MEDIA ALERT

Celebrating Israel as a Start -Up Nation at 2011 Partners for Democracy Award Dinner

Idan Ofer, Shai Agassi, Dan Senor and Saul Singer to be honored

New York, NY – November 03, 2011 – At its annual Partners for Democracy Awards Dinner, on November 29, at the Plaza Hotel, The America-Israel Friendship League (AIFL) will dedicate the evening to “Celebrating Israel as a Start-Up Nation.”

Based on the best-selling book, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, the dinner will serve to broaden the book's focus on Israel's achievements in science and technology, and act as a springboard to showcase the country's respect for human rights, assimilation of immigrants and minorities, education and social progress, health and medical advancement, energy efficiency, response to international disasters, music, literature, and the visual arts. 

The honorees will be Idan Ofer and Shai Agassi. Mr. Ofer is chairman of the board and Mr. Agassi is CEO and founder of the Israel-based Better Place, a global provider of electric vehicle networks and services.  In 2010, Better Place introduced Israel's first electric vehicle.

America-Israel Friendship League Celebrates and Honors Israel as a "Start-Up Nation" in Many Fields of Human Endeavor

At the America-Israel Friendship League annual Partners for Democracy Awards Dinner, held at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan on November 29, the theme was "Celebrating Israel as a Start-Up Nation." While the evenings awardees-Dan Senor and Saul Singer, co-authors of the international best-seller "Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle," and Idan Ofer and Shai Agassi, of Better Place, an Israeli-based venture-backed company working to produce a transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles-are all involved in the Jewish state as a financial, high-tech, innovation powerhouse, the AIFL used the theme to showcase Israel for its achievements in scientific, human rights, social services, and cultural and artistic endeavors.

Among the high points of the evening was the presentation by AIFL's chairman, Kenneth J. Bialkin, and president, Harley Lippman, of a proclamation acknowledging Israel's efforts in all these areas.

The proclamation, addressed to Israeli President Shimon Peres and President Benjamin Netanyahu, began by recognizing that the AIFL dinner was being held on the 64th anniversary of the UN vote to support the partition of the British Palestine Mandate into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab.

The proclamation was accepted by Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Israel's Consul General in New York, who told the AIFL supporters that the success of Israel's high-tech sector as well as all the other areas of endeavor is "the result of the Israeli spirit which made it possible."

"It's in our DNA to ask questions and to refuse to accept political or any artificial limitations. This is a new narrative for Israel, a success story of modernity, creativity, and innovation that is an inspiration to the world," said Mr. Aharoni.

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New York, October 5, 2011: In September, the America-Israel Friendship League, in conjunction with the Fort Lee, NJ-based Heroes to Heroes organization, led a delegation of wounded American servicemen to Israel, where these American veterans of the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan were introduced to Israeli soldiers who had also suffered injuries in the course of duty.

The goal was not only for US Veterans to see firsthand how wounded Israeli soldiers are treated by their countrymen, but also to establish bonds based on the commonality of their experiences.

“The American and Israeli war veterans who participated in this program sustained their wounds while fighting for freedom and against terrorism. This provided a basis for their bonding which grew during the ten days they were together,” said Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the AIFL.

Heroes to Heroes, founded by Judy Isaacson Schaffer of Teaneck, is dedicated to helping American disabled veterans bridge the gap between their military experience and civilian life.

As a result of this trip to Israel, the wounded American GIs, none of whom is Jewish, formed lasting friendships with wounded Israeli soldiers and, at the same time, gained an appreciation of the kindness and expertise with which the disabled are treated in the Jewish state.