Greater Philadelphia is elated to announce the honorees for our 2016 Annual Gala, as well as opportunities for you – our members, friends and supporters – to help make this our best and most successful Gala yet (please see below for details).

Our 2016 Greater Philadelphia ZOA Gala honorees are:

• Andrew C. McCarthy, best-selling author and contributing editor at National Review, will receive our Ben Hecht Award for Outstanding Journalism and he will be our keynote speaker for the evening.
• Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who represents Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, will receive our Friend of Zion Award.
• Amy and Eric Clayman, will receive our Pillars of the Community Award. Amy is president of the Jewish Community Relations Counsel of Southern New Jersey. Eric is immediate past president of Congregation Beth El in Voorhees.
• Rabbi Steven Saks, religious leader of Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth Congregation in Wilmington, will receive our Guardian of Israel Award.

See more on each of them below.

Our Gala will take place on Thursday, September 15, at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue, 4200 City Avenue, in Philadelphia.

As always there will be our 90-minute cocktail “hour” featuring a substantial, full buffet dinner consisting of glatt-kosher items from a variety of stations; our streamlined award ceremony featuring inspiring remarks from our honorees on the subjects of Israel, patriotism and Zionism; and a sumptuous dessert buffet. Plus an opportunity to mingle with our honorees and network with like-minded others from throughout the region and beyond.

Tickets will be on sale shortly for this grand event. You can reserve space now in our Gala Tribute Book and Ad Journal to thank and congratulate our honorees and/or promote your business or service. Please see images of our Ad/Notice Form below. Click on each image to enlarge. You can then print them.

There are a number of ways you can participate in making sure that our Gala is a wonderful, celebratory evening and also that it is a financial success to help nourish the many pro-Israel educational, advocacy and outreach activities and initiatives that we hope to offer the community in the coming year.

• You can help us with any of the several mailings we will have over the next month, including our first significant mailing this Friday in the Bala Cynwyd vicinity. For location and time, please contact our office by email ([email protected]) or by phone at 610-660-9466.
• You can help us by placing an ad in our combination Tribute Book and Ad Journal – particularly if you own a business or are a service-provider. You can also invite businesses and service-providers whom you patronize and have a relationship with to help promote their business or service to potential new customers and clients while funding Greater Philadelphia ZOA’s vital work with an ad in our Ad Journal. Some ads include Gala tickets, so that you or they can also attend and enjoy this wonderful event. For the Ad Form, email us ([email protected]) or call us at 610-660-9466. .
• You can volunteer at the Gala itself, helping us set up and distribute literature that afternoon, or helping to register and check-in Gala attendees.

For more details regarding ads and notices, and/or to volunteer at the event, please email us at [email protected] or call our Office at 610-660-9466.

Greater Philadelphia ZOA appreciates each and every volunteer and donation.

More on our honorees:

Andrew C. McCarthy is a much-in-demand commentator and a former chief assistant U.S. Attorney in New York best known for leading the prosecution against “the Blind Sheik” and 11 others for waging a terrorist war against the United States – including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a plot to bomb New York City landmarks. He is a senior fellow at National Review Institute who writes frequently about Israel.

U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick was first elected to Congress in 2004. He was re-elected in 2010 and has term-limited himself. A lifelong resident of Bucks County, before being elected to Congress, he served on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners for 10 years. While in Congress, he has been a staunch supporter of Israel.

The Claymans reside in Cherry Hill and have two sons, Garrett and Joshua. Both sons attended Kellman-Brown Academy where Amy was a trustee and served as treasurer. Amy is the principal of Financial Fluency, LLC a boutique firm which provides outsourced accounting and CFO advisory services. She serves on both the Executive Board and Finance Committee for the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. Eric is a partner in the law firm of Jenkins & Clayman assisting debtors in bankruptcy cases. Amy’s parents, Bill and Barbara Hoffman, are longtime supporters and members of ZOA. Eric’s mother, Natalie, remembers her father, Max Kanfer, attending ZOA meetings in the 1950’s. The family are members of Congregation Beth El in Voorhees.

Rabbi Steven Saks heads the Delaware Association of Rabbis and Cantor’s as well as the Vaad HaKashrut of Delaware. Before his current pulpit, he was the religious leader of Adath Zion Congregation in Philadelphia. He serves on the board of the Albert Einstein Academy, has done two stints with Volunteers for Israel and has participated in the Jewish Big Brother/Sister League as a Big Brother. He holds a black belt in Jiu Jitsu.