Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Jay Leno, Jon Voight, and Israeli Model Esti Ginzburg Raise Money for Medical and Ambulance Charity

United Hatzalah of Israel dazzles at its Inaugural Gala in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, CA- (March 1, 2019)- The stage was set. 1000 guests gathered at the Beverly Hilton to mark the 1st Annual United Hatzalah of Israel Gala. A historic achievement indeed to have so many guests, many from Israel, to get together to celebrate an amazing organizations' contribution to saving human lives. United Hatzalah is the largest, free, volunteer-based emergency medical services organization based in Jerusalem, Israel. Its mission is to provide immediate medical intervention during the critical window between the onset of an emergency and the arrival of traditional ambulance assistance. It's service is available to all people regardless of race or religion. And its unique GPS technology enables the average response time of less than 3 minutes across the country and 90 seconds in metropolitan areas.

The evening started with a wonderful cocktail reception, with a wonderful Israeli band that serenaded the entire room. The guests were then escorted to the gorgeously decorated ballroom.

The founder of the organization, Eli beer was present and noted the amazing ecosystem that United has created and the number of lives that have been saved so far. Guests included A-listers like Jon Voight and actress Rona lee Shimon. The hostess for the evening was Israeli Model, Esti Ginzburg.

Among the guests was Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno who was being honored that evening with the humanitarian of the year award for his continued support and work with United. Jay Graciously accepted the award and reiterated his fond memories of his travels to Israel and the remarkable culture and history he enjoyed.

Ami Pomerance, the International Gala Chairman of United Hatzalah stated "I'm so honored to be traveling around the world and seeing so many new people come together from different paths to save lives in Israel. The Gala was co-chaired by Dina Aspen, and included Israel Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Eitan Weiss.

As guests enjoyed a sumptuous 3- course mean accompanied by the finest wines, they were able to see video projection of the wonderful work that United has been doing. It was quite inspiring to see people of different religions working together and saving each others' lives. The purpose of the event was to pay tribute to the 5000 volunteers in Israel that form the core of United and provide emergency services around the clock, 365 days a year. It was also to raise more awareness of the organization here in the US and to raise funds to match the donation from philanthropist Stewart Rahr for a 100 "Ambucycles"- medically equipped ambulances. Among the other donations for the evening were 100 defibrillators were donated and matched by United Hatzalah Chairman Mark Gerson. An additional 50 "Day of Lifesaving" were sponsored by those in attendance, a program introduced by United Hatzalah Board Member Amy Korenvaes. A total of a whopping $5 million was raised that will go towards organization's lifesaving work in Israel.

"This was an incredible evening, the support from the Los Angeles community at our first ever Gala is going to help us provide fast and free emergency medical response across Israel," said Mr.Beer. "The community in LA really came out to show their support for the lifesaving work that we do in Israel, and to raise $5 million at a first event is unlike anything I've ever seen. Thanks to these funds raised, including 100 Ambucycles, we will be able to continue providing the fastest completely free emergency medical first response across Israel."

The headline act for the evening was the very popular Israeli recording artist, Dudu Aharon who bought the house down with many home-grown hits. The crowd danced well into the night to end what was a very successful fundraising Gala. United Hatzalah is a great cause and in the current divisive political environment, it brings together people of all races and religions and really embodies the concept of equality and oneness, coming together for the greater good.

 

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