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ZOA Holds Annual Superstar Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street
Reporting and Photos: Lieba Nesis
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) held its annual superstar gala on November 17th 2024 with the VIP reception beginning at 4:30 PM at Cipriani 42nd Street. With kosher food by Foremost and a knockout group of honorees including Gary Schottenstein, Ambassador Gilad Erdan, General Amir Avivi, Shabbos Kestenbaum and Ambassador David Friedman the ticket price of $750 for adults and $99 for matriculated students was a bargain. Guests were greeted by dozens of belligerent protestors as they entered Cipriani a common happenstance when a group is referred to as Zionist. The cheap $99 student tickets unfortunately ensured some agitators would disrupt the dinner as six burly bodyguards struggled to subdue them. As one woman shouted “Free Palestine,” during Ambassador Erdan’s speech his reply “Palestine doesn’t exist” was met with loud applause. President Mort Klein was equally nonplussed remarking the protestors heartened him as an indication ZOA and its existence mattered, having been founded 127 years ago. Mort Klein who was born to Holocaust survivors in a displaced persons camp in Gunzburg, Germany took helm of ZOA in 1993 and has since changed it from a docile moribund organization, to a high profile outspoken right wing forum.
Emcee and television anchor Rita Cosby who was celebrating her 60th birthday did an incredible job at bringing an excitement and glamour to the evening’s festivities. A true Israel lover, Rita’s father valiantly fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising as she documented his heroism in the bestselling book “Quiet Hero:Secrets from my Father’s Past.” Another outspoken Zionist and author, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, penned a new book one million copies of which will be distributed to over 100 campuses without cost entitled “The Ten Big Anti-Israel Lies and how to Refute Them with Truths”-affording the opportunity to clueless students to counter anti-Israel propaganda with a sliver of Dershowitz’s know-how. The dinner hosted a plethora of high profile influencers including Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, Friedlander Group CEO Ezra Friedlander, and Loews CEO James Tisch: however, the absence of Miriam Adelson, who was held up in Israel, was a disappointment.
Chris Ruddy whose Newsmax channel reaches 40 million people, was one of the first to attend Mort Klein’s ZOA dinners in the 1990’s. He introduced real estate mogul Gary Schottenstein, whom he met through their mutual friend Donald Trump, by remarking that Schottenstein saw Trump’s political potential decades earlier remaining a staunch supporter of the President-elect throughout. Schottenstein said he was unworthy of the award as so many others had done more in supporting the Jewish state which he said was deeded to us by G-d; while also heralding the recent revelation that Christopher Columbus was Jewish. Former Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, who now leads Magen David Adom’s Emergency Response Team, was another worthy honoree.
Erdan decried the antisemitism of the UN body which is one third Muslim with over half of its members not even a democracy. Despite Israel being one tenth of one percent of the population Erden blasted the UN’s issuance of 70 percent of its condemnations against the tiny state more than Syria, Russia, Iraq and Iran combined.
The UN which receives $75 billion per year must be defunded, said Erdan, a scenario he felt was plausible under the Trump administration. A similarly hawkish Brigadier General Amir Avivi, lamented the two pronged war Israel faces against the enemy itself and those within the government who seek a ceasefire before the eradication of her enemies. Calling for the necessity of bringing down the Shiite axis, Avivi advocated for sovereignty over Judea in the near future.
The jockeying of hundreds for positions in the Trump administration was amplified by brilliant honorees Shabbos Kestenbaum and David Friedman who made no secret of their desire to be part of the historic administration. Israel activist Shabbos Kestenbaum, the lead plaintiff suing Harvard for rabid antisemitism, expressed his increased pride in showcasing his Judaism since October 7th with a highly visible kippah the only thing he requested from the TV crew at his Republican National Convention debut. Kestenbaum went from being a diehard Democrat to an avid Trump enthusiast helping Trump receive some of his highest percentages among Jewish voters. Despite his nonstop advocacy in the most illustrious places Kestenbaum said the highlight has been the two minutes he spent with hostage Omer Neutra’s parents whose heroism and gratitude was unparalleled. Shabbos urged Jews to fight the war of public opinion with as much gusto as possible as Dershowitz commended Shabbos’s courage in putting his future on the line with his fight against Harvard.
Dershowitz who recommended Ambassador David Friedman for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for his work on the Abraham Accords said he won’t rest until Friedman gets a position in the Trump cabinet. Dershowitz said Israel must remain militarily strong as when it’s weak paradoxically antisemitism increases. His stalwart non-compromising friend David Friedman agreed that the Jews will never overcome the trauma of October 7th with wounded soldiers, orphaned children and widowed wives the most directly impacted. He also said there is only One Jewish State (the title of his book) with Palestinian statehood off the table as self rule in Gaza since 2005 has been an abject failure.
At 9:00 PM Klein concluded with an impassioned speech decrying the Biden administration for giving the Palestinians $300 million this past week with a total of $2.1 billion sent to the Palestinian Authority since October 7th. Had Trump been in office October 7th would never have happened, said Klein, as Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal and rigorous sanctions bankrupted Iran with only $4 billion left in reserves. Klein praised Trump as the most pro-Jewish President in history with his current cabinet picks similarly the most pro-Israel in US history.
Huckabee, Hegseth, Gaetz, and RFK Jr., all personal friends of Klein, were the greatest friends of Israel who were being singled out precisely for that reason, said Klein. Klein noted Trump’s promise to rescind accreditation to universities permitting antisemitism while terminating arms restrictions on Israel. With Palestinians miraculously refusing statehood 8 times, Klein said the days of a two-state solution were over. As guests headed to the lavish dessert table the protestors were long gone-the momentum of their movement has taken a massive blow with a Trump presidency on the imminent horizon.
