Dennis Ross
Tuesday, September 20, 5:45 pm Sandler Center for the Performing Arts (Israel today with Dennis Ross follows at 7 pm)
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater will kickoff its 2017 Annual Campaign with an evening of education and inspiration.
This year’s kickoff reception will feature former U.S. peace negotiator and diplomatic adviser, Ambassador Dennis Ross. Free and open to all members of the Jewish community, the event will be an intimate, kosher cocktail reception on the very stage from which Ross will address a wider community audience, afterwards. Kickoff participants will have the chance to hear from Ambassador Ross, up close and personal.
Annual Campaign Kick-Off celebrates the start of a new campaign year. It also brings campaign donors together to thank them and to illustrate some of the many ways in which their gifts impact Jewish lives at home and abroad. To paraphrase Rabbi Tarfon: “It may not be our responsibility to complete the task, but neither are we free to abandon it.…” In other words, there is still more work to be done; more dollars to raise; and more lives to improve.
The Annual Campaign kickoff is meant to engage and inspire community members to support or renew their support for the Campaign and the community. Dollars raised each year are put to work through beneficiary agencies at home and overseas, to meet today’s immediate needs, and to secure a Jewish future.
Campaign kickoff will take place immediately prior to the appearance of Ambassador Ross at 7:30 pm. This later event kicks off UJFT’s Community Relations Council’s, Simon Family JCC’s, and community partners’ 6th annual Israel Today series, in collaboration with Virginia Beach Forum.
Ross’ remarks during the Forum will speak to the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, his own decades of experience with postings spanning the administrations of five U.S. presidents, both Democrat and Republican, and highlights from his latest book, Doomed to Succeed: The US–Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama.
Complimentary tickets for the 7:30 pm Israel Today event are available to the first 100 individuals who RSVP for Campaign kickoff (as this article goes to press, 50 complimentary tickets are left). These tickets will be available at the sign-in table at Campaign kickoff, but RSVP prior to the event is required.
Call Patty Malone at 757-965-6115 or email her at pmalone@ujft.org to RSVP for the kickoff or for more information.
Tickets for the 7:30 pm event are available for purchase at vabeachforum.com.
Madeline Budman