Peter Ammon, German Ambassador to U.S.,
and
wife Marliese Heimann-Ammon |
Robert Sugarman, ADL national chair, and
Ido Aharoni, Israeli Consul General |
Henry Kissinger and Abraham Foxman |
Peter Ammon and Henry Kissinger |
Henry Kissinger and David Geanacopoulos |
Peter Ammon and Marliese Heimann-Ammon
with Golda and Abraham Foxman |
Henry Kissinger, Anna Schneider, vice
president of Volkswagen Group of America government
relations, and
David Geanacopoulos |
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
Volkswagen Donates Million Bucks
To Help ADL Fight Anti-Semitism
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM BOXER
ERMANY was the focus of attention as
the Anti-Defamation League recognized that country’s leadership in
the corporate sector and diplomatic realm.
ADL national director Abraham Foxman
presented the automotive giant Volkswagen with the ADL International
Leadership Award. And he honored a German mediator, Gerhard
Conrad, for his diplomatic efforts to secure the release of IDF
Sgt. Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas five years ago.
The president/CEO of Volkswagen Group of
America, Jonathan Browning, noted that his company,
headquartered in Wolfsburg, employs "people from all backgrounds in
many parts of the world." In the United States the company has
opened a factory in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"Volkswagen is determined to be the
world’s leading auto maker," Browning said.
He also announced a Volkswagen commitment
of $1 million for ADL’s work in combatting anti-Semitism and
strengthening its anti-bias education efforts.
Foxman said, "Our partnership with
Volkswagen is so important because it enables us to expand our
horizons and our reach."
"This is a company," he added, "that early
on looked at itself in the mirror in terms of providing restitution
to those Holocaust survivors who suffered as slave laborers. It has
also looked to the future, being the first major European company to
invest in Israel and its single largest European investor."
As an example he cited Volkswagen’s
investment of $500 million in 1995 to establish a magnesium
production facility at the Dead Sea.
The German ambassador to the United
States, Peter Ammon, accepted the ADL Paul Ehrlich-Gunther K.
Schwerin Human Rights Award on behalf of Gerhard Conrad.
"The United States and Germany have to
stand together if you want tolerance and equality," he said.
He quoted German Chancellor Angela
Merkel: "Israel’s security is part of our raison d’etre."
Among the 625 black-tie guests were Fox
News anchor Uma Pemmaraju, Gossip Girls Kelli
Rutherford, pollster Zev Furst, Rabbi Hank
Sheinkopf, Matthew HiItzig, Ambassador Guillermo
Rishchynski of Canada, German Consul General Busso von
Alvensleben, Ambassador Casare Maria Ragalini of
Italy, and Ambassador Witold Sobkow of Poland.
