Yesterday evening, the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres, opened the Israel Cancer Association's 51st "Door Knock" fundraising campaign. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Yaakov Litzman, Deputy Minister of Health; Prof. Eliezer Robinson, Israel Cancer Association Chairman; Prof. Alexander Levitzki, Israel Prize Winner, and member of the ICA’s Executive Committee; Mr. Leon Recanati, ICA’s Vice Chairman; Mr. Hubert Leven, President of the Rashi Foundation; singer Mrs. Korin Allal; children who recovered from cancer and those who are still coping with the disease; and dozens of ICA volunteers. The ceremony was moderated by Mrs. Miri Ziv, ICA Director General.Mr. Leon Recanati, ICA’s Vice Chairman, handed over the "Door Knock" torch to 2011-2012 Campaign Chairman, Mr. Hubert Leven, President of the Rashi Foundation, who made the first contribution in the sum of one million shekels.
At the ceremony which took place at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, the President said: "Nearly six decades have elapsed since the ICA declared a determined battle on multiple fronts against this deadly disease. Each year thousands of youth knock on the doors of households across Israel and call upon the citizens of Israel to open their hearts, so that we can win this war. We must continue to wage this battle this year as well, in full force. I wish to extend my sincere wishes for a successful Door Knock Campaign. The citizens of Israel have proven once and again the significance of the principle of 'All the people of Israel are responsible for one another'. The Door Knock Campaign is one of the most noble and popular expressions of this social responsibility. The ICA's budget is based solely on the generosity of its donors".
Prof. Robinson, ICA Chairman, also spoke, indicating that "the success of the Door Knock fundraising campaign means saving lives"; and Rabbi Yaakov Litzman, Deputy Minister of Health, greeted the ICA volunteers and said that "the Door Knock fundraising campaign is a window of hope for cancer patients". Prof. Alexander Levitzki, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences, referred to the "Revolution in Cancer Treatment" and instilled sincere hope for a better future. According to Mrs. Miri Ziv, ICA Director General, "upon the conclusion of the Israel Cancer Association Jubilee Annual Door Knock Fundraising Campaign, brimming with activity and achievements, and as the year draws to a close, and a new year begins, we can look back with satisfaction and sum up yet another productive and successful year full of activity for the patients – and against the disease".Singer Korin Allal, who successfully coped with breast cancer, moved the audience with her personal story and song. The participants' eyes welled up with tears as they watched a clip of that was filmed on the morning of the same day at the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Dept. at Hadassah Medical Center Ein Karem, featuring Tomer Globerman, a 14 year old boy, hospitalized in an isolation unit in the dept., who recorded a song that he wrote and composed with the members of the hard rock band Hayehudim, Mrs. Orit Shachaf, Mr. Tom Petrover, and guitarist Mr. Omri Agmon. The connection between Tomer, a leukemia patient who has undergone three bone marrow transplants, and the band Hayehudim, was formed in the project "Transparent Circles of Strength" sponsored by the ICA. Mr. Erez Meshulam orchestrates this ICA project which has been running for 13 years now at the Hadassah Medical Center Ein Karem – and its significance lies in the fact that it helps child cancer patients, their families and community regain their ability to dream and gives them the courage to make their dreams come true.