Dr. Inna Rogatchi, president of the Rogatchi Foundation, author, film-maker, philanthropist and publicist whose op-eds on Arutz Sheva aattract a wide audience, has become the third person and the first woman awarded the Solidarity Prize by The Patmos Foundation.
In the foundation’s words, the prize was awarded for her ‘life-long mission for the sake of the persecuted Jewish people and the Nation of Israel’ and ‘for an active stand in culture, philanthropy and public life to maintain moral values and decency of human life and conditions; for commitment and achievements in establishing historical justice and spreading the knowledge about it reaching wide international audience; for the passionate and creative approach in the hard labor of memory.”
The Patmos Foundation is a Finnish Christian organisation internationally known for its wide-spread global humanitarian work. Founded by Leo Meller, it operates under the management of its president Pirkko Säilä.
Chairman Leo Laitinmäki told Arutz Sheva that “support of Israel and the Jewish people is the core of the Patmos Foundation’s work”.
Responding to this mission statement at the awards ceremony held in Helsinki, Dr. Rogatchi’s acceptance speech focused on Israel’s increasing isolation, stating that “the solidarity of decent people is needed in order create a fair attitude towards Israel and Jewish causes based on fundamental human rights and moral values, not distorted and manipulated ones.”
This includes educating children “in schools in a way that makes sure they know good from evil,” she stressed. Pulling no punches, she added that it also involves “efforts to establish a fair balance in shamelessly biased media coverage regarding Israel in many countries, Finland included, where public TV and radio broadcast company YLE follows BBC in a shamelessly biased attitude towards Israel.”
The Patmos Foundation has aided schools, donated shelters, supported Holocaust survivors and financed soup kitchens in Israel since it began its work in the 1970’s.
The foundation is also a long-term partner of Magen David Adom (MDA), and has sent Israel several ambulances, MICU’s (mobile intensive care units) and equipment for the MDA blood bank and MDA stations. It has advanced projects at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital and their latest campaign is collecting funds for another equipped ambulance in the aftermath of the Har Nof synagogue massacre.
An active partner of Keren Hayesod in many of that organization’s activities worldwide, it supports aliyah from Ethiopia, CIS countries, Georgia, Argentina and is currently involved in assisting the aliyah from Ukraine.
Present at the awards ceremony were Israel’s Ambassador to Finland, H.E. Dan Ashbel, Director of Berlin Keren Hayesod Bureau, Jacob Snir, Patmos Foundation and Rogatchi Foundation board members, the leadership of the Helsinki Jewish community and the Central Board of the Finnish Jewish community, and other public figures, including Leo-Dan Bensky, the president of the Maccabi World Union.
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