Gala for Israel’s 70th to be held at Trump’s Mar-a Lago resort
Published February 5, 2018
(JTA) — An event marking Israel’s 70th year will be held at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The event scheduled for late March is organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which is selling tickets for $1,000 per table, Haaretz first reported.
Speakers at the event will include U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley; Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon; and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
In August, nine groups cancelled planned galas at the Florida resort owned by Trump.
Among the cancellations were American Friends of Magen David Adom, the U.S. fundraising arm of the Israeli Red Cross organization. Some of the groups that canceled their events in August cited Trump’s response to the far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the reason for canceling. In other cases, groups said the venue was detracting from the message of their events.
The Boca Raton, Florida-based group “The Truth About Israel” is scheduled to hold its gala at Mar-A-Lago on February 25. Among the speakers will be former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon, three Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Ron Desantis, who is running for Florida governor; and Jewish Olympic swimmer, Mark Spitz.
The group says on its website that The Truth About Israel is a not-for-profit company formed “to educate and train the public about the facts of Israel in today’s world. Our mission is to advocate for Israel, covering the core values of the state of Israel, and the fundamental rights and justice for the Jewish people.”
The club makes $100,000 to $275,000 for such events, according to the Washington Post. Trump has frequently made weekend visits to the resort since becoming president.
