Gala cheers One Israel Fund efforts in YESHA

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A gala benefit will be held Monday evening to support and celebrate the One Israel Fund, an organization renowned for its work in fortifying and securing the towns and villages in YESHA (J and those reemerging from the Gaza evacuees) against the onslaught of Arab terror that has gripped the nation for so long.

In addition, One Israel Fund spearheads projects throughout YESHA and elsewhere in Israel where there is a need for social, medical, educational and religious support.

The goal of each project is to make a community more viable and secure. This, in turn, makes it a more inviting place to live and thus attract young pioneering families to plant their roots in the epicenter of our Biblical Heartland, allowing the entire region to flourish and grow.

In just 22 years, Israel’s entire demographic and political landscape has been dramatically altered by the work of One Israel Fund on behalf of the strong and impenetrable presence of over 400,000 Jewish residents living today in YESHA.

With this in mind, One Israel Fund will embark on its 22nd anniversary dinner on Monday, Sept. 19, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan. This year, the group will showcase some of its most recent projects, like the new Pinot Chamot, army respite centers, in Hebron, Michmash and soon-to-be in Beit El; the Vests4Israel Campaign that outfitted 300 civilian security chiefs with new armored vests; and the newest and most ambitious project to date, a new multi-million dollar medical center that will provide desperately needed care to over 65,000 residents in the Binyamin Region, the largest Regional Council in Israel.

Radio host Nachum Segal will serve as master of ceremonies and Dr. Dov and Amy Snow will be presented with the Hakarat Hatov Award.

Snow joined the One Israel Fund team in 2014 and in a short time added a new dynamic dimension to the entire milieu of the organization: an energetic group of young professionals who organized enormously successful Play 4 Israel Casino Game Nights in New York, Chicago and Miami which galvanized nearly 1,000 new supporters.

Esther Arakanchi, who will receive the Bonei Yisrael Award with her husband, Eli, began her involvement in the organization when she decided to volunteer for the Five Towns Play 4 Israel Casino Night last year. She had no idea how inspiring that decision would become. Earlier this year, Esther took her son, Shabtai, for a whirlwind trip to Israel and spent four days touring sites and projects throughout Judea and Samaria which were aided by One Israel Fund.

“I needed to learn firsthand what had been described to me about One Israel Fund, so I picked up and visited Israel for the first time in nearly two decades,” Arakanchi said. “The four days spent with One Israel Fund were exhilarating and impactful and merely reinforced our commitment to help support this jewel in our own community.”

Since that trip, Esther and her husband have spearheaded an effort to build a new mikvah in the town of Naale and have become leading advocates on behalf of One Israel Fund in their hometown of Cedarhurst and beyond.

While young professionals may be in the philanthropic world for a shorter time than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations, every organization committed to having a strong future knows how vital it becomes to have a base of support in the under-35 aged crowd.

Gavi and Tali Hoffman of West Hempstead, Manhigut Tze’erim Award recipients, are leaders of this new generation. Whether it was spearheading a campaign to provide shlukers (soft lightweight water packs) for soldiers in the IDF, or encouraging their friends to attend One Israel Fund events like the Play 4 Israel Casino Night or West Hempstead Summer BBQ, Gavi and Tali can be counted upon to get things done.

Donations and reservations can be made at OneIsraelFund.org/dinner.