Margaret and Sylvan Adams Family Foundation (Facebook pic)
As part of the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams gave a speech about his vision and activities in promoting Israel and the Jewish world through major cultural and sports events.
Since making Aliyah in 2016, Sylvan Adams has brought to Israel the first three stages of the Giro d’Italia Grand Tour bicycle race in 2018, Madonna to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019, co-founded the Israel WorldTour cycling team and brought huge football matches and Judo Grand Slams to Israel. During the last year, Adams has opened the Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital in Holon, and the world’s biggest and most advanced emergency room at Ichilov in Tel Aviv.
In July, a group of 70 Afghan refugees, many of them female athletes and cyclists, who escaped after the Taliban regained control of the country, finally arrived in Rome today after a long journey that lasted many months. There they were greeted by Israel – Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams, who played a significant role in their rescue.
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Adams led the rescue operations from Afghanistan, which have been ongoing since September 2021, together with an international group comprised of diplomats, UCI President David Lappartient, and the Israeli NGO IsraAid. The group has worked together to help extract and resettle all of the Afghans rescued.
Sylvan Adams and his wife Margaret have already made numerous philanthropic contributions to Israel through their Margaret and Sylvan Adams Family Foundation. These include the Sylvan Adams Sports Institute at Tel Aviv University and other medical centers.
In his speech, Sylvan Adams said, “I want to emphasize that Israel belongs to all Jews: Israeli born, or Israeli immigrants such as my wife and myself, but also to each and every Jew in the diaspora. Israel belongs to all of us.”
The conference, which is the main event in a series of events marking the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress takes place in Basel with the presence of Jewish leaders from all around the world, including President and Founder of Mitrelli Group and Menomadin Foundation, Haim Taib; Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Dr. Nachman Shai; President of the board of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, Baroness Ariane De Rothschild; and many others.
Sylvan Adams added, “Calling Israel an apartheid nation is an affront to those who suffered under that despicable system. I am as capable as any to make the defensive case for Israel, based on our virtuous national principles and ancient Jewish values. But with my projects, I am not trying to convince the haters and the anti-Semites. Rather, I am speaking to the a-political silent majority, in their living rooms and on their mobile phones. I am on the offensive side of the field, and this is where we can score goals with the silent majority.”
