On Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, United Hatzalah of Israel hosted its 4th Los Angeles Gala. The event, dubbed An Evening of Unity for Israel, raised $12 million for the organization’s lifesaving work in Israel. More than 1,000 people attended the event, which honored the organization’s volunteers, and Michael Milken, of the Milken Institute, for his generous support of the organization. Milken received the “Humanitarian Award” in recognition of his contributions to saving lives in Israel. Gal Gadot joined the program by video and shared her admiration for United Hatzalah’s “Angels in Orange”.
“600,000 to 700,000 people are treated each year, with response times as short as 3 minutes in some areas and less than 90 seconds in others. How many lives have been saved by this one idea, by this one organization? More than two decades ago, our family pivoted to create Faster Cures, an organization dedicated to the idea of shortening the time to find cures and better treatments for life-threatening illnesses. From the beginning, our tagline has been ‘Time Equals Lives.’ I cannot think of one organization that lives up more to the motto of ‘Time Equals Lives’ than United Hatzalah,” stated Michael Milken, the businessman and philanthropist who was honored at the Gala.
The Young Leadership After Party included a special performance by LIV Entertainment Group. The Young Leadership event gathered more than 500 of Los Angeles’s top young Jewish philanthropists.
President and Founder of United Hatzalah, Eli Beer, spoke about the importance of holding this event now, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. “It is more important now than ever to host our Los Angeles Gala. The philanthropists in Los Angeles who contributed to our emergency fundraising campaign after October 7th are all part of the amazing effort that enables United Hatzalah to save as many lives as we do.”
Event Chairs Rick Caruso and Sunny M. Sassoon hosted the evening, with Special Guest Speaker Dr. Miriam Adelson. The title sponsor of the event was Greenberg Traurig Law.
International Chairman of the Board, Mark Gerson, and Board Member Rabbi Erica Gerson shared their excitement about the event. He said: “Coming together to recognize United Hatzalah’s lifesaving work and raise awareness gives us a chance to honor the brave volunteers that risk their lives every day to save others”.
All pictures courtesy of Magic Pix
