Gracing the event were His Excellency, Israel Ambassador Menashe Bar-On and his spouse, Madame Eti Bar-On. Special guests included: Cambodian Ambassador Hos Sereythonh; Argentina Ambassador Joaquin Daniel Otero and his spouse, Madame Marta Otero; Italy Ambassador Luca Fornari and his spouse, Madame Silvana Fornari; Greece Ambassador Constantina Koliou; and Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson.
The concert featured two globe-trotting talents: Israeli singer David D’Or and Taiwanese folk singer John Yin Zhen Yang. The capacity-crowd of 1,500 were in awe, as Israel’s most acclaimed singer opened with a rendition of “Amazing Grace”—set to a background of religious stained glass windows.
D’Or also performed some of broadway’s most classical songs, like the crowd-memsmerizing hit “The Phantom of the Opera”. The 46-year old Israeli also sang a duet with John Yin, from the hit-broadway musical “CATS”. D’Or also featured his original single “Time For Love”—a hit back in his native Israel.
In the spirit of the concert, D'Or also invited on-stage a 6 year old named Brigitte Ramos who was born blind as a premature baby. D'Or clutched Ramos and shared a message of peace and love for the audience.
The Tzu Chi Foundation and D’Or’s relationship grew stronger in 2008, when he visited the Hualien country in Taiwan—meeting the group’s founder, Master Cheng Yen. In 2009, he rocked the Araneta Colisuem packed with his Filipino fans and the local Israeli community.