Sylvan Adams honors parents memory at Tel Aviv University tree planting
Adams planted two Plane (Platanus) trees as a token of appreciation for his parents' efforts for, and connection with, the university.
By ZACHARY KEYSERUpdated: APRIL 5, 2021 06:40(L-R) President of Tel Aviv University Professor Ariel Porat, pictured next to Sylvan and Margaret Adams(photo credit: Courtesy)
Canadian-Israeli philanthropist, and co-owner of Israeli World Tour cycling team Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN), Sylvan Adams planted two trees at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in memory of his parents on Sunday.Adams' parents, Marcel and Annie, had contributed to TAU for decades before their passing. Marcel was a Canadian real estate investor and Holocaust survivor. He died last year at the age of 100 in Montreal.Adams planted two Plane (Platanus) trees as a token of appreciation for his parents' efforts for, and connection with, the university.The event itself was attended by the President of Tel Aviv University Professor Ariel Porat, the Vice President for Foreign Relations, Prof. Amos Elad, as well as Sylvan and Margaret Adams.At the tree planting, Adams spoke about his family's deep connection to TAU, which began in part with his parents involvement in the Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University. Adams further expressed hope that future generations of his family will continue to support and honor this connection with the university, to both strengthen "Israeli academia and the State of Israel as a whole," a statement by Adams read.Academic philanthropy and cycling - where the ISN team has graced the roads of France, Italy, Spain and the UAE, among others, wearing the Israeli blue and white as a World Tour team - are not the only arenas Adams has dabbled in to normalize Israel to the world, forwarding the values his parents set forth before him.With some private funding Adams made many Israeli soccer fans’ dreams come true November 2019 when Lionel Messi’s Argentinian squad competed in a rival exhibition match against Luis Suarez’s Uruguayan side in Tel Aviv – showcasing talents of the highest caliber, players that compete in some of the world’s most competitive leagues, such as Serie A, La Liga and the English Premier League on a stage in Israel to countless viewers in addition to the 20,000 in attendance.The match garnered international media attention, and earned Israel a mention in major sport publications such as ESPN, Fox Sports, among others – earning worldwide coverage in multiple languages.The main idea behind Adams’ mission is person-to-person soft diplomacy, and he tries to achieve this aspect in any endeavor he embarks on. Aside from the sports world, Adams was a part of the team that brought Madonna to Israel to perform at Eurovision in “order to have the best Eurovision possible.”Adams is also involved in philanthropy for health and science programs. He was involved in Israel’s mission to be the fourth country to successfully land the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet on the moon in 2019.Additionally, Adams leads health initiatives such as Save a Child’s Heart, which is funded by the Sylvan Adams Foundation – bringing children to Israel from all across the world for life-saving heart surgeries and has treated more than 5,000 children from 62 countries – including the Palestinian territories and African nations.Adams’ dream scenario with all the projects he takes part in is to normalize Israel to the world and fortify hopefully longstanding relationships with other countries – even in countries that the possibility is far out-of-reach due to formal diplomatic ties – that can one day turn into partnerships with the most unlikely entities.
