ZOA National President
Morton Klein In Chicago

CHICAGO, IL – July 9, 2002 – The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest, and one of the largest pro-Israel groups in the country announced today that they will be presenting Dr. Pat Robertson, prominent Christian leader, and founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network with the State of Israel Friendship Award at the organization’s annual dinner in Chicago on Sunday, July 14th at the Double Tree North Shore Hotel, at 9599 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, Illinois at 6:30 PM. Also present at the event will be Morton Klein, National President of the ZOA, Congressman Philip Crane (R-IL), Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, Founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jew, and David Roet, Deputy Consul General for Israel, Midwest.

Pat Robertson is the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Inc., and founder of International Family Entertainment Inc., Regent University, Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, American Center for Law and Justice, The Flying Hospital, Inc. and several other organizations and broadcast entities.

Morton Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America will be in Chicago to present the award and is available for media interviews in Chicago on July 14th and 15th.

“As Israel continues to face grave dangers from Palestinian Arab terrorists devoted to the destruction of the State of Israel, we are honoring Pat Robertson as a major Christian leader who strongly supports Israel and its religious, historical and legal right to the holy land,” said Morton Klein, National President of ZOA. “Our organization continues to be dedicated to spreading the message that a Palestinian Arab state is a grave danger to the State of Israel.”

Mr. Klein is nationally regarded as one of the foremost experts on the American Jewish scene on the Israeli-Arab conflict, and has led a series of high profile campaigns regarding Israel on Capital Hill. He is a former economist who served in the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. Mr. Klein is widely regarded as one of the foremost Jewish leaders in the US — “The Forward”, a national Jewish weekly named him one of the top 5 Jewish leaders in the U.S., The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent named him one of the top dozen “Jewish activists of the century”, and a host of other newspapers have recognized his leadership. The Wall Street Journal, in a recent editorial referred to the ZOA as “heroic and the most credible advocate for Israel on the American Jewish scene today.”

The Zionist Organization of America is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the US. With a national membership of over 30,000 and active chapters throughout the U.S., past Presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis and Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver.