Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, Ph.D, Executive Director of American Friends of Rabin Medical Center

In these challenging economic times, non-profit organizations need to be creative and mindful of donor interests. American Friends of Rabin Medical Center has responded with two new exciting initiatives. We launched an annual event, which we hope will spread to cities across the United States. The NYC Schlep: Jewish Breast Cancer 5k Run/Walk attracted hundreds of donors and enthusiastic participants from across the United States to help raise awareness of the high incidence of breast cancer among Jews. Thank you for joining us and being our partners in this initiative to fund research at Israel's Rabin Medical Center to help cure and treat breast cancer among Jewish women.

Our second initiative, the Rabin Fellows Exchange Program, brings Israeli doctors from Rabin Medical Center to train with expert doctors in specialized medical institutions in America. In recent months, Rabin Fellows traveled to Las Vegas and New York City for focused training in the field of orthopedics and urology. At the same time, we envision American doctors visiting Israel's Rabin Medical Center for training in the fields of emergency and trauma medicine, genetics, oncology, and other specialties. Please help us expand the program by sponsoring new Rabin Fellows who will create strong medical partnerships between Rabin Medical Center and the United States.

To all our friends and supporters, to corporations, foundations and Jewish Federations across the United States, we thank you for helping Israel's premier medical institution at a time of great uncertainty in the Middle East. Your friendship not only ensures the advancement of Rabin Medical Center, but also guarantees that hospitals in Israel will be a shining light unto the nations.

Thank you for your friendship and kindness.

Joshua Eli Plaut, Ph.D.
Executive Director, American Friends of Rabin Medical Center

Abraham "Barry" E. Cohen

As always, I found my recent trip to Israel uplifting. No matter the pressures both internal and external, there is a sense of forward motion that remains constant.

Here at home earlier this summer on a hot Sunday morning in Manhattan, we experienced a similar forward motion. At a time when many a New Yorker flees the city, Joshua Plaut and the organizational team managed to bring together a sizable gathering to launch AFRMC's NYC Schlep in support of breast cancer research at Rabin Medical Center's Davidoff Cancer Center. He also managed to alert The Wall Street Journal of the event by sharing the touching story of a young woman who gathered her family and friends to take part in our event on behalf of her 27-year-old cousin in Los Angeles, recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The result was an article that appeared in the newspaper the day before our event, thereby, bringing more attention to the fight against this cruel disease.

Yvonne and I enjoyed seeing our grandchildren alongside the children of AFRMC staff and volunteers exuberantly passing out t-shirts, holding up signs and proudly helping NYC Schlep participants. It was comforting to see that our efforts to support organizations such at this one rests in the best of hands and forward motion is a given.

I look forward to seeing you again this fall. Thank you as always for your support of a truly great medical center that holds promise of a better future.

Abraham "Barry" E. Cohen
Chairman, American Friends of Rabin Medical Center

Dr. Eyran Halpern, Chief Executive Officer of Rabin Medical Center

This year marks the 75th birthday of Rabin Medical Center, which began as a small building in 1936 and stands today as one of the finest and largest medical centers in Israel. It would be impossible for the founders to recognize the hospital today, yet our mission to be the leading medical institution in Israel, in treatment and quality of medicine, has remained at the core of our existence.

The past year marked some outstanding achievements and improvements at the hospital. Construction at the Jusidman Emergency and Trauma Center is moving along at a fast pace. We have already completed the three underground parking levels and are now constructing the main emergency floor. Expected to be completed in 2013, additional funding is still needed to bring this project to realization. We relocated and refurbished our neurology and ophthalmology ambulatory clinics and are now in the process of building a new advanced center for pulmonary care, the largest in the country. Additional funding is also needed for this project.

We made several inroads in 2011 on the frontier of new technologies for advanced diagnosis and treatment. These included the installment of a state-of-the-art Digital Tomosynthesis Mammography, the full implementation of our fourth linear accelerator, the most advanced available today, with an additional one expected soon. Thanks to the very generous donation of Eliezer and Gadi Peleg we purchased the Da Vinci robot for robot assisted surgery, for gynecological surgical procedures.

In closing, I thank you all for your generous support that has helped us to continue our 75 year legacy as a leading renowned medical facility for all the citizens of Israel.

Dr. Eyran Halpern
Chief Executive Officer, Rabin Medical Center