The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Zionist Organization of America is thrilled to announce our deserving honorees for our 2025 Night of Appreciation on Wednesday, Sept. 17, Constitution Day.

It has been a year of stress and duress for the pro-Israel community and for the Jewish People. On this evening we will pull together, re-energize one another, learn from the wisdom and intelligence of our speakers and be stronger than ever for the fight ahead.

Stacy Garrity, treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a stalwart supporter of Israel, will receive our Defender of Israel Award.
Steve & Elaine Crane, warm and wonderful Communal leaders & advocates for the Jewish community, Zionism and Israel will receive our Pillars of the Community Award.
Dr. Victoria Coates of the Heritage Foundation, a true thought leader on international affairs with an emphasis on the Middle East who can take complex issues and distill them for the world to easily understand via her books and articles, will receive our Ben Hecht Award for Outstanding Journalism.

We will have a great evening to honor and hear from these giants, enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded others and dine on delicious kosher food and drink and support the vitally important work of Greater Philadelphia ZOA at the Hilton Philadelphia City Line. Our Master of Ceremonies will be communal leader and patriarch Gary Erlbaum, and ZOA National President Morton A. Klein will deliver his always-stirring national address.

Please consider placing an ad in our Ad Journal to thank and congratulate our honorees and/or to promote a business or service. Please also attend this event in-person to benefit from all that our Night of Appreciation has to offer.

You can purchase individual admissions, reserved tables of 10, plus ads and notices either by check (preferable) or online. See information below. All full-page ads include admissions to the event.

See the links and images below.

Have questions? Please call us at 610-660-9466.

Ad Journal/Tribute Book brochure (includes options for ads and notices, tables of 10, individual admissions, donations and option to pay by check:

https://philly.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/08/gala-night-ad-form-blank-2025-7-email-electronic.pdf

Or:

https://tinyurl.com/2025adjournalbrochure

Eventbrite page:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greater-philadelphia-zoas-night-of-appreciation-tickets-1542881783949?aff=oddtdtcreator

 

 

 

 

The Greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Chapters of the Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel organization in America, have asked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to rescind a $5 million grant from commonwealth taxpayers to the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, a Philadelphia mosque, community center and school that has a history of anti-Jewish activity and that also misrepresents contemporary and historical facts to incite Jew-hatred among its community and beyond.

“We were saddened to learn that you have awarded a grant of $5 million in commonwealth taxpayer funds to an anti-Jewish mosque/community center/school in Philadelphia,” begins our letter.

We added: “Leaders of the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia have literally erased Israel from the map; they promote lies about Jews so as to incite Jew-hatred; they promote events and speakers that are viciously anti-Jewish; they perpetuate the false narrative that the Palestinian-Arabs of the Gaza Strip are the victims of Israeli aggression when in fact it was the Gazans who perpetrated the massive slaughters, rapes and savagery against Israelis on Oct, 7, 2023 and who still hold captive dozens including an American citizen as well as the remains of dozens more Israelis.

“This mosque has additionally promoted the lies that the Jewish People committed ethnic cleansing of ‘Palestinian’-Arabs, occupy ‘Arab’ lands, destroyed hundreds of Arab communities, carried out genocide and commit ‘apartheid.’ The only reason for spreading such outrageous and demonstrably false claims is to incite Jew-hatred, and the reasons to incite Jew-hatred are to instigate violence against Jews and Jewish institutions and also to motivate political activity against those who support Jewish self-determination and the well-being of Jews.

…

“Five million dollars is a huge sum of money. It will enable such a mosque and its school to foment even more Jew-hatred throughout their community as well as throughout our region, and to indoctrinate even more young Muslims against Jews and Israel.

…

“Please rescind this grant. Please do your due diligence before considering funding an anti-Jewish entity. Please actively fight anti-Jewish activity in the commonwealth rather than support it.

“What the Jewish community and all decent Pennsylvanians need and deserve is less Jew-hatred and less promotion of lies rather than more of the same. We call on you to rescind this grant and to set a good example for all Pennsylvanians and all of America: that Jew-hatred will be punished, not rewarded.”

Shapiro awarded the mosque the grant to expand the mosque and its school in late March – despite it’s anti-Jewish and anti-fact record.

The Al-Aqsa Islamic Society has made false and outrageous claims including that Israel is a “colonial state” that destroyed “Palestine” in May of 1948; that “more than 78 percent of historic Palestine had been taken over by Zionist forces;” and praising “martyrs” killed by “the bullets of the occupation.”

