Philanthropist Sylvan Adams pledged $100 million to cover a full third of the funding.By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel NewsSoroka University Medical Center will receive a billion shekels ($307 million) to rebuild after a key wing was destroyed by an Iranian missile in June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday during the weekly Cabinet meeting.The funding will be split between the government, the Clalit health fund that owns the Beersheba hospital, and a $100 million donation from mega-philanthropist Sylvan Adams, who was thanked personally by the prime minister.As the Cabinet members applauded, Netanyahu called Adams “a great friend and benefactor of the State of Israel,” who contributes “with great generosity, wholeheartedly.”Adams responded that it was “a great honor” to give the gift “to reconstruct and build Soroka Hospital into the best and most advanced hospital in the Middle East.”“I’m a big believer in the State of Israel,” he added. “I’m very proud to be Jewish and Israeli. My blood is colored blue and white.”The Canadian-born real estate magnate has called himself an “unofficial” Israeli ambassador since immigrating 10 years ago, focusing on improving Israel’s image by using his own money for efforts such as bringing globally watched events to the country, including the Giro d’Italia bike race and sports championships, and backing a world-class Israeli cycling team.The government will provide NIS360 over five years to replace the demolished hospital tower that had contained six research labs and several wards, including the crucial surgical unit.Most of the building’s patients were evacuated to shelters in other areas of the hospital just hours before the missile hit in the midst of Israel’s 12-day air war with Iran, saving them from almost certain death, as the old building had not been fortified, despite years-long requests from the hospital administration.The new inpatient tower, which will be larger than its predecessor, will be able to withstand an aerial attack.The already formulated plans also call for larger emergency facilities and improved maternal and critical care departments and advanced technologies such as AI-based diagnostics and cutting-edge imaging systems to improve patient care.Soroka’s director, Prof. Shlomi Kodesh, welcomed the government’s decision, saying it will enable the hospital to “provide the highest level of medicine, thereby turning tragedy into growth and ensuring the revival of the Negev – physically and morally.”He also thanked Adams for what is the largest private donation ever made to Soroka, saying that it would “change the face of the medical center for many years to come and will place it on a par with the leading medical centers in the world.”In his announcement of the donation, Adams said, “Our answer to Iran is to build back bigger and better. On the very place where missiles fell, we will build in Beersheba a beacon of healing, progress and peace. We choose life. We choose excellence. We choose to answer destruction with construction and hatred with compassion.” The post Israel to invest NIS 1 billion to rebuild Soroka Medical Center after Iranian missile strike appeared first on World Israel News.