Haifa, Bat Yam skies lit up pink for breast cancer

The University of Haifa’s tower and the Neve Nof tower on the boardwalk of Bat Yam – the tallest residential building in Israel – were bathed in pink light on Tuesday night to remind the public of breast cancer awareness month.

The event was organized by the Estee Lauder Group and the Israel Cancer Association, which for the last 13 years in October has selected a different famous building each year.

This year, for the first time, two buildings were lit up.

The academic building is very high and visible throughout Haifa, and the Bat Yam apartment building stands 170 meters and 42 stories-tall. The previous lit-up buildings include Jerusalem’s David’s Citadel, the Bridge of Strings and the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum. The list also includes old Jaffa’s walls, Tel Aviv’s Shalom Tower and trio of Azrieli buildings.

The Estee Lauder Group has also lit up in pink several famous buildings in capitals throughout the world, such as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center in New York, the Sydney Opera in Australia and the Mumbai Bridge in India. It has been part of the international information effort for 20 years.

This year, 70 countries were involved. So far, the group of companies has distributed over 110 million pink ribbons – the symbol of the fight against breast cancer – as well as millions of information booklets.

It has also raised millions of dollars for research to find a cure.

Oren Revah, CEO of Estee Lauder in Israel, said that the aim of lighting up buildings in pink is to remind as many women as possible to go for regular examination – clinical breast exam and/or mammogram – as “the earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better.”

ICA director-general Miri Ziv said that the Estee Lauder Group deserves credit for joining the cancer association in its fight against malignant diseases.

This year’s slogan is “The courage to believe in a world where cancer no longer exists; we promise to remain here until it becomes reality!” Two years ago, the pink-light project was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records under the record for the largest number of sites illuminated for charitable purposes.