Jan. 11, 2014

Anti-Defamation League hosts annual gala in Beverly Hills

The Anti-Defamation League's Pacific Southwest region hosted its Centennial Gala Celebration Dec. 10 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Three community leaders were honored before a crowd of approximately 900, and the event brought in nearly $1.4 million to help support ADL's efforts to combat anti-Semitism and bigotry. "It is incumbent on all of us to help when we can," said Humanitarian Award co-recipient Thomas J. Leanse, who shared the award with his wife, Barbara. "You don't have to do a lot, but you do have to do something." The pair was honored for their commitment to the community and their support of ADL since the 1980s. Thomas, chief legal officer at real estate investment trust The Macerich Co., has served on ADL's executive committee for more than two decades, during which time he created ADL's Maxwell E. Greenberg Summer Associate Research Program. Barbara has served as the director of the volunteer services department at Cedars-Sinai since 1998 and has been affiliated with the hospital as a social worker since 1985. George D. Kieffer, partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, was also honored with the Jurisprudence Award for professional excellence and community leadership. In his acceptance speech, Kieffer emphasized that ADL remains a counterforce to hate. "Human nature is a work in progress, so that is why I believe in ADL," he said, adding that the organization is "pushing back against hate and bigotry through education and dialogue." The event featured musical performances by The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles and was hosted by Royal Pains actor Mark Feuerstein. — Caitlin Johnson