About Us

Mission Statement

American Friends of Soroka Medical Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the outstanding medical care and breakthrough research at Soroka Medical Center, the leading medical center in Israel and the only major hospital in southern Israel, the country's fastest-growing and most diverse region.

Medical and Scientific Advisory Council
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About Soroka Medical Center

Located in Be’er Sheva in the country’s most diverse and fastest-growing area, Soroka Medical Center is Israel’s leading medical center and one of its largest and most strategic institutions. The sole major medical center for the entire Negev region, Soroka serves over 1.2 million residents, including over 400,000 children, in an area that comprises 60% of Israel’s land. Home to Israel’s newest comprehensive Cancer Center, The Legacy Heritage Oncology Center & Dr. Larry Norton Institute, Soroka Medical Center represents peaceful coexistence in action, providing world-class healthcare for all.

American Friends of Soroka Medical Center team

Board of Directors

Caroline Freidfertig
President

Carlos M. Gutierrez
Vice President

Hillel Caplan
Treasurer

Henri Boll
Board Member

Ran Daniel
Board Member

Dvora Fields
Board Member

David Faramarz Kimiabakhsh
Board Member

Pedro Lichtinger
Board Member

Julie Ratner, EdD
Board Member

Angela Retelny
Board Member

Therese Rosenblatt, PhD
Board Member

Jay E. Selman, MD
President Emeritus

Ruth C. Steinberg
President Emeritus

Itay Wiser, MD, PhD
Board Member

Executive Staff

Rachel Heisler Sheinfeld
Executive Director

Valerie Siebenberg
Donor Relations and Development

Roselyne Freeman
Director, Greater Miami Chapter

Rahel Shamailova
Marketing Manager

Cristina Marzullo
Liaison to Evangelical Community

Kim Amzallag
Development
Consultant

Eliza de Sola Mendes
Development
Consultant

Sharon Plaue
Volunteer
Coordinator

Medical and Scientific Advisory Council

Cheryl Fitzer-Attas, PhD MBA

Chair

Senior Medical Director
Medical Affairs

Jay E. Selman, MD

Chair

Itay Wiser, PhD MBA

Chair

Michael Ackerman, PhD, MD

Retired, Anesthesiologist

Rebecca Amaru, MD

Mount Sinai Medical Center
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science

Paul S. Appelbaum, MD

Columbia University Medical Center
Psychiatry

Craig Blinderman, MD

Columbia University Medical Center
Adult Palliative Medicine

Igor Branovan, MD

Private Practice
Otolaryngology

Abraham Chachoua, MD

NYU Langone Hospitals
Medical Oncology

Gerald Friedland, MD

Yale New Haven Hospital & School of Medicine
Epidemiology

Shimon Glick, MD

Founding Chair of the Dept. of Medicine
Soroka Medical Center

Yitzchak A. Glick, MD

Founder of Efrat Emergency Medical Center
Emergency Medicine

David Goldberg, MD

Columbia Doctors / Columbia University Medical Center
Internal Medicine

Howard Goodman, MD

Northwell Health
Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Oncology

Nelly Huppert, MD

NYU Langone Health
Radiation Oncology

Gal Ifergamen, MD

Soroka Medical Center
Neurology

Arielle N.B. Kauvar, MD

New York University Medical Center
Dermatology and Laser Surgery

Heakyung Kim, MD

Columbia University Medical Center
Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine

Oscar Lebwohl, MD

Professor of Medicine
Columbia University Medical Center

Wallace B. Lehman, MD

Hospital for Joint Diseases
Pediatric Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery

Martin B. Leon, MD

NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Medical Center
Interventional Vascular Therapy

Kenneth Prager, MD

Professor at Columbia University Medical Center
Director of Clinical Ethics

Lynne M. Quittell, MD

Columbia University Medical Center
Pediatric Pulmonology

Marc K. Rosenblum, MD

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Pathology

Jesse Roth, MD

Northwell Health: The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Diabetes Research

Judy Fried Siegel, MD

Jacobi Medical Center
Urology

Linda T. Vahdat, MD

Memorial Sloan Kettering and Norwalk Hospital
Breast CancerOncology

Jonathan Waitman, MD

Weill Cornell Medicine in New York
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

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