Since 2009, Billy Joel has served as a vice president on the national board of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU). The American friend-raising organization is based in New York City and has nine regional offices around the country, including one in Boca Raton.
“Billy has been a stalwart supporter of AABGU, and a central figure in our growth and development in South Florida,” explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president, AABGU. “It is this leadership that has garnered his new prestigious role on the University’s international board, and we look forward to his ongoing contributions in the U.S. and Israel to foster higher education and development in the Negev desert.”
He is a member of BGU’s Negev Society and has been an enthusiastic supporter of its Lillian and Larry Goodman Open Apartments Program, which provides students’ housing in exchange for community service. Joel is chairman of the Florida Friends of the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled and is a founder of the Jack Joel Center for Special Children, named after his brother, at the Hagedorn Little Village School in Long Island, New York. He currently serves on the board of trustees of the Aventura Hospital and Medical Center.
Along with his wife, Sandra, he was honored in 2008 with AABGU’s David Ben-Gurion Award. The Joels have been honored with awards by many local organizations, including the Torch of Liberty Award by the Anti- Defamation League; Couple of the Year at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center; and the Keter Shem Tov Award by the Aventura Chabad. Billy Joel is a Royal Notable for Alzheimer’s and a Founder at the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital at Douglas Gardens.
For more information, contact Joy Felton at 561-705-0119 or jfelton@aabgu.org.
