Adelson Donates $25 Million to Birthright Israel, Reinforces Economy

Sheldon G. Adelson - a modern day Jewish hero.
Will he also invest in Israeli start-ups?

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem ----- February 6 .... Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson have donated $25 million dollars to the Taglit-Birthright Israel program (BRI). The generous gift will double to at least 20,000 the number of free summer trips to Israel offered by Birthright Israel this summer.

The Adelson Family recently donated $25 million to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, made the gift to Yad Vashem in a ceremony that was attended by Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Education Minister Yuli Tamir.
The donation will enable Yad Vashem to expand its international activities in the area of Holocaust education, will fund the uploading to the Internet of its main databases, and will help to pay for maintaining the New Holocaust History Museum.

Adelson, 73, considered the wealthiest Jew in the world, was born to a poor immigrant family in Boston and earned his fortune developing hotel, convention and gambling properties in Las Vegas and China. His wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, a former Israeli, is a physician who specializes in treating chemical dependencies.

Last month, Forbes Magazine ranked Adelson as the fifth-richest man in the world, with an estimated fortune exceeding $20 billion. Forbes pointed out that Adelson's fortune was increasing at the rate of $1 million per hour. In other words, the donation to Yad Vashem represents Adelson's income for a single day. Adelson is a long-standing contributor to Jewish and Israeli institutions as well as to medical research foundations. He is a member of the board of directors of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

In speaking to the Israel News Agency, representatives of Birthright stated that the gift represents a potent boost to Jewish awareness. When asked how would the Adelson gift translate to Aliya and Israel's infrastructure, a spokesperson pointed out the enormous impact the Birthright Israel gift would have on Israel's tourism industry.

The Birthright Israel program has already generated more than USD 220 million in tourism revenue, and the summer 2007 trip is predicted to generate over USD 36.5 million for the industry.

Birthright Israel has supplied 236,000 work days to Israelis, participants have spent 331,000 nights in hotels in Israel, around $7.6 million on bus journeys, $18 million in restaurants all over Israel, $7.4 million on entry into tourist sites, and upwards of $30 million in souvenirs in Israel.

The perspectives appear to be very different from both sides of the Atlantic, with the Americans seeking to secure greater Jewish awareness and the Israelis focusing on Aliya and the creation of jobs. In Israel, we see one out of three children suffering in poverty and an economy which has been shredded by wars and terrorism. Israelis see the Birthright participants as potential immigrants who can contribute to Israel's long term growth. As there is now little tax incentive put forward by the Israel government to invest in Israel companies and start-ups, unemployment continues to hover around 20 percent and badly needed outsourcing goes to low cost labor countries such as India and China.

But whether one lives in America or Israel, there is no dispute regarding the generosity of the Adelson gift to the Jewish world.

Taglit - Birthright Israel is funded by the Government of Israel , private philanthropists and Jewish communities around the world. The USD 25 million gift is contingent upon BRI’s other funding partners maintaining their annual collective commitment of USD 51 million.

The Adelson Family Charitable Foundation gift of $25 million, is in addition to a grant made by the Foundation to Birthright Israel in December to fund 2,000 additional spaces for the winter session, and brings the Foundation's total contribution this year to $30 million.

The Adelson Foundation anticipates making similar gifts to Birthright Israel in future years.

"The Birthright Israel program is one of the best ideas our time has seen because it has the greatest potential to maintain Jewish continuity in the face of growing assimilation," said Adelson. "By founding the Birthright Israel program, Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman have given one of the greatest gifts to the Jewish people in our generation. We applaud their creativity and generosity, and we are privileged and honored to provide the resources to enhance the program and solidify its future."

Dr. Miriam Adelson, a physician and Israel native, said: "Israel has an important role in Jewish life worldwide, and I am honored to be able to help thousands of young Jews to personally experience the Jewish homeland. The program's success has convinced us that our donation would be well utilized."

Michael Bohnen, who recently joined the Foundation as its President, said he was pleased that Birthright Israel is his first involvement in the Adelsons' philanthropic efforts. He said, "The Adelsons found that the mission of Birthright Israel is consistent with their own: to affect a profound transformation in Jewish life by building a personal connection and commitment to Jewish community and the State of Israel."

BRI provides free, first-time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18-26. Since its launch in 2000, the program has brought 120,000 eligible Jewish young adults from 51 countries around the world to the Jewish state. BRI estimates that in any given year, 80,000-100,000 Jews around the world are eligible for the birthright Israel gift. The long-term goal is to provide trips to at least half of eligible Jews annually. The extra capacity provided by the gift will eliminate the long waiting lists that were necessary the last two years.

The participants come to Israel for an intensive 10-day stay, during which time they visit historical and national sites, as well as meet with Israel peers – young people serving, for the most part, in elite units of the Israel Defense Forces.

Birthright Israel states: "The goal of the Taglit-birthright Israel is to forge a bond between young Jews living in the Diaspora and the State of Israel, as well as strengthen their Jewish identity. The alumni of the program form a global support network for the State of Israel on college campuses and communities."

BRI Co-founding Chairman, Michael H. Steinhardt said, "The Birthright Israel venture has proven to be one of the most successful educational projects in the Jewish world. This extraordinary gift moves us closer to making a trip to Israel a standard rite of passage for every young Jew."

The only question that we have here in Israel is what will happen when the Birthright honeymoon visit to Israel's beaches, palm trees and historic, religious sites lands back in JFK airport?
The Anglo community in Israel witnesses hundreds of Jewish families arriving to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ra'anana and Haifa with the same number leaving the country on almost a daily basis. There are just too few jobs to keep these American immigrants in Israel.

"I just returned from the Birthright trip in June over the summer," said one Birthright Israel participant.
"I had a fantastic time. Part of my experience connected me to Israel. I am an active supporter and feel that it is essential Jews all around the world support Israel in this time. One of the ways that I have found is through an Israel based pharamceutical company called www.magendavidmeds.com that sells medication to Canada and the USA at 40%-70% less than domestic pharmacies. That aside it is an amazing way to help support the Israel economy whilest receiving something in return (your meds). Birthright Israel is a fantastic program that gave me a connection to Israel, alonging to return soon and a social responsibility. I hope that I have done that feeling justice by advocating this site and that anyone who reads this will feel some personal responsibility in supporting Israel and it's economy."

Jewish awareness is critically important, but so is maintaining the security and growth of the Jewish democratic state.
Israel needs investment. Israel needs the creation of jobs. Jewish awareness alone will not defend our homes and our children from terror missile attacks coming from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Syria, Lebanon and Iran.

The Adelson Family deserves our most sincere gratitude. We only pray that these Birthright Israel visits transcend into immigration, stemming Israel's brain drain and creating an Israel for which many are still able to visit in another 20 years.

 

Related sites: The Jewish Agency