Being ourselves: How Israeli-Americans have cultivated a new movement

Originally featured in the Times of Israel. By, Adam Milstein Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” It is a sentiment that I have taken to heart over the past decade, as I have worked to cultivate an Israeli-American identity for myself, my family, and my community. The process of building this identity as a co-founder and, for the past year, as Chairman of the Israeli-American Council (IAC) has been empowering, inspiring, and perhaps most of all, revealing, illuminating the vast possibilities that emerge when you proudly embrace who you are. For many years, Israeli-Americans couldn’t figure  Read More…

The IAC’s Third Annual Conference: Embracing a New Identity, Building a Movement and Changing Jewish Future

Orignial post can be found on the Huffington Post By: Adam Milstein Last month, in our nation’s capital, the Israeli-American Council (IAC) hosted the largest gathering of the Israeli-American community in history. The IAC’s Third Annual National conference brought together more than 2,100 Israeli-Americans and Jewish-Americans of all ages and backgrounds, alongside dynamic leaders from Israel and the Jewish American community, lawmakers from across the entire political spectrum and thinkers changing the conversation about Jewish life. The remarkable three-day gathering made it clear that the Israeli-American community is stronger than ever before. In 2014, the first year the IAC held a  Read More…

The Bizrael Bridge to Israeli Tech and Entrepreneurial Innovation

The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation proudly supports Bizrael, which organizes professional business trips to connect people with Israel’s leading startups, international companies, academia, and other key players behind the Startup Nation. Below, Co-founder and Director Jason Weiss shares how Bizrael harnesses the power of Israeli entrepreneurship to change people’s perceptions.  When we started Bizrael in 2012, we wanted to do something no one else had done in the Israel advocacy world — create a way for students to experience Israel’s thriving startup economy. Since then, thanks to the support of great organizations like the Milstein Family Foundation, more than 1,000 students and  Read More…

Jerusalem Post 50 Most Influential Jews: Number 39 – Adam Milstein

Original post: Jerusalem Post As co-founder of the Israeli-American Council based in California, Adam Milstein’s mission has been to strengthen and support the State of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as the US-Israel relationship. The IAC has been doing so by connecting American Jewry (about 5.5 million) and the Israeli-American community in the US (about half a million). Under Milstein’s helm, the IAC has been called the fastest growing Jewish organization in the US. Milstein was born in Haifa in 1952 and moved to California with his wife, Gila, in 1981, where he became a top real estate agent.  Read More…

Empowering the Israeli-American Identity

Original post: The Jerusalem Post Ten years ago, I was both an Israeli and an American. Now, I’m an Israeli-American. Embracing this unique hybrid identity makes all the difference in the world for more than a million people living in America. A decade ago, Israeli-Americans were, at best, afterthoughts within the Jewish American community. Even though we had US passports, built American businesses, lived in American homes, had English-speaking kids in schools and colleges, we lived “with our suitcases packed.” We assumed we would return to Israel one day and saw little need to cultivate a community. We were disconnected  Read More…

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by applying too soon

By: Hadas Sella, Executive Director of The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation. Originally on Times of Israel When you read this, you might realize this story is about you. Please forgive me. I have the utmost respect for you and your work. However, this lesson is just too valuable not to share. Last month, I was approached by a group of professionals who had a simple yet brilliant idea: They needed $150,000 in order to create a high-quality program that would be taught to three million high school students every year. They told me that their team had the  Read More…

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Israel’s July 1976 Raid on Entebbe: The State of Israel ensures that “Never Again” remains a reality

Original Post: The Huffington Post Seventy years ago, in the wake of the Holocaust, the Jewish people took a vow: Never Again! After the Nazis murdered six million Jews, we came to recognize that we only have ourselves to rely upon for our defense. In today’s tumultuous world, the sole guarantor of Jewish safety is a strong Israeli military. Jews around the world facing mortal danger can count on the State of Israel to protect them. This year commemorates the 40th anniversary of the July 1976 Raid on Entebbe, when Israel demonstrated what Never Again really means. After an Air  Read More…

Israel Air Force F-15 Eagles Over Auschwitz

Original Post can be found in The Jerusalem Post Never again. That was the sacred vow made by the Jewish people over the past 70 years in the wake of the Holocaust. Following the murder of six million of our brethren by the Nazis, the Jewish people have come to recognize that we have only ourselves to rely on for our defense. When the going gets tough, no one else will come to fight for us. And in today’s tumultuous world, the sole guarantor of Jewish safety is a strong Israeli military. Jews facing mortal danger in any corner of  Read More…

Israeli-American Council Brings Israeli Solutions To Address California Drought

Original Post on The Huffington Post by Adam Milstein Like many with hyphenated identities, Israeli-Americans have proven to be uniquely capable bridge builders. In recent years, the Israeli-American Council (IAC), and its partner advocacy organization, the Israeli-American Nexus (IAX), have been able to tap into our community’s unique fluency in both the Israeli and American cultures to build unprecedented partnerships between the people and governments of Israel and the United States. As Chairman of the IAC, I take great pride in the many ways that we are bringing together our two countries by sharing solutions that address our mutual challenges. This  Read More…