The Israel branch of an international foundation that works to fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses has been expanded to include helping those physically wounded with multi-system trauma by the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
The organization, Make-A-Wish Israel, which was founded in 1996, has received permission from the flagship foundation in the U.S. of which it is a part to expand the criteria of children it helps to those hurt in the terrorist invasion.
“I have never been more proud to be an Israeli and seen how our country has pulled together,” said businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams, speaking at a star-studded event at his Tel Aviv home Sunday night where he was named a global goodwill ambassador for the foundation. “We will win [this war] because we have to win.”
Adams, a billionaire Canadian-Israeli real estate magnate who made aliyah in 2015, has worked to change Israel’s image among non-Jews through high-profile sports and cultural activities.
In December, he made a $100 million donation to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva to strengthen the south in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, in one of the largest ever made to an Israeli university.
Since its inception, the foundation has granted more than 5,500 life-changing wishes for sick children aged three to 18 in Israel, one-third of whom are Arabs.
“This is our contribution to what happened to Israel and the Jewish people,” Denise Bar-Aharon, who established the Israeli branch nearly three decades ago in memory of her late brother, told JNS. “Every time I grant a wish I do a high five to my brother.”
The event included “Wish Kids” Rotem Kalderon from Kibbutz Nir Oz, whose family was abducted to Gaza; Itay Cohen from Kibbutz Or HaNer, who lost his eye from terrorist gunfire while out cycling; and Eitan Fink from Jerusalem, who had been ill with cancer and had his wish granted to interview the president of the United States.
“People speak about coexistence but this is true partnership,” said Yoseph Haddad, an Israeli Arab social media influencer who was also named a goodwill ambassador for the organization. He noted the irony that he just returned from London, where he was refuting accusations charging Israel with genocide, while this Israeli charity offered 33% of its assistance to Arab children.
“I will do everything in my power to get Israel’s message out,” Noa Kirel, who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and also served as a goodwill ambassador for Make-A-Wish, told JNS at the event. “It is not easy because we are a few against many but I will use every platform I have.”
Bar-Aharon said, “Wishes can truly be transformational for a child and their family, and I believe that the doctors give the medicine and Make-A-Wish provides the magic.”
