Billionaire Sylvan Adams donates $100M to rebuild Israeli hospital struck by Iranian missile

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

JERUSALEM (AP) — Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams on Sunday said he is donating $100 million to rebuild an Israeli hospital that suffered heavy damage from an Iranian missile in June.

Adams announced the gift to the Soroka University Medical Center during a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet. Soroka, which serves southern Israel’s Negev desert region, was struck by a missile on June 19, at the height of the 12-day war with Iran.

“Our answer to Iran is to build back bigger and better,” Adams said. “On the very place where missiles fell, we will build in Beersheba, the capital of the Negev, a state-of-the-art hospital that will be one of the most advanced in the Middle East.”

The donation is part of a broader 1 billion shekel ($300 million) initiative to improve the healthcare system in southern Israel, including construction of a new fortified tower at the hospital. The costs will be divided equally between Adams’ donation, the government and Clalit Health Services, an Israeli health insurer.

Adams, who has supported a number of causes in Israel, many of them in sports, medicine and education, is the co-owner of the Israel Premier Tech cycling team, which announced last month that it was changing its name and moving away from its national identity.

It took the step after it was excluded from a race in Italy over concerns about pro-Palestinian protests and after the Spanish Vuelta was repeatedly disrupted by protests against the team over Israel’s war in Gaza.

At the time, Adams said he would no longer take “an active role” in the team.