More than 1,000 leading members of the Israeli community in the U.S. attended the seventh annual Israeli American Council gala in Los Angeles on Monday and celebrated the community's achievements in the passing year. During the gala, the IAC raised $23.5 million for its various programs, including a $12 million donation from Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson. Businessman and philanthropist Haim Saban donated $1.2 million. The past year marked significant growth for the activity of the Israeli community in the U.S. The IAC, initially founded in Los Angeles, launched five new branches this year -- in New York, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas and New Jersey. CEO of the IAC, Sagi Balasha, remarked that "our growth process in the U.S. began exactly one year ago. We knew that we were embarking on an adventure, but we didn't know how quickly we would succeed in recruiting American-Israeli communities across the country to join our journey." IAC National Chairman Shawn Evenhaim announced that the IAC plans to build a new American-Israeli community center in Woodland Hills, California. Pro-Israel nonprofit StandWithUs founders Raz and Jerry Rothstein were honored at the event. "There is something we can learn from our enemies -- they are unified. We need to be much more unified. We should not focus on the 20% we don't agree on, we need to focus on the 80% that we all agree on," said Rothstein. The IAC serves a community of 750,000 Israelis living in the U.S. today, with the goal of forging a united and involved Israeli-American community and becoming a center of support for Israel. The organization hosts numerous community events for different ages and supports other community organizations. Meanwhile, another Israel-focused organization -- the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces -- announced having raised $24 million at an annual event held Tuesday at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Some 1,200 guests from around the U.S., Panama and Israel, including representatives of the IDF, attended the formal ceremony -- a salute to the soldiers of the IDF. A delegation of 30 soldiers and commanders from the military's combat units were also at the event. The main speaker, Military Intelligence Directorate head Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, reminded the audience of the volatile developments in the Middle East. "Iran is not just a nuclear program. It is gaining more and more power and influence and has already made itself into a regional superpower among the nations surrounding Israel. This is the neighborhood where we live. When you live in a nice house located in such a complicated area, it is a good enough reason to defend yourself," Halevi said. According to Halevi, Syria has also changed drastically. "Syria is not the same country we knew four years ago. It is enough to see the Syrians executing one another to understand why we need to be ready on our northern border. Our regional maps are shifting in front of our eyes. The upheaval in the Middle East has morphed into a religious battle waged by armed groups. The rate of change in our region, coupled with the level of uncertainty, poses an enormous challenge for Israel's intelligence community. We need to constantly reinvent ourselves in order to monitor numerous terrorist organizations that use unpredictable methods and pose a constant threat to the State of Israel." Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson own the company that is the primary shareholder of Israel Hayom.
