The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held its 16thannual joint Yom Hashoah ceremony recognizing Jewish rescuers on Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund. In the presence of nearly 1,000 Border Patrol soldiers, high school students, pre-army academy students, diplomats, Jewish rescuers and survivors, the ceremony was held at the B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest Scroll of Fire Plaza and was dedicated to the rescue efforts of the Jewish resistance in France that operated from the beginning of the occupation of France in June 1940 until the defeat of German forces there in September 1944.

During the ceremony, B’nai B’rith honored 23 Jewish rescuers with The Jewish Rescuers Citation, which was established in 2011 by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews During the Holocaust (JRJ) to help rectify the historical record regarding Jewish rescue. To date, more than 200 heroes have been honored with the citation for rescue activities in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Lithuania, Holland and Belgium. News of the event was covered in Yisrael Hayom, Israel Radio, Aurora, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel and on Russian radio. 

Former U.S Deputy National Security Advisor Eliott Abrams Gives Keynote Address to B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Award

Annual Donations to Israeli Children who have Lost a Parent to Terrorism

B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider presented financial assistance to Israeli children left fatherless in two terrorist attacks earlier this year. The funds were made available from B’nai B’rith’s Edith Pat Wolfson Fund, administered for the last 11 years by the World Center and by B’nai B’rith First Lodge of England.

The next donation was made to the four children of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal (29), a teacher at Bnei Akiva Yeshiva in Givat Shmuel, who was murdered in a stabbing attack near the entrance of Ariel on Feb. 5 while on his way to a family event. He leaves behind his children Avital (6), Daniel (5), Roni (3) and Avraham (1). The presentation was made to their mother Miriam, also a teacher.

Gala Dinner: 70 Years of Israel

B’nai B’rith International in Brussels co-hosted 160 people in May for a gala dinner and concert celebrating 70 years of Israel, together with the European Jewish Congress, the World Jewish Congress, the European Leadership Network, the American Jewish Committee, the European Coalition for Israel, the Belgian Jewish Community and the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS). Dozens of members of the European Parliament across the political spectrum, ambassadors and high-level officials from the European Commission, Council and NATO joined the celebration and concert by award-winning Israeli singer Ester Rada