Event Highlights: Palm Beach Gardens Celebrates Birthright Israel

On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, 45 members of the Jewish community of Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach celebrated Birthright Israel and the program's 19 years of impacting young Jewish adults. The evening included a beautiful story of intergenerationally supporting Birthright Israel's mission as Harriet Sternlicht hosted the event, and her son, Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, was the featured speaker. Barry shared his passion for Birthright Israel, his father's incredible story of surviving the Holocaust, and his own son's experience on the trip.

Phil Rosen, Vice Chair of Birthright Israel Foundation's Board of Directors, shared with the community how they can continue to help young Jewish adults connect to their heritage and the land of Israel through supporting our mission. The evening concluded with a Birthright Israel love story from Holly and Chad Sokoloff, who met on the trip in 1999. They shared how, if it were not for ten days in Israel, their lives would be completely different. Touching close to the heart, they said: "we wouldn't be married, wouldn't have our three boys, wouldn't be involved in the Jewish community…if it wasn't for Birthright Israel."