Cleveland Jewish NewsFormer Israeli diplomat discusses country’s strengths at JNF-USA Breakfast for Israel
Former Israeli diplomat Ido Aharoni Aronoff was the keynote speaker at Jewish National Fund-USA’s annual Breakfast for Israel on Sept. 3, where he spoke on Zionist engagement and Israel’s national standing based on personal experience working as an ambassador for Israel.
Avida Bachar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and victim of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, shares his testimony of losing his right leg during the terrorist attack and recovering at JNF’s partner rehab facility, Adi Negev.
PHOTOS: Former Israeli diplomat discusses country’s strengths
Avida Bachar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and victim of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, shares his testimony of losing his right leg during the terrorist attack and recovering at JNF’s partner rehab facility, Adi Negev.
The event, held at Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood, aimed to raise money toward JNF-USA’s mission as laid out at the breakfast by Chuck Whitehill, board president of Northern Ohio.
“Today, we are advancing more than 100 initiatives across Israel – strengthening communities, creating opportunities and changing lives,” Whitehill said at the event. “Our focus is clear – build a stronger north in the Galilee, build a stronger south in the Negev and build a stronger connection between the next generation and Israel.”
Aronoff, a 25-year veteran of Israel’s foreign service who has held several diplomatic positions in the United States, explored JNF’s impact during his keynote speech at the breakfast, sharing how the organization’s work can be used to promote Israel in a positive light. He was introduced by Michael Jacobson, a past president of JNF Northern Ohio and past board member of JNF of America.
“The Jewish National Fund, in absolute terms, is one of the largest, most active environmental agencies in the world,” Aronoff said. “We should all celebrate that, because there are many people out there that don’t care about geopolitics in the Middle East, but they care about the environment.”
Properly “marketing” and sharing the goals of JNF-USA and of Israel, overall, Aronoff said, will help continue to shape public opinion in support of the Jewish state, as he continued on to explore the topic of Zionism during his address.
Sharing the many friends that he has in Northern Ohio, the Jewish community of Cleveland, Aronoff said, is often a top contributor to providing JNF support.
“The Cleveland community is known globally for punching way above its weight,” Aronoff said. “Thanks to you, we’re able to celebrate this goal, despite the suffering, despite the pain, despite the challenge, and overcome those challenges together.”
Additional addresses were given by guest Sydney Apple, 15, who shared her experience attending Alexander Muss High School in Israel supported by JNF, and Avida Bachar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and victim of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, who shared his testimony of losing his wife, son and right leg during the terrorist attack and recovering at JNF’s partner rehab facility, Adi Negev.
The event was co-chaired by Dan Geller and Samantha Baskind and Linda and Clifford Wolf.
An invocation was delivered by Rabbi Binyamin Blau of Green Road Synagogue.
Publisher’s note:
Chuck Whitehill is an Emeritus Director of the Cleveland Jewish News Foundation Board of Directors and Clifford Wolf is a member of the CJN Foundation Board of Directors.