(Courtesy of Migdal Ohr) Bret Stephens, award-winning journalist, editor and political commentator, and op-ed columnist at The New York Times, will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming American Friends of Migdal Ohr (AFMO) Gala on May 14 in New York City.
Stephens will be speaking about the shared values of Israel and the U.S. in the context of history and politics on the date when 71 years ago, the state of Israel was officially proclaimed.
In the wake of the now infamous anti-Semitic cartoon that was published in The New York Times’ International Edition that featured President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Stephens will use the paradigm of history to compare nations whose interests are guided by their values as opposed to nations whose values are guided by their interests.
During his talk, Stephens will demonstrate how the U.S. and Israel are unique among nations in history because their interests are guided by their values, which create a more successful and solid basis, and will point to Migdal Ohr as a powerful paradigm for how Israeli and Jewish values dictate a strong concern and care for the weaker and underprivileged elements of society.
At the gala dinner, American Friends of Migdal Ohr will be raising funds for their transformative Mishpachtonim program, which created a new model of care for at-risk Israeli children from underprivileged homes.
Mishpachtonim is a children’s residence framework headed by a married couple who live there with their own children. There is also a social worker on each floor who stays in close contact with the students’ biological parents, a psychologist who ensures various therapies are made available as needed and a teacher who makes sure each child is prepared for school. This special framework provides an opportunity for the children to be a part of a nurturing and wholesome environment in a family setting, which helps them integrate into mainstream society and prepares them to build a solid family home in the future.
At the event, founder and dean of Migdal Ohr Educational Institutions and Israel Prize Laureate Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman will be honouring the original Mishpachtonim builders and asking attendees to help support the completion of the two new Mishpachtonim buildings with a live appeal.
Deputy Head of Mission at Israel’s Embassy in Washington Benjamin Krasna will offer some opening remarks.
Migdal Ohr is a non-profit organization that provides essential educational and life-changing programs and services to thousands of underprivileged and at-risk children across Israel throughout their life cycle by focusing on three main areas, basic needs, empowerment and engaged citizenship.
Please call 212-397-3700 or visit www.migdalohrusa.org/2019gala to purchase tickets to the 2019 Migdal Ohr Gala Dinner.
For more information about Migdal Ohr please visit our website at www.migdalohrusa.org or our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/MigdalOhrUSA.
