Jewish Agency head urges unity and support for Israel
"We continue building the third temple, which is the state of Israel."
Doron Almog’s life can be seen in three acts.
Almog — who was in Pittsburgh last week to speak at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Heart of Philanthropy event — is chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the world’s largest Jewish nonprofit.
That position, though, is the last act of a three-act work that Almog says began with his time in the Israel Defense Forces. A retired IDF major general, he served in the IDF for more than three decades.
His service, Almog explained, is dedicated to his brother who died defending Israel.
“He was left behind in the Yom Kippur War,” Almog said. “He was shot by a Syrian tank and waited seven days near his burning tank. I’m still frustrated that I didn’t fight with him and couldn’t evacuate him.”
Almog’s second act began 11 years after the Yom Kippur War, when his second child, Eran, who had autism and Castleman’s syndrome, died at the age of 23.
“He never said a word. Never said ‘abba,’ never made eye contact,” Almog said.
Eran’s suffering, Almog said, made him think about what it meant to be disabled and fully dependent on other people.
In 2005, Almog founded the Adi Negev-Nahalat Eran, a residential and outpatient rehabilitation center for children, teens and young adults with severe disabilities. The center was the first in the Negev and is a pioneer in opportunities for Israeli youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The facility, Almog said, not only houses about 170 children but has taken in about 1,000 people from the south of Israel, many of them injured and traumatized following Hamas’ invasion on Oct. 7.
“We built hospitals with a rehabilitation and orthopedic departments and special treatment for people in trauma, mental trauma,” he said.
The lessons Almog learned from Eran, he said, not only taught him the meaning of love in the world but also what it means to be Jewish, living in the Diaspora for 2,000 years, suffering from antisemitism and stigmatization.
In 2016, Almog was awarded the Israel Prize for his lifetime of achievement and in 2022 he was selected to run the Jewish Agency for Israel, which he said, was the beginning of the third act of his life, “dedicated to the Jewish people.”
The agency’s goals, he said, are to strengthen Israel and the Jewish people, assist those wishing to make aliyah, support the resilience and security of global Jewry and encourage every Jewish person to engage with Israel.
In the aftermath of Oct. 7, Almog said, the Jewish people are facing some of their biggest challenges and crises since World War II and the founding of the Jewish state.
Almog pointed to the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington, D.C., and the 58 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza as just some of the recent traumas endured by the global Jewish community.
As the world becomes more dangerous, he said Jews are making aliyah.
“Since Oct. 7, 43,000 have arrived, more than a third of them youngsters. Many came to join the IDF,” he said. “Many came to volunteer.”
And, he noted, many of those olim have died helping in Israel’s war against Hamas.
The influx of Jews from around the world, he said, helps Israel remain a vibrant, diverse society that includes immigrants from America and Europe, as well as those from Muslim countries like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco.
“We’re different by culture, but Israel is a melting plot. It’s about being inclusive and respecting each other,” he said. “We continue building the third temple, which is the state of Israel.”
With the trauma of Oct. 7, Almog said, Israel will need a period of rehabilitation and healing.
“In this respect, the main mission of the Jewish Agency is to unify the Jewish people all over the world,” he said.
Israel, Almog said, is a miracle, especially in what he calls “this time of polarization.” Its existence, he said, should show Jews that they have a duty to be proud.
“It doesn’t matter how much antisemitism is in the world. Human rights are Jewish rights. Continue walking tall and continue building the Jewish nation. Continue healing society,” he said.
A perfect example of that nachas, he said, are the ShinShinim (young Israeli emissaries) here in Pittsburgh. He said they bring Israel with them when they travel and are doing important things, like helping plan the Maccabi Games that will be held in Pittsburgh Aug. 3-9 and will include more than 2,000 Jewish teens.
“They live here, and they do a lot to bridge the state of Israel on one side and the Jewish community here in Pittsburgh and all over the world,” Almog noted.
The ShinShinim, he said, are proof of the promise made when Israel was founded, that of a Jewish state that can live peacefully with its neighbors.
Pittsburgh’s support of Israel and the Jewish Agency is vital, he said.
“It’s very important. It’s essential and it’s existential,” Almog said. “We say many times that the state of Israel is a startup nation. It’s a guarantee that Jews from all over the world have a nation,” he said.
Rabbi Danny Schiff, the Federation’s Gefsky community scholar, moderated the discussion with Almog at the Federation event on June 5. Schiff said Pittsburgh’s commitment to the Jewish Agency matters.
“Our support of the Jewish Agency is a powerful demonstration of how serious we are about our commitment to Israel and world Jewry,” Schiff said. “The contributions we provide make a real difference in rebuilding Israel and in helping Jewish communities that are at risk.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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