Read our letter in its entirety at: https://tinyurl.com/zoashapiro

If that link is broken, see: https://philly.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/04/letter-zoa-shapiro-philadelphia-pittsburgh-mk-with-screen-shots.pdf

We want to let you know about an action that we have taken in response to a vile anti-Jewish demonstration outside of Philadelphia City Hall and in surrounding streets this past Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. There were actually people praising the slaughtering, raping and hostage-taking of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, as well as people wearing Hamas paraphernalia. Such activity in a civil society is unacceptable, and we have asked Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker to condemn what took place literally right beneath her office window.

In addition, we have asked to meet with the mayor to discuss this event and other anti-Jewish activity in the city – including by agencies that her office oversees – and we asked her to play an active role in remedying a city and a society where such slogans and symbols representing mass-murder, rape and violence are both displayed and acceptable.

In addition to the letter, which is excerpted below, we sent Mayor Parker a sample of photos from the anti-Jewish demonstration – a few of those images are below.

We encourage you to phone the mayor’s office – if you call, PLEASE be civil and concise – and support what Greater Philadelphia ZOA is calling for. The phone number for the mayor’s office is (215) 686-2181.

See a portion of our letter and a few images below. Please note that the images are disturbing and upsetting, and view with caution.

“Dear Mayor Parker,

“Philadelphians have much to celebrate – most recently that our Eagles are headed to the Superbowl once again. While the city eagerly anticipated the NFC conference championship on Sunday, Jan. 26, the previous day, other Philadelphians were celebrating mass-murder, mass-rape, massacres of civilians and the kidnapping of toddlers and the elderly for more than 15 months.

“Yes, just below your City Hall office window, a miscreant of the lowest magnitude waved a huge flag emblazoned with the message “Long live October 7th” as part of an anti-Jewish protest.

“On October 7, 2023, thousands of Palestinian-Arabs – led by Hamas though not exclusively Hamas members – invaded the Jewish state of Israel on a morning that was both the Jewish Sabbath and a significant Jewish holy day. They murdered everyone that they could –- overwhelmingly civilians — and in the most barbaric ways possible. Israeli Jews were burned alive, others were shot in the genitals to cause maximum pain before being murdered, and some were beheaded. They raped women and girls, and others they mutilated.

“The Palestinian-Arabs murdered some 1,200 individuals in all on that one day. They took an additional 250 captive including a nine-month-old infant. They physically injured thousands and traumatized millions of Israelis plus Jews the world over. Among those murdered, raped or taken captive were Americans. The Palestinian-Arabs in Gaza still hold captive three Americans.

“Something to celebrate?

“Others on Saturday who stood below your office window wore bandanas reflecting their support for Hamas, which is a United States designated terrorist organization that has murdered hundreds of Americans and calls for the murder of all Jews worldwide (plus members of Rotary Clubs and Masons). Still others on City Hall apron held signs and repeated chants calling for the total annihilation of the Jewish state of Israel. Many waved the flag of the terrorist group the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has also murdered hundreds of Americans and today financially incentivizes people to slaughter Jewish civilians. Others held signs claiming falsely that Zionism – the Jewish people’s movement for self-determination – is “racist” and “fascist.””

…

“We call on you to please condemn the evil that took place outside of City Hall on January 25. To be silent is to give it consent. Further, we ask you to work with our chapter to implement reforms where possible to prevent this evil from growing and spreading and becoming more acceptable.”

…

“As mayor, you are the leader of the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia cannot be the City of Brotherly Love when some Philadelphians support deliberate, pre-meditated murder, rape and hostage-taking of fellow Americans and of Jews.

Some of our chapter’s leadership would like to meet with you to discuss tangible ways to stop the evil that is Jew-hatred from being promoted in city agencies and taking root – before there is a catastrophic manifestation of Jew-hatred. Our nation’s 250th anniversary is coming up. Philadelphia will rightly be a focal point. We do not want the city’s reputation harmed or the city embarrassed as a haven for Jew-hatred and support of violence.”

…

 

 

 

It is worthwhile for Israel advocates to be in frequent contact with members of Congress and their staffs to discuss legislation, to give feedback and input on issues of importance, and to thank members of Congress for their pro-Israel statements and votes. Likewise, it is important for constituents to let their lawmakers know that they object to anti-Israel positions and votes.

When engaging in advocacy, always be civil, polite and concise. Accord aide and staff of lawmakers the same respect and deference you would give to lawmakers.

ZOA is a non-partisan organization and we believe that support for Israel should be a non-partisan issue.

See our guide (including new senators and House members) at: https://philly.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/contacting-congress-updated-011425-a.pdf