Virtual event marking Israel's 73rd anniversary

On Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m., EDT, The Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Hayesod and additional partners will host a one-hour virtual event to mark Israel’s 73rd Independence Day. The event will begin with a farewell address by His Excellency Reuven Rivlin, president of Israel, and include a look back on his legacy as the Jewish State’s 10th president. It will also feature special appearances by Israeli Olympic-gold-medal-hopefuls who are on their way to Tokyo this summer, Jewish athletes from around the world and more.

Below are nine reasons to register for this global celebration of Israel: 

• President Reuven Rivlin will deliver his final farewell to the Diaspora community and viewers will look back on his legacy.

• Mark Wilf, Minnesota Vikings owner and chair of JFNA Board of Trustees will give welcoming remarks and discuss how his passions for sports, Israel and the Jewish community connect.

• Amar’e Stoudemire, six-time NBA All-Star and player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets, will join the virtual 73-hoops challenge with the students of the National Hillel Basketball Tournament at Maryland Hillel to celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday.

• Meet Linoy Ashram, 2021 Olympic rhythmic gymnast sensation, gold medalist at the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup, and first Israeli to win the gold medal in the Individual All-Around Event at the 2020 European Championships, and

• Marhu Teferi, 2021 Olympic marathon runner and holder of Israeli records in both the half-marathon and marathon.

• Noa Tishby, Israeli actress and producer of the Emmy-winning drama “In Treatment” on HBO will offer greetings and invite you to a talk discussion about her new book.

• Yonina, the Israeli-American husband and wife musical duo will perform.

• Learn the story of Agnes Keleti, a 100-year-old Hungarian-Israeli gymnast and Holocaust survivor with 10 Olympic medals, and

• a gang of motorcyclists, who recruited Jewish athletes and brought them to Tel Aviv to compete during the perilous time before World War II.

For more information and to register, please visit: www.jfeds.org/Israel73.