The Michael Cherney Foundation

Our site was born on June 1, 2001, on the night of the heinous terrorist bombing outside the Dolphinarium Disco in Tel Aviv. When Michael Cherney learned the number of victims - twenty one dead and over 150 wounded - he realized that rendering assistance required a systematic organized effort. This was the genesis of our Foundation.

Prior to 2001, Mr. Cherney was engaged in charity work in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, Bulgaria, the US - wherever he did business. He made especially valuable contribution into Jewish philanthropy in Russia.

Following the Dolphinarium tragedy, the Cherney Fund became the helping hand for all the victims. In a misfortune like this, emigres from the former Soviet countries are even worse off than the Israeli-born: they don't have a support system or savings. The Cherney Fund, therefore, renders help mostly to the new arrivals, victims of catastrophes and terrorist acts that continue to bleed Israel, as well as to the low-income victims of terror in other countries.

Another equally important task assumed by the Cherney Foundation is the media effort in war on terror. Shortly after the Dolphinarium attack, the Foundation published a book called Dolphinarium: Terror Targets the Young. The book is an oral history, a representation of the voices of the parents who lost their children and the teenager victims themselves. It was published in three languages and met with acclaim in Israel, the United States, and Russia.

Willy Lindwer, a famous Dutch documentary filmmaker, used the book as the basis for his film Empty Rooms. The film, already acclaimed internationally, was also financed by the Cherney Foundation.

The Fund's contribution into conveying the truth about the war of terror against the Jewish people has met with high appreciation from the media, public organizations, and the Israeli government.

The Fund also actively participates in various children- and youth-oriented programs, in the human rights and counter-anti-Semitism projects, as well in various athletic programs.

The Fund views its main overall objective as helping realize the intellectual potential of the post-Soviet emigres to Israel, as well as their integration in the Israeli society. You can read about these programs at our site.