Honoring
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Join us as we honor Rachel & Howard Hershenhorn, Stacy & Steven Hoffman, Usha & Shashi Patel, and Jodi & Jeffrey Pliskin with the community leadership award.
  
As UJA continues to respond to the ongoing needs in Israel in the aftermath of October 7 and to rising antisemitism here in New York, we know coming together has never been more important. 

This event is intended for donors of $1,000 or more to UJA’s 2025 Annual Campaign.   

Dietary Laws Observed
 

ROLL OF HONOR  
The Inaugural will feature a Roll of Honor. Please join us in demonstrating your support by making a gift to the 2025 Annual Campaign. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.  
  
The deadline for the Roll of Honor is Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Your participation in the Roll of Honor is completely voluntary, although we hope you will agree to have your name listed for the Inaugural and our Long Island Roll of Honor.  
 
Visionary $250,000+
Centurion $100,000+
Pacesetter $50,000+ 
Leadership Circle $25,000+
Ambassador $18,000+ 
Guardian $10,000+  
Patron $5,000+  
Community Leader $1,800+  
Friend $1,000+  
  
A contribution of $10,000 or more includes membership in one or more of UJA’s donor giving societies: Tzedek Society ($10,000+), King David Society ($25,000+), Ambassador’s Round Table ($50,000+), and Prime Minister’s Council ($100,000+). Membership includes exclusive access to briefings, volunteer experiences, missions, and other benefits.

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Show your support for our honorees with a gift to UJA.

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Honoring

Honoree Portrait

Rachel & Howard Hershenhorn

Rachel and Howard Hershenhorn have been dedicated members of their community and leaders in philanthropic endeavors for many years. They met at Solomon Schechter High School and have been married for 35 years. Together, they reside in Great Neck and Water Mill, where they actively participate in community affairs and charitable activities.

Rachel holds a master’s in biochemistry and nutritional science from NYU and has also studied architecture and design at the New York Institute of Technology. Her academic background and professional expertise have been instrumental in her numerous contributions to many important initiatives within the community. Beyond her professional achievements,...

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Honoree Portrait

Stacy & Steven Hoffman

Stacy and Steven Hoffman are a dynamic couple dedicated to bettering the Jewish community and making a positive impact on society. They have been actively involved in supporting various charitable organizations, including UJA, Birthright Israel, FIDF, Hadassah, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Northwell Health’s Katz Women’s Hospital, and Northwell’s Transgender Center. Since its inception, Stacy and Steven have sponsored Northwell Health’s Long Island Transgender, Non-Conforming, Non-Binary (TGNCNB) Community Conference at Hofstra every fall as well as a continuing education conference for medical professionals that focused on a multidisciplinary approach...

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Honoree Portrait

Usha & Shashi Patel

Usha and Shashi Patel were both born in small villages in Kenya. After finishing high school, they went to India for their medical education. When they came to the United States in 1971, they started their residency at LI Jewish – Queens Hospital. Shashi graduated in pulmonary and critical care medicine and Usha as a pathologist.

Shashi continued teaching and started a small practice at Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills where he quickly rose from director of ICU to chief of medicine to medical director. Subsequently he was chairman of the department of medicine and medical director at Northwell Health at LIJ Forest Hills Hospital. Usha took five years off after her residency to...

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Honoree Portrait

Jodi & Jeffrey Pliskin

Jodi and Jeffrey Pliskin have been devoted UJA supporters for many years. They have served as dinner chairs for the North Shore Inaugural, have attended many UJA events, and visited UJA’s nonprofit partners to see the work firsthand. Jewish philanthropy is very important to them and in addition to UJA they have given their support to Hillel, Birthright, and the IDF.
 
Jodi and Jeff have also been very active and supportive of their community synagogue, L’Dor V’Dor, which honored them in 2008. Jodi is a past board member and Jeff served as temple president of the synagogue from 2007 through 2009, as well as serving as executive vice president and on the board of...

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Guest Speaker

Honoree Portrait

Amir Tibon

Award-winning Diplomatic Correspondent, Author

Amir Tibon is an award-winning diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz and the author of The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel's Borderlands (Little, Brown, September 2024), which tells the gripping true story of how he, along with his wife and their two young children, were rescued from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, by Tibon’s own father. This incredible tale of survival also reveals the deep tensions and systemic failures that led to Hamas’s attacks that day. The story was featured on 60 Minutes, and the film rights been optioned...

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Leadership

Fern and Lowell Kwiat



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Questions? Get in touch.
Amy Kulchinsky

516.762.5854