Chelsea Piers in Manhattan was the setting for the 2014 Annual Gala to benefit Sheba Medical Center. More than $1.2 million was raised to fund the construction of 12 bomb-resistant operating theaters at the central Israel medical center. Helene Feldman, who serves as President of the Board of Directors, was a warm and humorous Mistress of Ceremonies. She and her husband Ziel have been active supporters of the medical center for the past seven years.

Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, led the program. He recounted the history and spoke of the future of the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hash Omar, detailing its transition from British Army barracks to state-of-the-art, world class medical center. Aharoni noted that Sheba has a record of outstanding medical leadership in areas ranging from research to rehabilitation, pointing out that Sheba’s excellent medical skills are a resource available to every citizen of Israel and to those in need throughout the region. The development of Sheba Medical Center, said the Consul General, is “a prime example of Israeli creativity.”

Dr. Zeev Rotstein, Director of the Sheba Medical Center, said simply, “Sheba saves lives.” He recalled the injuries sustained when 36 missiles hit the center of Israel during the First Gulf War. “The first priority was to wash those wounded by chemical weapons.” Rotstein then queried, “What would happen if there would be an attack from Iran?” He answered: “We do. In Sheba we speak little but ‘we do.’ We protect the 1,000 ladies who deliver babies every month and protect the soldiers who must be protected.”

Each of the supporters who spoke emphasized the importance of the hospital “family”—staff, patients and supporters—and each cohort’s ability to be prepared for any eventuality. Dinner Chairman Ziel Feldman spoke of the deep commitment of his wife and himself and his pride in being “part of Sheba and the growing Sheba family” during the last seven years. Noting the continuing threat of Iran and its running centrifuges, Feldman cautioned that while “the entire Middle East is flaming in violence…Sheba is a haven of calm. As the world is more comfortable with a nuclear Iran and Israel stands alone in the global menace, the underground bunkers are ever more critical.”

Board member David Bieber, a Managing Partner at Morgan Stanley, received Sheba’s Global Supporter Award. Presenter Feldman recalled the important place a similar—albeit simpler— tsedakah (charity) box had had in his childhood home. “The fight is every day,” said Bieber, explaining his involvement in a hospital 5,000 miles away. He called Sheba “a challenge worth being part of, noting that the hospital is “a research power house” fighting for peace by bringing many together to inspire greater understanding.”

Note was made of the extensive cooperation and “sistering” of Sheba with multiple American hospitals, as well as the special partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to create the first Israeli-Palestine hearing center. Awardee Jon Greenbaum made special mention of Sheba as “a hospital without boundaries…a paramount example of tikkun olam (repair of the world) and non-discriminatory giving.”

Most moving were the words of Moshe Levy, who suffered life-threatening injuries during the 1973 war with Egypt. Levy said, “They brought me to Sheba in pieces.” He joked that “there was a competition between Zeev to give me life and the Egyptians who wanted to take my life.”

With obvious emotion, he continued: “A soldier knows that if he will be wounded, Sheba is there to save lives.” Levy concluded with an announcement that he would donate $10,000 for “the underground hospital that will save lives.”

Entertainment by once-Hasidic singer Matisyahu completed the evening’s program. Singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame was introduced in the audience.

Helene and Ziel Feldman, as MC and dinner Co-Chairman, are a driving force of the American Friends of Sheba Medical Center. Their ties to Israel also go beyond the hospital in both familial and financial directions. Ziel Feldman’s mother was born in pre-state Palestine. Feldman is the owner of Polar Investments, a real estate investment company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Their New York-based company, HFZ, has partnered with Africa Israel Investments in past projects.

The former Englewood residents (they still own a home in town) have been married for over 25 years and have three children. Both are lawyers: she is a former prosecutor with the Brooklyn district attorney’s office; he had a real estate law practice prior to becoming a developer. Speaking about his wife, Ziel told a journalist, “I found her inner beauty even more striking than her outer beauty…She’s extremely personable and can make conversation with a hat rack.”

By Maxine Dovere