Expanding its mission of hope and healing in Israel, the Gilat Foundation held its first annual gala at ALYN Hospital with a performance by Israeli singer-songwriter Ishay Ribo, whose inspirational music is a soundtrack of hope and healing to so many.
Founded in memory of Gilat Eisenmann, an 11-year-old who passed away in 2008, the Gilat Foundation provides therapeutic live theater to children in hospitals throughout the Netherlands, Curaçao, and now, Israel. Gilat’s performers bring moments of emotional relief to children facing long-term hospitalization, trauma, grief and the profound uncertainty of war.
Since the devastating attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, the foundation has been operating in four Jerusalem hospitals to meet an overwhelming need. The organization’s first large-scale local fundraiser was created to educate the public about the critical role that therapeutic theater plays in pediatric care, particularly during these times of national trauma, and help them expand their performances from four to eight hospitals, thereby working throughout the country.
Produced by A to Z Events, the gala brought together Gilat Foundation board members, donors and newcomers to the organization, as well as the Dutch ambassador to Israel, Marriet Schuurman.
“We believe theater is medicine no doctor can prescribe,” said Jair Eisenmann, founder and chair of the Gilat Foundation. “What makes it magical is that children can forget pain, treatment, isolation, even war, for a few moments. We help them smile, which helps calm fear. For many children, a Gilat performance is the first time they’ve laughed in a long time.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked the Gilat Foundation via video for its vital work on behalf of Israel’s children. “Coming together here tonight, you are celebrating something truly special,” he said. “I’m so grateful to the Gilat Foundation and to Gilat’s father, Jair, for reminding us of our true strength as a nation, our ability to embody light and love, to touch one another with generosity of spirit and enable true healing. Thank you for transforming your personal pain into a beautiful light that touches others. May you go from strength to strength.”
The event was held at ALYN Hospital, Israel’s leading pediatric rehabilitation center, underscoring the hospital’s commitment to innovative and holistic approaches to healing, including their partnership with Gilat to ensure the children receive emotional and creative support that aids their recovery.
Some of the children being treated at ALYN came down from their treatment floors to enjoy the concert. Among them was Kayla Katzin, a 17-year-old who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a recent car accident. She has been receiving intensive treatment at ALYN and throughout her recovery has repeatedly asked visiting performers to play Ishay Ribo’s songs. For Kayla, his music is more than entertainment. It is a lifeline.
“Thank you to Gilat for arranging this amazing concert,” her father Avraham said in brief remarks to the audience. “Ishay Ribo’s music has been such a support for us through trying times, and is having a powerful impact on Kayla during her recovery. The chance to hear him perform in such a personal setting is a dream come true for Kayla, and truly uplifting for all of us.”
Kayla joined her father on stage to tell the crowd that “two things help me feel better during my long recovery, music and making me laugh. Gilat has given me both!”
The evening concluded with an elegant dinner in the hospital’s garden, where guests reflected on what they had witnessed: the transformative power music and theater can have in the face of trauma and suffering.
While performing on stage, Ribo himself made great efforts to interact with the children from Alyn who were able to attend and said, “The Gilat Foundation’s founders, Jair and Tali Eisenmann, have chosen to keep their daughter’s memory alive forever in the holiest way, through the smiles and laughter of other children.”
