In 1977, a group of dedicated individuals founded the Tel Aviv Yafo Foundation to provide a means for Jewish people around the world to partner with Tel Aviv Yafo, the symbolic center of Israeli pluralism and liberalism.

Founders
Shlomo “Chich” Lahat (Mayor of Tel Aviv, 1974-1993)
Israel Gravinsky (first Director General of the Tel Aviv Foundation)
Yosef Carmel
Shlomo Eliyahu
Yona Ettinger
Benno Gitar
Shlomo Magrizo
Israel Polack
Emanuel Rasin
Danny Recanati
Ernest Yefet
Baruch Yekutieli

Shlomo “Chich” Lahat fought in Israel’s War of Independence and continued to serve in the military until retiring in 1973 with the rank of major general. Later that year, he was elected mayor of Tel Aviv. During his two decades as mayor, Lahat oversaw a period of heavy investment in communal, cultural, environmental, and educational facilities. Under his leadership, the city’s coast and beaches were rehabilitated, and significant cultural landmarks were realized, like the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater and the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Ted Arison ‑ Founder of the American Committee for the Tel Aviv Foundation

Born in Tel Aviv in 1924, Ted Arison, moved to the United States in the 1950s, and founded Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972. Long involved in philanthropic efforts, he founded the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, as well as the Arison Foundation. At the time of his death in 1999, Ariel Sharon mourned Arison as “a precious human being, a proud Jew and Zionist, who connected his own lot with that of the state of Israel and the Jewish people in all walks of life.”