7 immigrants honored by Nefesh B’Nefesh for contributions to Israel

Seven immigrants to Israel from English-speaking countries are being recognized for making major contributions to the Jewish state.

Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that helps Diaspora Jews make aliyah, or immigrate to Israel, announces its 2017 Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Prize winners, which are awarded to olim from English-speaking countries – including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This year’s honorees are: Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, founder, chancellor and rosh yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat, in the field of education; Prof. Marcia Javitt, director of medical imaging at Rambam Healthcare Campus, in the field of science and medicine; Kalman Samuels, founder of the disabilities advocacy organization Shalva, in the field of community and non-profit; Linda Streit, founder of the Daniel Rowing Center, in the field of culture, art and sports; and Arsen Ostrovsky, an international human rights lawyer and executive director of the Israeli-Jewish Congress, in the field of Israel advocacy.

The lifetime achievement award for 2018 is awarded to Morris Kahn, 88, who made aliyah from South Africa in 1956 at the age of 26, “in recognition of his exemplary entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen which has fueled the Start-up Nation and secured Israel as a world leader in technology,” according to a statement from Nefesh B’Nefesh. Kahn, a cofounder of Amdocs, in recent years has increasingly focused his attention on philanthropy and venture philanthropy in the scientific and medical fields.

A young leadership prize is awarded to Major Keren Hajioff, head of public diplomacy in the IDF spokesperson’s unit. Hajioff made aliyah from London in 2009 soon after high school and joined the IDF a month later.

— JTA