MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release –January 15, 2008
Contact – Marcia Zerivitz, Founding Executive Director
& Chief Curator
301 Washington Avenue. Miami
Beach, FL 33139
T.305.672.5044, ext.
3180 ¥ F.305.672.5933
¥ mzerivitz@jewishmuseum.com
Israeli
Photo Exhibition at Jewish Museum of Florida Sunday, Feb. 10 at 5 pm
In tribute to
IsraelÕs 60th anniversary this year, the Jewish Museum of Florida
and the Israel Consulate in Miami invite you to the opening on February 10 at
5:00 pm of a photographic documentary exhibition about a very unique project in
Israel.
Lior Sasson, the
chief Israeli surgeon for Save A Child's Heart (SACH), will speak on the project that
provides pediatric cardiac care for children from 29 countries around the
world. The photographs in this exhibit are mainly of children, from vastly
different areas of the globe, of all ages, colors and genders. What links them
- and the rest of the 1,800 children - is the fact that they were given the gift
of life by the dedicated Israeli doctors, nurses and support staff who form the
core of SACH.
This
humanitarian effort, based in the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, was
founded by Dr. Ami Cohen in 1995, when he agreed to bring two Ethiopian children
to Israel to be operated upon by the staff, without pay, but with the approval
of the hospital administration. Every Tuesday, a cardiology clinic is held for
Palestinian children from Gaza and the West Bank, who have been pre-screened.
The tireless staff has undertaken numerous medical missions to China, Ethiopia,
Moldova, Jordan and elsewhere, where they evaluate patients and perform
surgeries together with the local personnel. In order to be prepared for the
varying standards in infrastructure and staff, they travel fully equipped for
every possible situation.
On occasion,
some very inspired photographers have joined these missions. The images are
their impressions of SACH, the doctors, surgeons, nurses and volunteers.
Lior Sasson is
Chief Surgeon and Chief of the Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at the
Wolfson Medical Center. He served as a Captain in the Israeli Navy and
graduated from Ben Gurion University's School of Medicine. He completed a
fellowship in pediatric cardiac surgery at the University of Michigan and is a
lecturer at the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. The Peoples'
Republic China has recognized and honored Dr. Sasson for his work in China on
behalf of Chinese children while leading Save a Child's Heart medical missions
there.
Eli Gross, the
curator for the exhibition, began his photography studies in 1974 and from 1976
has been one of the leading industrial photographers in Israel. Beginning in
1985 he has held the post of senior staff teacher of the Photography studio at
Wizo College of Art and Design. He has exhibited his work in museums and
colleges in Haifa and Tel Aviv and has won numerous awards throughout his long
career. Eli has also had his work published on the internet and in photography
journals and articles, commencing in 1975, with the British Journal of
Photography. In 2004 he was chosen as house photographer of Packard Bell
worldwide. Eli has volunteered his services to Save a Child's Heart.
This is the
international premiere of this photo exhibit that will be touring North America
and Europe for the next year and a half. The exhibit will be on display through
February 17, 2008.