Eli Avidar Appointed Deputy Chairman of The Gertler Family Foundation

LONDON, May 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Gertler Family Foundation, a registered charity established by Dan Gertler in 2006 to promote social welfare projects around the world, announces the appointment of Eli Avidar as Deputy Chairman.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120528/533601 )

Mr Avidar is currently the Managing Director of the Israel Diamond Institute and a former official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, where he was instrumental in leading a number of peace initiatives in the region.

He currently chairs the Smart Middle East Forum, a think-tank advocating alternative approaches to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and has recently published a book on conflict resolution in the Middle East. Mr Avidar is also chairman of The Leadership Empowerment Society, an NGO that empowers grass roots groups all over Israel to take action over social and political issues in the country.

The Gertler Family Foundation is an international organisation that operates primarily to promote the social welfare of the people of the DRC, focusing its work in the areas of health, education and care for the elderly, having directly and indirectly invested over $150m in the region over the last five years.

Recent initiatives have included assistance to the St Raymond Health Centre in Nganda Yala which provides care to 60 malnourished children. Donations from the Foundation have enabled the Health Centre to build a modern, multipurpose classroom as well as receive vital medical supplies.

The Foundation is also providing food, clothing and medical supplies for 200 children at the Kimbondo Pediatric Centre and will be, alongside other partners, providing funding as part of Operation Smile in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, which provides free surgeries to children and adults born with cleft lip and palate.

Eli Avidar, Deputy Chairman of the Gertler Family Foundation, said:

"I am honoured to be appointed Deputy Chairman of the Foundation. I have witnessed first hand the work the Foundation is carrying out in the DRC and the transformational impact it is having on those most in need.

"The Foundation underpins Dan Gertler's long standing commitment and belief in Africa and I look forward to working closely with the Government of the DRC and other agencies to continue to improve the welfare of the Congolese people."

Notes to Editors

Eli Avidar - Full Biography

Eli Avidar was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1964 and graduated from university in Jerusalem with a B.A. in Middle East and General Studies, and, in 2009, completed his M.A. degree in Middle Eastern Studies at the Tel Aviv University.

From 1996 to 1998, Avidar was responsible for the Foreign Ministry department dealing with Inter-Religious affairs and was active in developing contacts with Muslim leaders in countries with which Israel had no diplomatic relations.

In 1998, Avidar was appointed as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, and, in 1999, as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ariel Sharon.

From 2001-2005, he was Consul-General in Hong Kong, promoting Israeli exports and the Israeli business presence in Hong Kong.

In 2006, after returning to Jerusalem, Avidar was given the responsibility for humanitarian and economic contacts with the Palestinian Authority within the Middle East Economic Division of the Foreign Ministry.

In October 2006, Mr Avidar was Managing Director of the Israel Diamond Institute.

In 2008, Avidar founded, and is the head of, The Smart Middle East Forum and became Chairman of The Leadership Empowerment Society in 2010.

SOURCE The Gertler Family Foundation