YIR: Dignitaries Join Community to Celebrate Israel’s 75th

On April 26, Gov. Brian Kemp and a “who’s who” packed crowd came to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary, Atlanta style, at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Ever gracious, global speaker and CNN producer Nadia Bilchik walked through the lively program of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Consul General of Israel to the Southeast, Anat Sultan-Dadon, Governor Kemp, performances by The Epstein School and The Davis Academy school choirs, Luma Dance Company, Lapidus & Myles, and Yinon Sahar & Chen Cohen Exit 10 Atlanta.

Bilchik spoke of the diversity of the crowd as a testament to Israel’s broad base of support. In between, the Light for Israel Awards were presented to Georgia State Sen. Tonya Anderson, Gov. Brian P. Kemp, Krystal Bracy, Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr., Dr. Robbie Friedmann, Darius Jones, Michael A. Morris, Doug Ross, Samantha Strelzer, and Helen Zalik.

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Videos from dignitaries who were unable to attend were presented, including Sen. Jon Ossoff, Sen. Raphael Warnock, and Mayor Andre Dickens.

Keynote speaker Kemp, with wife, Marty, was generous early on with his time chatting and posing for photos with admirers. His formal remarks extolled the state’s unwavering support of Israel with $1.2 billion in trade between Georgia and Israel, while exports increased 213 percent over 20 years.