The city of Jerusalem and a leading breast cancer organization are teaming up.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in April announced the start of the Israel Breast Cancer Collaborative, slated to launch in the fall.
The collaborative will kick off its efforts with a series of events the last week in October, including a think tank on early detection, a Race for the Cure and an Israel mission delegation of scientists, cancer survivors and activists who want to serve the breast cancer movement in Israel.
The Race for the Cure will be held Oct. 28 outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, but Barkat said the route has yet to be determined. The Komen group expects 7,000 people to participate.
Barkat joked that “as requested, the city walls will be pink.” Asked whether there would be outreach to Palestinians who want to attend, the mayor pledged to make the event accessible, describing it as a “bipartisan, nonpolitical event.”
Brinker said the collaboration is not the beginning of the Komen group’s work in Israel.
“Sixteen years ago, Susan G. Komen’s very first international research grant went to Israel,” she said. “Since then we have funded nearly $2 million in scientific research and community outreach.”
Brinker said the Israel Breast Cancer Collaborative will allow her organization to continue its work with global partners such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Hadassah, as well as new partners in Israel such as the Israel Cancer Association.
Nancy Falchuk, president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, pledged her organization’s support of the collaborative, and promised to bring walkers from Hadassah’s global branches.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and his wife, Hadassah, along with Ned Siegel, former ambassador to the Bahamas, and his wife, Stephanie, are co-chairs of the collaborative. Joining the partnership are three other organizations: Breakthrough, a cancer prevention charity in the United Kingdom; the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation; and Sharsheret, a nonprofit for young Jewish women diagnosed with breast cancer. — jta
Information: www.reg.co.il/komen