In a particularly emotional evening hosted at the private home of Israeli-Canadian businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams in Tel Aviv, Make-A-Wish Israel celebrated 30 years of activity under the slogan “Bring the hostages home now.”
The event featured a moving performance by singer Tamir Greenberg, who sang Bring You Home and dedicated it to the family of hostage Alon Ohel, who attended the evening with hope and prayer for his return along with the return of all 50 hostages.
Among those present: ambassadors of the organization Bar Refaeli, Tzipi Refaeli, Dvir Benedek (president of the organization), Tamir Greenberg, Stephane Legar, Lior Suchard, Yoseph Haddad, Dana Zarmon, Lior Halfon, Amir Dadon, Danny Kushmaro, and Ashley Waxman Bakshi.
During the evening, we spoke with Benedek, who opened his heart and shared moving personal stories, his perspective on the organization’s mission, and the childhood dream that still burns within him.
Tell us where we are today.
“We’re at the home of Sylvan Adams, who generously agreed to host our annual Make-A-Wish fundraising event here. Make-A-Wish is the organization that raises money to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. I’ve been involved with this foundation for about ten years, and we raise money through the sale of wishes. You can buy a wish and witness how you changed the life of a boy or girl.”
How does it feel to be part of such a special evening?
“The feeling of being part of Make-A-Wish is something I’ve known for ten years already. I can’t imagine myself without it—without doing something that truly gives real meaning to the love we receive from the public.”
What do you think is the power of celebrities attending these kinds of events? How much does it really make an impact?
“It’s wonderful. It has an effect in so many ways. It raises awareness. Celebrities lift awareness, celebrities bring smiles, people like being near them—so they come. It’s wonderful. We work on that and everyone collaborates, because it really is a sacred cause. We’re a consensus, okay? And it’s fun to be a consensus.”
Thinking back to your own childhood, what was your biggest dream as a kid?
“Wow, wow. My dream was to be a racecar driver. At age 15 I really wanted it. I signed up for a course in England. My father agreed, but then I wasn’t accepted because I was overweight.”
If you could grant one child a wish, what kind of wish would you want to fulfill?
“I’m constantly fulfilling wishes through the organization, but this is a very important point you raised: it’s crucial that we fulfill the children’s dreams—otherwise it doesn’t work. The child must want the wish, not the father, not dad’s computer, not mom’s vacation. That’s why we have interviewers trained to draw out the child’s own wish. We don’t judge them. It might be a very simple wish, sometimes even a very cheap one—but it’s their wish, and we make it happen specifically for them, because it has to be precise. We had a child who wanted Trump—he wanted it, we didn’t force it. And we have all kinds of kids who want all kinds of things.”
If you were granted one wish right now, what would you ask for?
“World peace.”