ON SEPTEMBER 14, at the Newport Beach Marriot Hotel & Spa, Jewish National Fund will bring together both the Orange County and Long Beach communities for their annual breakfast for Israel featuring guest speaker, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Bret Stephens.
Bret Stephens, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is an op-ed columnist for the New York Times. He has previously worked as the foreign-affairs columnist and deputy editorial-page editor of the Wall Street Journal, and as the editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2013 for his foreign-affairs column in The Wall Street Journal, “Global View,” and published his first book, America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, in 2014. In 2005, the World Economic Fund named him a Young Global Leader. Mr. Stephens is a regular panelist on the political talk show Journal Editorial Report. He also holds the distinction of having interviewed every Israeli prime minister since Shimon Peres.
Mr. Stephens has twice been chairman of Pulitzer Prize juries and is a national judge of the prestigious Livingston Awards. He holds two honorary doctorates. In 2014 he was awarded the Professional Achievement Prize by the University of Chicago, a distinction he shares with composer Philip Glass, astronomer Carl Sagan, and Nobel laureate Gary Becker.
In 2014, Penguin published his book “America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder.” Former Secretary of State George Shultz hailed the book as “wise counsel for a constructive, tough-minded, and sensible foreign policy.”
It is a distinct honor and privilege to host such an incredible speaker with a wealth of knowledge right here in our own backyard! When I reached out to Mr. Stephens he was away on holiday, but had this to say, “I’ve been involved with JNF for many years and am a personal donor to the organization. A forest in Israel is named after my late father, Charles Stephens.” L’dor V’dor, which means from generation to generation.”
Jewish National Fund was established more than 100 years ago by a small group of leaders, including Theodor Herzl. By purchasing plots of land, they hoped to establish the groundwork for the birth of our nation of Israel. Over the past 113 years, JNF has evolved into a global environmental leader by planting more than 250 million trees, building over 240 reservoirs and dams, developing over 250,000 acres of land, creating more than 2,000 parks, providing the infrastructure for over 1,000 communities, and connecting thousands of children and young adults to Israel and their heritage.
JNF continues to make a commitment to the land and people in the 21st century. Their mission is to give all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people. To find out more about the event and all the work that JNF does in Orange County, and around the world, please contact Lisa Grier, Director, Orange County at lgrier@jnf.org or 949.260.0400 x986.
Tanya Schwied graduated from New York University, studied abroad in Israel, and currently works as the Coordinator of Outreach and Engagement for the NextGen Department at Jewish Federation & Family Services, Orange County.
