Israel Birthday 2.0
Shasha Grishkov was born in Fanza, Russia and came to Israel with her family at the age of six. She gained recognition as a contestant on “A Star is Born” (Israel’s American Idol) and during the second season, advanced to the semifinals. Sasha has served in the Israeli Air Force’s band as a soloist and has traveled with the band to Paris and other Jewish communities around the world. She currently lives in Tel Aviv.
Rania Jubran is the first-ever Arab-Israeli diplomat to serve in the Foreign Ministry. She comes from one of the most respected and pioneering families in the Arab community in Israel. Rania’s father, High Court of Justice Judge Salim Jubran, was the first Arab to ever serve in that capacity in the country. Her brother, Attorney Assad Jubran, was the first Arab flight attendant to work for Israel’s national, El Al, and was later appointed first Arab director at the Israeli Electric Company.
Born and raised in Beer Sheva, Mirit Greenberg was crowned Miss Israel in the 1997 pageant. Since then, she has modeled for a number of ad campaigns and clothing lines. Mirit got married in 2005 and continued her modeling career into her pregnancy, when she modeled for the for2 collection.
Israeli-born Miri Ben Ari is a Grammy Award-winning violinist, who has been hailed a musical pioneer for creating her unique style that combines classical, jazz, R&B and hip hop music. Miri has helped sell millions of records by collaborating with other Grammy Award-winning artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Janet Jackson and John Legend. Miri was one of Jewish Women International’s “Ten Women To Watch of 2007,” and won the JVibe award for Best Israeli Artist of 2007. She also received the first Israeli Martin Luther King Award from Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, and the “Eternal Flame Award” from the American Society of Yad Vashem for her work as a feature violinist and musical-score writer for Paramount’s Freedom Writers, starring Hillary Swank.
Derrick Sharpe, born in Orlando, Florida, is an American-Israeli professional basketball player. After playing for the University of South Florida, Derrick moved to Israel in 1993 an joined the country’s leading basketball team, Macabbi Tel Aviv. With 11 seasons currently under his belt, Derrick is captain of the team. To date, he has won 11 national championships, 9 national cups and three European titles. He is a crowd-favorite for his tough defence, three-point shooting and clutch plays. Derrick is a naturalized Israeli citizen, and has played for the Israeli National Team (2000-2003), including appearances at Eurobasket in 2001 and 2003.
Cabra Kasai came to Israel when she was just a year old during Operation Moses in 1982. She grew up in the city of Kiryat Malachi and at 13, joined the local municipality choir. When she was 18, Cabra joined the army and served in the Education Corps singing band, where she first met Idan Raichel - a world-famous Israeli musician - who was the musical producer of the band. After completing her army service, Cabra reunited with Raichel and became an integral part of the Idan Raichel Project. Since 2002, the two artists have performed together on world stages across the globe, showcasing Israel’s unique culture and musical talent.
Dao Rochvarger-Wong, was born in Vietnam and arrived in Israel as a refugee in the 1970s. When other countries wouldn’t accept these immigrants, Israel’s then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin granted Israeli citizenship to dozens of Vietnamese refugees. Dao went on to serve in the Israel Defense Forces as a medic, and earned her BA and MBA at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She now represents Israel’s Bank Hapoalim in Singapore.
Raised in Yavne, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Yaniv Kotter completed his military service in the IDF. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he led the Israel Advocacy Program for more than three years, which brought knowledge and opinions to 30,000 people on campus. Yaniv currently works in the financial industry in New York, and plans to move back to Israel in the future.
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