Benefit concert raises money for nonprofit Adir’s Diamonds
An Israeli jeweler and father of four is honoring his late son by making rings for IDF soldiers who want to propose before going to war. A Dec. 15 concert in Washington, D.C., will help him continue his mission.
Alon Mesika’s 23-year-old son, Adir, was killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival. On Oct. 7, 2023, Adir gave his life protecting his girlfriend and two other friends. He had finished his service as commander in the special operations forces unit of the IDF’s Israeli Combat Engineering Corps.
One of Adir’s fellow crew members sent Mesika a video of Adir dancing at a wedding at an army base: “He was so happy. It was a huge wedding, like 1,000 soldiers … immediately, it touched my heart,” Mesika recalled.
That video capturing his eldest son’s joy was the impetus for creating Adir’s Diamonds, a way for IDF soldiers to build families in Israel. Mesika would do this by donating a diamond engagement ring to the first IDF soldier who returned home for a 24-hour vacation.
After initially coming up with the idea, Mesika consulted his son, Or, who responded, “Dad, what’s going on with you? It’s a lot of money.”
“I don’t care about the money, as long as it’s going to keep me happy and the soldier happy,” Mesika said.
What started with a Facebook post and one donated ring turned into 154 as of Dec. 8 and Mesika is showing no signs of slowing down: “Even after [the war ends], I’m gonna continue to give rings. That’s what I want to do. I want to build new homes in Israel.”
He added that each of the 154 engagement rings equates to 154 new households, each with at least two children. Mesika also offers opportunities for IDF soldiers and their partners to create wedding bands for one another in his workshop for $700.
“Because of Adir, a lot of new homes are going to be built in Israel because of what happened, because of the video, because of my emotions,” Mesika said. “They took my son’s life. He’s not going to be able to build a new home in Israel, and because of him, a new generation will build in Israel.”
“Hamas and the terrorists wanted to destroy us. We’re gonna stand and build new homes because of them, because of what they did,” Mesika said.
That message of replacing darkness with light is reflected in the Israel Unity Concert on Dec. 15 at Magen David Sephardic Congregation in Bethesda, co-sponsored by the Aish Center of Greater Washington. Partnering organizations include the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Berman Hebrew Academy, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Young Israel Shomrai Emunah, Mayberg Foundation, Israel Bonds, Alef Bet Montessori School, and Ezras Israel Congregation.
The concert features three musicians: pianist Irina Kats, violinist Gersh Chervinsky and cellist John Kaboff, according to Rabbi Baruch Frankel of the Aish Center.
“Music brings about light in the world,” Frankel said. “The songs that will be played at the concert will be themed around Jewish marriage, building Jewish families, and Jewish happiness in general.”
All of the ticket revenue will go toward Adir’s Diamonds, furthering Mesika’s goal of donating 1,000 engagement rings. He has funded “most of” the 154 rings so far. One engagement ring costs him $1,600.
During the middle of the concert, Mesika and his wife, Sheerie Mesika, will talk about Adir, his life, and his Oct. 7 story.
“He did the brave thing,” Alon Mesika said of Adir. “[He and his friend] went out [of the bomb shelter] to fight the terrorists with their hands. The terrorists had guns and rifles. … As I know my son, he wouldn’t wait for the terrorists to come into the shelter and kill him. He would fight till his last breath, and that’s what he did.”
Frankel said this event will raise awareness of the events of Oct. 7, 2023, through “real-life” narratives, which are less often heard.
“It’s difficult; Jews in the Diaspora feel a bit detached being so far away,” Frankel said. “Not everyone can go to Israel and experience it, nor meet people who have been through the atrocities of Oct. 7 and since. This event is really bringing it closer to home and giving people here the opportunity to connect to our brothers and sisters in Israel in a real way.”
Because of this distance, Frankel wanted to help out in Israel. He held a similar concert in November 2023 to help displaced families in south Israel and provide psychological services to the children there after Oct. 7, 2023.
More than a year later, Frankel has the same goal of lending a hand overseas. He said the Aish Center has already donated five ring packages to IDF soldiers; a package consists of an engagement ring and two wedding bands and is worth $2,300.
“Their mission is just to allow their son’s legacy to live on,” Frankel said of Alon and Sheerie Mesika. “They’re doing that with every ring they give, every family they build; they’re building his legacy.”
The Israel Unity Concert will be held Dec. 15 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Magen David Sephardic Congregation. General admission is $36. Register for the concert here.
