Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

Rambam Health Care Campus is honored and proud to confer the Rambam Award for the Year 2012 upon Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein in recognition of his dedication to building bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews for the benefit of the State of Israel, the Jewish people, and mankind.

Rabbi Eckstein, a citizen of Israel and the U.S.A., resides in both Jerusalem and Chicago where he is founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. He is responsible for opening the untapped reservoir of support for Israel and other Jewish causes on thepart of evangelical Christians. The Fellowship (Keren L’Yedidut) has raised over three-quarters of a billion dollars from Christians for Israel and Jews in need around the world. Rabbi Eckstein uses all media outlets: television, radio, press, and internet to put forward his message of support for a strong alliance between Christians and Jews.

Rabbi Eckstein was for many years an Israeli-Hassidic singer with 6 hit records/ CD’s. He performed for Israeli troops on the Syrian front and in hospitals during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He served as an Advisor to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and was later appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the State of Israel to Evangelical Christians with an emphasis on Latin America. He has also chaired the City of Jerusalem's Public Commission for Strengthening Worldwide Ties to Jerusalem.

Rabbi Eckstein currently serves on the executive boards of directors of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel.On the basis of all the aforementioned, the Nomination Committee has found Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein eligible and worthy of receiving the 2012 Rambam Award.