American Friends of Rambam is a family of extraordinary individuals who, in supporting Rambam, are finding meaningful ways to affirm their highest values.
We are honored to highlight a few of these friends, who are enabling Rambam to deliver transformative medicine in Israel and around the world.
Herta and Paul Amir
For Herta and her late husband Paul Amir, their connection to Israel traces back to the pioneering days of the new state. After surviving the Holocaust in his native Slovakia, Paul Amir immigrated to Haifa, and was sent to settle a kibbutz near Israel’s northern border. Eventually moving to the United States, where he married his wife, Herta, Paul Amir went on to achieve substantial business success in California. In their philanthropic efforts, the Amirs chose to support Rambam Health Care Campus and the residents of the city that still remains close to their hearts. The Herta and Paul Amir Internal Medicine Building, the Herta and Paul Amir Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit in the main hospital, and the Herta and Paul Amir Pediatric Cardiology Institute in the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, were renovated or built, as well as equipped through the generous support of this remarkable couple.
Meri and Sol Barer
Meri and Sol Barer’s concern for the health and well-being of the children of Northern Israel is immediately evident in the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, whose colorful and welcoming Meri and Sol Barer Play Atrium, Meri and Sol Barer Pediatrics B Department, Barer-Zairi Pediatric Neurology Unit, Meri and Sol Barer Family Room in the Department of Neonatology Intensive Care, all were established thanks to their generous support. Rambam’s supportive and tolerant atmosphere, where patients and staff of all religions, ethnic and social backgrounds work together towards the goal of healing, made a special impression on the Barers. Committed members of AFORAM, Meri Barer also brings her vision and leadership as board president of AFORAM’s Board of Directors.
Liora and Levy Gerzberg
As a Haifa native, Dr. Levy Gerzberg launched his academic career at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology working closely with Rambam, before going on to complete his doctoral studies at Stanford University and make his global mark. Dr. Levy Gerzberg achieved international success in the consumer electronics market with his company Zoran, which he co-founded and led for 30 years. Levy with his pioneering team and technologies enabled the creation, as well as expansion of new markets such as digital cameras, home and car entertainment, digital audio, color printing and more. Now that he is “semi-retired”, Levy is combining his philanthropic efforts with his hobby and passion of open-water swimming. At his suggestion and support, Rambam organizes an annual Swim from the Heart swim-a-thon in Haifa, to raise funds to help end sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. As an AFORAM board member Levy, and his wife Liora of more than 50 years, are working as a team to bring enthusiastic support and a deep concern for Israel’s well-being to the Silicon Valley area. At Rambam, the Liora and Levy Gerzberg Family Foundation Electrophysiology Diagnosis and Treatment Clinic in the Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital, and the Liora and Levy Gerzberg Family Foundation Innovation Laboratory in the Uzia Galil Innovation Center, are two more examples of the Gerzberg’s philanthropic vision and generosity.
