Edited by: TJVNews.com
On November 11th, The America-Israel Friendship League (AIFL) celebrated its 2019 Partners for Democracy Awards Dinner by honoring Israel Discount Bank President & CEO, Lilach Asher-Topilsky, Honorary Chairman & former CEO of Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Josh S. Weston, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. The ceremony, at Guastavino’s in midtown Manhattan, recognized the honorees for their significant contributions in supporting and strengthening the bond between the United States and Israel. Josh Weston and Lilach Asher-Topilsky were presented with AIFL’s Partners for Democracy Award for their roles in promoting economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
Weston said, “I fell in love with Israel more than 50 years ago and have made it my personal mission to help more people and business leaders engage with the country ever since. I find enormous gratification in making these introductions and in working with the AIFL to advance our shared purpose.” Weston is a life-long philanthropist who has supported Israel, science, education and the arts for decades. Asher-Topilsky said, “As CEO of a company with a significant subsidiary in the United States, I am proud to be receiving an honor from an organization whose mission is to promote an enduring friendship between Americans and Israelis. With our shared values and commitment to cultural exchange, transformative growth and representative democracy, the United States and Israel will continue their cherished relationship that has spanned more than 70 years.”
Asher-Topilsky is credited with helping Discount become the third largest banking group in Israel. AIFL also presented its inaugural Kenneth J. Bialkin Leadership Award to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP in recognition of the company’s efforts to promote commercial activity between the United States and Israel. This award also honors the legacy of the late AIFL Honorary Chairman, Kenneth Bialkin (z”l), who dedicated much of his career to supporting Israeli companies that emerged from the U.S. financial and commercial markets.
Skadden Executive Partner, Eric Friedman, said, “We are proud to be the inaugural recipient of AIFL’s award named in Ken Bialkin’s honor and thankful for the organization’s recognition of his extraordinary contributions to U.S.-Israeli relations.”
Earlier today, AIFL, in partnership with SOSA, a global platform that connects corporations, governments and cities to the most innovative technologies, also held its Annual Israel Day at NASDAQ where Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, rang the opening bell, followed by a panel on cybersecurity. AIFL’s President, Jonathan Barsade, said, “AIFL is truly a unique organization introducing Americans to Israel not only by organizing and sponsoring trips to Israel for Americans, but also by bringing the business, cultural and scientific innovations that emanate from Israel to more than 300 million Americans across this country.
Today’s events, from opening of trade at NASDAQ, to our new Israel at NASDAQ annual business conference, to this evening’s annual Gala, honoring exemplars of America-Israel friendship, are just a few examples of this outreach and the bond it helps to forge between Israel and the United States. We are honored that these luminaries are joining us in today’s celebrations to help us showcase the outstanding innovations from Israel that have an enormous impact on our world,” Barsade added. The America-Israel Friendship League was founded in 1971 with the goal of strengthening the relationship between the people of the United States and Israel. Today, AIFL is continuing the vision of its founders by introducing Americans of all ages, faiths, ethnic backgrounds and political orientations to the culture, entrepreneurship, medical research, agricultural technology, environmental protection initiatives other aspects of contemporary Israel
