2009 GALA CELEBRATION - MARCH 26
Ambassador John R. Bolton and Chancellor Joel I. Klein will be honored at the American Friends of the Open University of Israel annual dinner to be held on March 26, 2009 at The Plaza, New York City.
Ambassador John R. Bolton and Chancellor Joel I. Klein will be honored at the American Friends of the Open University of Israel annual dinner to be held on March 26, 2009 at The Plaza, New York City. This event benefits the University's 45,00 students, its educational programs and scholarships.
Ambassador Bolton will receive the prestigious Tzedek Award, a Man of Righteousness, for his unwavering efforts to keep America and Israel strongly allied and secure.
Chancellor Klein will receive the coveted Yigal Allon Award, named in honor of the late Deputy Prime Minister of Israel and former Minister of Education. The Award recognizes Chancellor Klein's lifetime commitment to upholding the principles of justice and the law, and raising the educational and cultural bar for all Americans.
The Open University of Israel is Israel's largest university, educating one of every six students in Israel. This highly-ranked institution affords Israel's active-duty soldiers, large immigrant population, the disabled, the indigent and the Yeshiva student the opportunity to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Open University demonstrates that the Internet is the classroom of the 21st century.
Ambassador John R. Bolton distinguished himself in the service of our country when President Bush appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in mid-2005. During the time that he held this position, Ambassador Bolton focused on issues of strategic importance to the U.S. and Israel. A noted diplomat and lawyer, Ambassador Bolton is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to research and education on issues of government, politics, economics, and social welfare.
Chancellor Joel I. Klein, a successful appellate judge and an antitrust lawyer, was appointed the first Chancellor of the newly-reorganized Department of Education in 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. As Chancellor, he oversees more than 1,500 schools with over 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees, and a $21-billion budget. Mr. Klein brought vision and determination to the job, focusing on his comprehensive reform program, Children First.
Ingeborg Rennert, President, American Friends of the Open University of Israel comments: "Our distinguished honorees embody the principles of the respective awards that are being presented to them. American Friends is proud to honor two individuals who are dedicated to OUI's ultimate mission of making the world economically, culturally and intellectually strong, the foundation of global peace."
AFOUI is led by Ingeborg Rennert, President, Baron Robert de Rothschild, Honorary Chairman, and Malcolm Thomson, Chairman.
