04/21/2017
Siegal Accepts Award at Annual Meeting
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Article reprinted with permission from the Cleveland Jewish News.
By Amanda Koehn
Michael Siegal, chair and CEO of Olympic Steel and a Gates Mills resident was awarded the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s highest honor at its 113th annual meeting April 20 at B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, which included a video congratulations message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Michael Siegal accepts the Jewish Federation of Cleveland's 2017 Charles Eisenman Award for Exceptional Community Service at the Federation's Annual Meeting April 20 at B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike.
Siegal was recognized for his work in the Cleveland Jewish community. He is on the board of trustees for the Federation and is immediate past chair of the Jewish Federations of North America.
In his acceptance speech, Siegal discussed how even in a time when there are splits in the Jewish community across political issues and beliefs, it is important to put helping others above disagreements on issues.
“We are all responsible for one another,” he said. “We have to respect each other and not judge each other. We have to ultimately make sure we are caring for the people who have no voice.
In the video message, Netanyahu said Siegal was a “personal friend for many years” and that Siegal will carry his “passion for the Jewish people and the Jewish state” into whatever he does next.
“You’ve done great things for Israel and for the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said.
Ronald J. Clark, a former deputy under secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was guest speaker for the meeting, for which about 500 people were registered to attend. Clark served in the White House under former President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush.
At the annual meeting, Clark discussed terrorism threats and the way the Federation has kept innovative security at the forefront.
“We certainly live in a challenging time in history,” he said. “Fortunately here in Cleveland, we’ve already organized this community- accepting the reality to focus on security and be pragmatic as a necessity.”
Todd and Carmie Stein, of Moreland Hills, co-chaired the event.
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