About the Honorees
The Tikkun Ha'Lev Award is presented to those whose devotion to at-risk youth in Israel has been remarkable and transformational.
Harriet and George Blank
Harriet and George were both born in Europe. Harriet immigrated to the United States just prior to the Holocaust, while George arrived after. They met in high school and were married shortly upon graduating college. After serving in the US Army, they moved to New Jersey, where George joined Johnson & Johnson and Harriet became a CPA, working in Public Accounting. In 1979, they started their own company, The Med-Tech Group, an international medical products design and manufacturing company.
Harriet is a past president of the Sisterhood at Temple Sholom, past president of the SSB Jewish Community Center in Bridgewater NJ, and former board and executive committee member of the JCC Association. She co-founded the women’s philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of SHWC, and was the treasurer of its Hebrew Free Loan Society. She and George have served on the board of directors of ImpactIsrael, which they have supported since 1990. He is past president of the Temple Sholom and Shari T’filah synagogues, past president of the Jewish Federation of SHW Counties; a member of the national council of AIPAC, and serves on the national leadership of the Conference of Presidents.
Harriet and George were co-chairs of a scholarship endowment campaign for several Hebrew Day Schools, as well as the Bronx Community College. In 2017, George became Chairman of ImpactIsrael. He currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair.
Harriet and George are parents to Howard, married to Sandra Moed, and Leslie married to Josh Ostrin. They are blessed with eight grandchildren, four married-in grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
Amanda and Michael Salzhauer
Amanda and Michael are long term ImpactIsrael supporters and active members of the Jewish community. They are both graduates of Dartmouth College and met while fundraising to build the permanent Hillel house at their alma mater.
As an accomplished social worker in clinical and private practice settings, Amanda is the co-author of The Kindness Advantage: Cultivating Compassionate and Connected Children. She currently serves as co-president of the board of Riverdale Neighborhood House, secretary of the Horace Mann School board, and as a member of the board of advisors of the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact. Amanda is also a volunteer court-appointed special advocate for youth in foster care with CASA-NYC. She holds a master’s degree in social work from NYU
Michael first visited Yemin Orde Youth Village circa 1986. He was amazed by what he saw and felt it was bashert that its new American Friends organization — now ImpactIsrael — had just been formed by his friend and former Dartmouth rugby teammate Bob Goldman. He soon joined its board and over the years has served in various capacities, including treasurer and endowment committee chair.
Michael’s other community and philanthropic involvements have included serving as president and chairman of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, chairman of the Chinatown Business Improvement District, chair of an Israel Bonds division, vice chair of Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, head agent - Dartmouth Class of 1984, and on the board of UJA-Federation of NY. Professionally, Michael is the principal of his family’s investment office, Benjamin Partners.
Amanda and Michael live in the Bronx with their three daughters and two dogs.
Also Recognizing
Karen Sallerson — Former Executive Director Thank you for 14 Years of dedicated Service to ImpactIsrael
2022 ImpactIsrael Board of Directors
Chair
Robert Arogeti
Immediate Past Chair
George Blank
Lifetime Trustees
Dr. Chaim Peri
Paul Silberberg
Mark I. Solomon (Founder)
Honorary Trustees
David Cordish
victor gelb, z''l
Board Members
David Amar
Allen Applbaum
Michael Azeez
Jeremy Barnett
Erica Leigh Bloom
Mark Claster
Michelle Bond Copelin
Jonathan Cordish
David Frieze
Michael Frieze
Charlie Gwirtsman
Victor Hammel
Judy Kaye
Beth Landman
Jason Lazar
Dale Okonow
Rabbi Michael Paley
Harvey Potter
Steven Rosenfeld, M.D.
Michael Salzhauer
Eric Schwartz
Barry Shrage
Lewis Shubin
Robert Shubin
Paula Solomon
2022 ImpactIsrael Board of Directors
Chair
Robert Arogeti
Immediate Past Chair
George Blank
Lifetime Trustees
Dr. Chaim Peri
Paul Silberberg
Mark I. Solomon (Founder)
Honorary Trustees
David Cordish
victor gelb, z''l
Others
David Amar
Allen Applbaum
Michael Azeez
Jeremy Barnett
Erica Leigh Bloom
Mark Claster
Michelle Bond Copelin
Jonathan Cordish
David Frieze
Michael Frieze
Charlie Gwirtsman
Victor Hammel
Judy Kaye
Beth Landman
Jason Lazar
Dale Okonow
Rabbi Michael Paley
Harvey Potter
Steven Rosenfeld, M.D.
Michael Salzhauer
Eric Schwartz
Barry Shrage
Lewis Shubin
Robert Shubin
Paula Solomon
Together, we will elevate education and lift the lives of Israel's at-risk youth.




About ImpactIsrael
ImpactIsrael is the U.S.-based philanthropic partner of Yemin Orde Youth Village and Village Way Educational Initiatives, both located in Israel. Our mission is to transform immigrant and at-risk youth into productive members of Israeli society through value driven education and support.
About Yemin Orde Youth Village
Yemin Orde Youth Village, located on 77 acres atop Mount Carmel in northern Israel serves more than 430 at-risk and immigrant youth from around the world. Most of the children have suffered trauma in their young lives including loss, neglect, abandonment and extreme poverty. At Yemin Orde, they find a home, a family, and a future.
Jewish and Israel education is integrated into daily life at Yemin Orde in a vibrant and meaningful way. Graduates remain connected to the Village, and this lifelong support is a unique element that makes Yemin Orde a model of excellence.
The Village was named for Major General Orde Charles Wingate, an ardent supporter of the Zionist cause. “Yemin Orde” means “in the memory of Orde”.
About Village Way Educational Initiatives
In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Education, impressed by the accomplishments of Yemin Orde, encouraged the Village to expand its innovative methodology to other at-risk populations in Israel, including secular, Ultra-Orthodox, Druze, Bedouin, and Arab Israelis. This resulted in the formation of Village Way Educational Initiatives.
This transformative program has enhanced the spiritual well-being, character development, and leadership potential of first-generation and native-born Israelis who come from poverty-stricken families and broken homes. Village Way Educational Initiatives is impacting all of Israel in many positive ways.
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