the amount of support that the UK community showed for our mission of saving lives in Israel. There was an incredible atmosphere of giving and support that we felt from all of the attendees and we expect that our target of £500k was not only reached but surpassed.”
Following the speeches, Netta got on stage and wowed the crowd with her music and then got everyone dancing when she sung her Eurovision winner ‘Toy’.
Regional Director of British Friends of United Hatzalah and event organizer Royi Gutkin said following the event: “I’m delighted that we were able to bring a different style of event to the UK, unlocking a huge potential for United Hatzalah to grow and expand our support base here in our country. The people who came out to support the organization were given a chance to give back while having a terrific experience with Netta’s performance. The whole evening was a huge hit and it was immensely gratifying to have the support here of the community and receive such warm feedback from our first ever event.”
The organization’s next Gala event is slated to take place in Los Angeles, California sometime in the spring of 2019.
