On the surface, the city of Tel Aviv seems to be a prosperous modern center of commerce, the arts and education. It’s home to Israel’s only Opera House, a symphony orchestra, a dance troupe, and numerous museums and theater groups. But Ira Riklis has seen the other side of Tel Aviv where 40 percent of the city’s residents live at or below the poverty level. That’s why he’s long been a supporter of the Tel Aviv Foundation.
For nearly a quarter-century, the Foundation and its international supporting groups have been funding and developing projects designed to improve the lives of Tel Aviv’s disadvantaged residents. To date, it’s established more than 300 projects and raised $300 million to bring them to fruition. Ira Riklis, who serves on the Board of Directors of the American Committee for the Tel Aviv Foundation, has focused his projects on a single neighborhood—Schoonat Ezra—where he and his family have helped create parks, playgrounds and educational and science centers.