Hanan Ben Ari, one of Israel”s top singers, received the Jerusalem Award from Friends of Zion Heritage Center for his volunteering activities with IDF soldiers and Holocaust survivors.
Adv. Nir Kimchi, director of FOZ and Daniel Voiczek, CEO of Friends of Zion Museum, presented Ben Ari with the Award.
Ben Ari voluntarily performed in front of dozens of Holocaust survivors and IDF soldiers from an elite unit at the Friends of Zion Heritage Center.
Hanan Ben Ari was very touched and stated: “Thank you for the award and the honor. It is very exciting to see the amazing activities taking place here, at the Friends of Zion Heritage Center and Museum. The connection between the young generation and the survivors and the way you open your heart to the people in need, enlightens the world. Keep on the good work.”
The Friends of Zion Museum has been working for more than 30 years on behalf of Holocaust survivors in Israel. Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem, and his son Michael Evans, the president of Friends of Zion, work, fund and support thousands of Holocaust survivors in Israel and around the world on an ongoing basis throughout the year for the past 30 years. In Jerusalem Campus, Evans built a community center for Holocaust survivors including free-of-charge apartments for them.
Every week the Friends of Zion Heritage Center holds activities, holidays and events for dozens of Holocaust survivors like Bar and Bat mitzvah ceremonies for those who never were given the chance to celebrate. In the past year, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, they transferred more than 3000 tons of food, equipment, medicine, and daily life supplies for thousands of people in Ukraine and rescued tens of Holocaust survivors.
In addition, the Friends of Zion Heritage Center serves as a home for thousands of soldiers throughout the year and holds various activities for them.