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ADL Gala covered in Jewish Journal

  • January 18, 2019

The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Los Angeles Region held its 2018 annual gala celebration on Dec. 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, featuring award-winners Meredith Jackson, and Shirley and Walter Wang.

The event raised $1.1 million to support ADL’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism and all forms of hate and bigotry. 

Actress Lisa Edelstein served as emcee and issued a call to action to open the evening, which later included several speakers who spoke about recent increases in hate crimes and incidents.

“Through ADL we can be vigilant,” Edelstein said. “We can shine a light on words that lead to deeds that lead to danger and we can be part of the change.”

The UCLA Bruin marching band gave a lively performance and its rendering of the U.S. national anthem was followed by the singing of “Hatikvah” by Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Cantor Lizzie Weiss.

Jurisprudence Award recipient Jackson, executive vice president and general counsel at asset management firm TCW, spoke about the importance of fighting all forms of hatred and bigotry. She recounted a moment from her childhood when she pointed at a twig sticking into a pond and asked her father why it looked bent at the water line. He responded by giving her a quick physics lesson about light refraction. What she took away from his explanation was that what is on “the surface does not always tell the whole story.” Jackson encouraged the audience to look deeper at whether people’s actions are based on bias, even if it they are hidden beneath the surface.

Business leader and philanthropist Meyer Luskin introduced Humanitarian Award recipients the Wangs, who are Christian, noting that the room was filled with people of all faiths supporting an organization that believes in tolerance, justice and acceptance. Shirley Wang is founder and chief executive officer of Plastpro, a fiberglass door manufacturer; and Walter is chairman and chief executive officer of JM Eagle, the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic pipe.

Shirley encouraged the audience to support ADL because “no matter who you are or where you come from, you are vulnerable to injustice.” 

Walter spoke about his Christian faith and how it matched the goals of ADL to seek “righteousness, peace and joy before anything else and for all,” and to give a voice “to those who do not have one.”

New ADL Los Angeles Regional Board Chair Scott Harris described threats to American democracy and implored people at the gathering to fight for a world without hate by using their voices, their platforms and their pocketbooks “to advocate for the rights and morals we hold closest to our hearts.”