Art Shamsky, who played with the “Miracle Mets” that won the World Series in 1969, was the guest speaker on Dec. 5 at Jewish National Fund’s Kickoff Event, held at Congregation Beth David in Miami.
Shamsky played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues and later managed a baseball team in the Israel Baseball League in 2007.
Although he does not describe himself as religiously observant, he told a rapt crowd that his conscience told him not to play on Yom Kippur during the all-important pennant race in 1969. His manager, Gil Hodges, told Shamsky to follow his conscience and do what he felt was right. He sat out both games of a double header — and, thankfully, the Mets won them both.
Shamsky was introduced to the audience by Ron Kriss, a real estate lawyer, who was installed for his sixth term as president of Jewish National Fund’s Miami-Dade region. During his tenure as president, the Miami-Dade region spearheaded the funding of a new fire station in the Carmel mountain range in Israel and a daycare center to be built in Halutza, a settlement in Israel’s Negev, walking distance from both Gaza and Egypt.
“The settlers in Halutza are real pioneers, many having been displaced from Gush Katif when Israel returned Gaza in 2005. “They are very
worthy recipients of our assistance,” Kriss said.
The day care center will accommodate 85 preschoolers in a bomb-proof facility, and will double as a bomb shelter during times of need.
“The Carmel fire station was too late for the tragic fire in 2010, which claimed 44 lives, but was pivotal in fighting the fires last month in the Carmel and elsewhere which caused the evacuation of over 75,000 people from the Haifa area,” Kriss said.
Kriss also recounted JNF’s accomplishments in water recycling. “Israel recycles over 85 percent of its water — more than any other country — using technology funded by JNF. We pipe the water to the Negev in a network of pipes funded by JNF. There, it goes to over 250 JNF reservoirs. When you drive through the Negev and see it’s green all around — that’s JNF.”
Also installed at the Kickoff Event was Maia Aron, a commercial litigator at Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton, starting her second term as president of JNFuture, the JNF chapter of young professional adults. Aron, born in Paraguay, recounted how many in her family had moved from South America to Israel, including her grandfather, who was a farmer, and died this past year. He had received from JNF a “Golden Book” certificate which was beautifully framed on his wall in Israel. Today, Aron has her grandfather’s Golden Book certificate as she continues her family’s commitment to support Israel.
Also present at the Kickoff Event was Nina Paul, president of JNF’s Women for Israel Society, who travelled from Ohio for the event. Aron explained how she forged a close friendship with Paul on a recent JNF mission to Israel.
“Next year, I plan to launch Women for Israel in Miami-Dade and follow in Nina’s footsteps” Aron said.
Aron highlighted three of JNF’s projects in Israel. The first was Halutza, the pioneer community in the Negev. The second was the Sderot indoor recreation center, one of the communities abutting Gaza, where JNF has constructed a 24,000-square-foot indoor playground.
“When a Kasam rocket is launched, people have just 15 seconds to reach a bomb shelter. Without the indoor recreation center, there would be no place in Sderot for kids to play safely” Aron said.
She also highlighted Aleh Negev, a rehabilitation village in the Negev which serves hundreds of children and adults with particularly challenging disabilities.
“The Kickoff Event went very well,” said Jeffrey Greenberg, JNF Miami-Dade director. “We got a great response from the community, which will help kick off our 2017 fund raising season and help JNF continue to fund its many compelling projects in Israel,” Greenberg said.
He also encouraged the crowd to attend JNF’s National Conference, to be held in South Florida, Nov. 10-13, at the Diplomat Resort and Spa.
Jewish National Fund was founded 1901 by Theodor Herzl with the mission to reestablish a homeland in Israel for Jewish people everywhere. It’s well known for its iconic JNF Blue Boxes, used to collect coins which funded the purchase of land and planting of over 250 million trees. It has recently completed its third year of its 10-year “Billion Dollar Roadmap,” with over $385 million raised thus far. JNF is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and United Nations NGO, which continuously earns top ratings from charity overseers.
