This Sunday, May 3, at 5:00pm PST, the Israeli-American Council (IAC) will host a star-studded virtual concert featuring some of Israel’s most well-known musicians as part of an online fundraiser to raise money to support healthcare workers on the front lines battling the COVID-19 pandemic across the US.
Hosted by Israeli actress Shani Atias, the event will feature musical performances by the likes of Idan Raichel, David Broza, Rotem Cohen, Shlomi Shabat, and Keren Peles, all of whom will be broadcasting from the confines of their homes.
The event will open with a live-portrait painting of photographer Ziv Koren by artist Tomer Peretz, which will be donated thereafter to a New York-based hospital. All of the proceeds from the benefit show will go directly towards supporting healthcare workers.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has devastated communities across the world, especially in the US, where the virus has far surpassed the number of total deaths and confirmed cases any other country has reported.
Nurses, doctors, and hospital staff, despite having been some of the most hard-hit victims, continue to risk their lives every day for the well-being of others, even in the face of massive personal protective equipment shortages.
Every day we come, there are new patients. Things are changing all the time, and we have to keep up with all the changes, and the patients, and learn everything on the go,” Levi Levine, a 40-year-old nurse working in the isolation ward for patients suffering from COVID-19 at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post.
“It feels like a movie,” he said. “But it’s real life now.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, the IAC Care initiative has recruited volunteers to deliver supplies like face shields, medical and N95 masks, and hygiene kits, in addition to warm meals, to hospitals across the organization’s 20 regions.
“Over the past two months, our IAC Care program has been embarking on incredible initiatives around the country to help support healthcare workers during these extraordinary times, because they are the heroes who deserve unwavering support for what they have had to go through,” said Shoham Nicolet, CEO and co-founder of the Israeli-American Council.
“I’m humbled by the spirit of our community, already adopting over 40 hospitals nationwide and providing them with thousands of meals and medical supplies. This event will be the backwind and fuel for their work,” he added
.Rock band Queen and singer Adam Lambert are also raising money for health workers fighting COVID-19 with their new single "You Are The Champions," an updated version of classic hit "We Are The Champions" recorded on mobile phones under lockdown.To register and donate, visit the event page here. Cassandra Gomes-Hochberg contributed to this article.