Milstein Family Foundation, Israel Video Network and other partners receive hundreds of submissions and thousands of votes from countries on almost every continent of the globe.

Jerusalem—On April 3, at Tower of David Museum, the $7500 Grand Prize Winner of the first “Inspired by Israel” video contest, sponsored by the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, 12 Tribe Films Foundation, Israel Video Network and Rogatka, was announced: Superman’s Got Nothing on Israel, http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/supermans-got-nothing-on-israel/, created by Rachel Lester, who is from Los Angeles and a junior at the University of Southern California, where she is majoring in cognitive science and minoring in digital studies.

“Taking part in the first-ever ‘Inspired by Israel’ contest was incredibly rewarding not only to see how much my friends, family and community came together to support me, but to see and hear firsthand how many people were touched by my video. This contest gave me the opportunity to spread my love for Israel’s humanitarian aid farther than I ever thought possible, so I’m very happy that I got a chance to participate. Winning the grand prize, especially as a non-professional, full-time student who made the video completely on my own, was an incredible [experience] that I can’t even put into words!” said Lester when she found out that she had won the grand prize.

The runner-up first-prize winner of $2,500 was the video, Incredible Video of a Jerusalem Secret http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-shuk-gallery/, created by Joshua Fleisher, a videographer who lives in Jerusalem.

In addition, 16 other cash prizes were distributed to other winning video creators, including the two staff picks: Jerusalem the Soul of the Universe, http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/this-video-captures-everything-that-makes-jerusalem-the-soul-of-the-universe/, created by Shai Getzoff, a student in Jerusalem, and They Say We Don’t Belong Here but This Video Proves Otherwise, http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/they-say-we-dont-belong-here-but-this-video-proves-otherwise/, created by Jerusalem U, under Director Micah Smith.

The goal of the contest was to entertain, educate and inspire people about Israel. “We are so excited and inspired by each and every one of these incredible videos. The true winner is Israel! So many people were able to see so many different facets of the thriving and dynamic Jewish state,” said Avi Abelow, founder of 12Tribe Films/ IsraelVideoNetwork.com.

Video entries were submitted from people of wide-ranging backgrounds and faiths from 15 countries, including the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Panama, Australia, Germany, Philippines, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Taiwan. Videos were created by high school and college students, renowned filmmakers and even a kindergarten class. Topics ranged from arts, culture and environmentalism to fighting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. Voting began on February 21, and in just two weeks the contest accumulated over a half a million video views for all of the videos in the contest.

“It has been a pleasure partnering with the Israel Video Network and Rogatka in making this video contest a reality,” said Hadas Sella, Executive Director at the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, “These videos have given the public a new and exciting way to see Israel.”

After the votes, a panel of distinguished professionals received the five videos with the most votes and judged the final winners. This panel included radio host Dennis Prager, Emmy-winner Robert J. Avrech, Deputy CEO of the Israeli-American Council Miri Belsky, Zula Chief Marketing Officer Hillel Fuld, Israeli journalist and TV anchor Lital Shemesh, founder and owner of Rogatka Shlomo Blass, and co-founder of Talk Israel Gadi Rouache.

“This Israel video contest is only just the beginning of what we plan to do to use video and social media to grow the strong voice of truth for Israel on the Internet and around the world,” said Abelow at the end of the awards ceremony.