Harry Krakowski Honoree Address - Colel Chabad International Awards Gala 2025

I want to I wanted to begin by saying thank you to Kabad to everyone here tonight. Standing here is incredibly humbling because this honor isn't really about me. It belongs to every person in this room and and to every person who chooses to care, to give, and to stand up for the Jewish people. This is something we share. I learned the value of charity long before I ever wrote a check. I learned it from my father, my mother, and my grandparents. In our home, giving wasn't a suggestion. It was simply part of who we were. you gave because it was the right thing to do. The first time that lesson really became personal to me for me was at a Paula meeting in my parents' home for Yadashem. I was young but I remembered the feeling. I remember realizing that Jewish history isn't abstract. It's personal. That night that night stayed with me and in many ways it shaped the per the path I would walk. To my children, Rachel, Sarah, Sophie, and Leia. You are my heart. You are my greatest source of pride. And everything I do is with the hope that I am passing on to you the values that were given to me. My youngest daughter, Leia, decided to make aliyah 18 months ago, which made me be made me beyond proud. To my wife, Sarah. to my wife Sarah. We share a belief in helping wherever we can and wholeheartedly supporting the Jewish people. Thank you for for everything and for being you. To my sister Lily and my aunt Shirley and my cousins Lucy and Norman, thank you for the love and support you have given me my entire life. And to my son-in-laws Sam, Brian, and Jake. and to my in-laws, Rabbi and Mrs. Bernbam, I am deeply grateful to be surrounded by such caring, devoted family. Before Before continuing, I would like to extend a special thanks to Joey Zammy, this evening's caterer, and to Louis of Constantino's Florence, for the beautiful decorations which he created and provided for free while mourning his late his late father who passed away this past Saturday. This dinner comes very close to the passing of a dear family friend, Robert Deso, who should have been here with us tonight. Robert traveled with me to the annual B mitzvah celebrations or offerings in Israel. He also traveled with me to his hometown and to my father's hometown, Petraov. These journeys were powerful. His presence made them even more more so. He is deeply missed this evening. I also want to take a moment to remember what we affectionately call the greeners. Each of you taught each of you taught me the resilience, perseverance, and pride in Jewish life. You stood by me and you helped shape the person standing before you tonight. I want to thank my partners, many of whom I won't mention, name mostly to spare you from being approached after the dinner. But then but there's one partner I have to mention. someone who has cost me millions of dollars in charity and I say with that complete honesty every single dollar dollar was worth it. Thank you my dear friend Joel Citron. Tonight is also marked by pain. The Bondai Beach massacre where Jews were targeted and murdered simply for being Jewish is something something none of us should have to comprehend in our lifetime. And yet when tragedy strikes, we know exactly who will be there. Sitting with families who are grieving, holding hands, offering comfort, strength, and dignity, that is Rabbi Tukman of Kabad. That's what they do. After the October 7th massacre, when our brothers and sisters were slaughtered simply for being Jewish, Rabbi Sham Dman, my daughter Leia, and I traveled to Israel, we brought trunks of clothing donated by my wife. We went to listen, to comfort, and to let people know they were not alone. At one point, we rented an amusement park for the children. Not because it erased their pain. It didn't. But for a few hours, they laughed. In that moment, they were just children again. That is what Kaba does. They restore dignity. They restore hope. And they resto and they remind people that even in the darkest moments, the Jewish people stand together. Sarah and I together with the casket children will be adding an additional $100,000 to any funds raised for the victims of Bondi Beach. But I want but I want to end by focusing on something even bigger. In the midst of Andai Beach massacre, we also witnessed extraordinary courage. The heroism of Ahmed Al Ahmed, a man who ran toward danger. who acted decisively to save others and who reminded us what humanity looks like at its best. These his actions show us power of one person. The they illustrate that hate is never inevitable. It is never inevitable. It is only allowed which when people fail to act each and every one of us has the same choice to stand up to step step forward to act forcefully against anti-semitism and Zionism and hate and our apologetically and humanity. Thank you for being here. Thank you for caring and that thank you for standing proudly openly and with the love with the for the Jewish people. I'm Israel Kai.