For the past two years, La Jollan Rick Kornfeld, an avid cyclist, has been organizing bike rides in Israel to raise money for a rocket-resistant school in the San Diego Jewish community’s sister community, Sha’ar HaNegev, wherein violence has risen in recent years. Both in 2008 and 2009, about 20 San Diegans rode some 300 miles from the north of Israel down to Sha’ar HaNegev, raising nearly $100,000 for the school. But last year, while celebrating Israeli Independence Day at the home of Aharale Rotshtein, the principal and executive director of the school in Sha’ar HaNegev, Kornfeld thought it would be a good idea to bring the “Bike Israel” experience to San Diego by inviting cyclists from Sha’ar HaNegev to San Diego for a series of rides, culminating in a group ride on Israeli Independence Day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, to be celebrated on May 15 at Ski Beach. The event on May 15 consists of two rides, one short and one long, starting and ending at Ski Beach. Both rides will visit the historic Cabrillo National Monument, and will be led by guides who will make stops and explain the scenery and history. Upon the cyclists’ return to Ski Beach, there will be Independence Day festivities, including music, dancing and food. The rides start at 10 a.m., and a 1.5-mile “Walk for Israel” starts at 10 a.m. Last year’s Israel Independence Day in San Diego took place at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, but this year’s event at Ski Beach is expected to be bigger, as organizers are partnering with more than 20 Jewish organizations. “By moving the celebration to a bigger, more public site, we hope to engage a broader spectrum of the community in cultural experiences that will help connect them to Israel in positive ways,” said Jewish Federation President and CEO Steve Morris. After this year’s ride, eight people from Sha’ar HaNegev will have gotten to experience life in San Diego, as well as tell San Diegans about their experiences in Sha’ar HaNegev. “It’s important that people here in San Diego understand a bit of what it is like for our friends in our sister community and become ambassadors back here at home,” said Kornfeld, who not only organized all three rides, but also led a campaign in San Diego to raise money for the school. Outside of organizing these rides and leading fundraising efforts for the school in Sha’ar HaNegev, Kornfeld is involved in several nonprofits at the board level. He is on the board of the La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology, was recently the founding chairman of a nonprofit incubator in San Diego and he’s on the dean’s council of advisors for the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He is also the CEO of a venture-backed Smart Grid company called Grid2Home. Kornfeld, with his wife, Carol, is also the father of three kids: Helen (in college), Sarah (at the San Diego Jewish Academy) and Sam (at Mount Helix Academy). The Bike for Israel event on May 15 is free to the public. For more information, visit www.jew- ishinsandiego.com or call (858) 571-3444.