Established in 1909, the birth of Tel Aviv-Jaffa coincided with the birth of modern Zionism. It is the first Hebrew-speaking city in modern times. Today, it has grown into a remarkable city. The symbolic center of Israeli pluralism and liberalism, Tel Aviv is home to Israeli natives and new immigrants, young couples and senior citizens, business people and artists, religious and secular. Yet, as Ira Riklis is aware, nearly 40 percent of its 350,000 citizens live in poverty.
In order to meet the needs of these people and to help them raise their standard of living, the Tel Aviv Foundation was founded in 1977. The Foundation, which works by raising money to support projects throughout needy neighborhoods, works in partnership with the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa which sets the priority projects through the Mayor and the City Council who provide matching funds (usually dollar-for-dollar) for nearly every project. Ira Riklis and his family have been supporting the Foundation for more than twenty years now, funding numerous projects aimed at bettering the lives of people in one particular Tel Aviv neighborhood, so that they may raise themselves up from poverty and fully participate in the life of this vibrant and unique center of Israeli culture and finance.