President Ingeborg Rennert
and Honorary Chairman Baron Robert de Rothschild of the American
Friends of the Open University honored Ambassador John R. Bolton,
25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Schools, at a gala
celebration on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at The Plaza
Two hundred guests attended the
festive event and raised $300,000 for the university’s 45,000 students,
its educational programs and scholarships.
Guests included: include Ira &
Ingeborg Rennert, Baron Robert de Rothschild, Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly & Veronica Kelly, Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Heyman, Nobel
Laureate Elie Wiesel, Danielle Levine, Israel Englander, Nina & Mitch
Davidson, Barbara & Donald Tober, Daryl Roth, Nira & Kenneth
Abramowitz, Ambassador Dore Gold, Malcolm Hoenlien, and Basya & Andrew
Lowinger.
Ambassador Bolton received the
Tzedek Award for his moral courage and excellence in principles.
Chancellor Klein received the coveted Yigal
Allon Award, named in honor of the late Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
and former Minister of Education.
“Ambassador Bolton’s support of the vital relationship between the U.S
and Israel and Chancellor Klein’s commitment to education and culture
exemplify the principles of the Open University of Israel,” said
Ingeborg Rennert, President of the American Friends of the Open
University of Israel.
“We are pleased to honor them tonight and congratulate them on their
outstanding achievements.”
The
Open University of Israel has become Israel’s largest university. The
highly-ranked institution affords the opportunity to
study via long-distance learning to soldiers on active military duty,
immigrants, the disabled who cannot travel to study, the indigent, the
Yeshiva student, and elementary school teachers who wish to improve
their curricula.
The Open University demonstrates that the Internet is the classroom of
the 21st century.
Co-Chairs of the event included Ambassador Dore Gold, Professor Elie
Wiesel, Nira & Kenneth Abramowitz, Malcolm Hoenlein and Basya & Andrew
Lowinger.