AUGUST 12 • 2021 | 31
S
itting down with Meir
Goldberg, 39, was a
leap back in time for
me. I remember him when
he was a teenager, and it was
fun to catch up with him after
all these years. Meir has been
living in Israel for 18 years
and says he would never live
anywhere else. He lives with his
young family in Ra’anana and
enjoys going back to Michigan
regularly for business and to
visit family and friends.
Q: Where did you go to shul and
school in Detroit?
MG: I grew up going to the
Young Israel of Southfield
where my father (Rabbi
Elimelech Goldberg) was the
rabbi and is still rabbi emeritus.
I went to Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
for elementary school.
Q: Did you come to Israel for the
year after high school?
MG: I studied at Yeshivat
HaKotel during the Second
Intifada, and that year, my
father led a group of young
people from my community on
the March of the Living. I hung
out with the group, and the
discussions with the kids were
understandably intense. They
had come to Israel straight
from the gas chambers of
Poland.
My great-grandmother
died in Auschwitz, and my
grandfather, for whom I was
named, was a partisan fighter
who smuggled children out
of the camps. It was personal.
Being with these young people
who were reliving the depth
of the Jewish experience made
me feel even more intensely
the blessing of the ground
underneath me. It was a
moment of awareness that my
roots, my heritage, everything
about me, was very much
connected to this land.
Q: Tell me about your aliyah.
MG: I grew up coming to
Israel regularly as a child and
developed a great love for the
country and the people. I never
imagined, however, making
Israel my home. It was after one
particular trip, when I was 22,
that I found myself connected
to a great community of fellow
Anglos. At the same time, there
were tremendous business
opportunities that were very
attractive.
Q: After you’
d been living here
for a while, why did you decide
to make it permanent?
MG: The real estate market
in Israel was booming. I
began a business with my U.S.
network, finding apartments,
renovating buildings and
eventually developing projects.
I also met my wife who was
born in England and moved
here at a young age. Israel had
become home, so it was natural
to make aliyah officially.
Q: And what do you do now?
MG: As much as I enjoyed
real estate development, I
saw the growing tech sector
in Israel as an opportunity
to help support the country
while offering my growing
U.S. network of investors real
opportunities for top Israel
investments.
I joined an amazing
company called OurCrowd,
which was focusing a great
deal of talent and know-how
in choosing the right startups
to invest in. As we have
experienced extraordinary
exits, my network of investors,
including back in Detroit, has
grown significantly. It gives me
a great excuse to come back to
Detroit often and see my family
and friends.
I am also very passionate
about the Kids Kicking Cancer
program in Israel, where I sit
on the board. My dad started
KKC in Detroit a number of
years after my sister passed
away. We have a strong
program in 12 Israel hospitals
but have also supplied our
martial arts therapy to young
trauma victims all over the
country.
Q: What do you miss about
living in Detroit?
MG: I miss my family. I also
miss getting to see the Pistons,
Lions, Tigers and Red Wings
live. And Jerusalem Pizza, and
not in that order.
Q: Do you have a message for
anyone who is reading this in the
Detroit area?
MG: Many people are
challenged going a bit out of
the culture that they are used
to. However, when it comes
to Israel, you don’t need a
strong Hebrew or religious
background to quickly feel
enveloped by the country of the
Jewish people. I love Detroit,
but I know that in Israel, I am
really home.
Business opportunities attracted
him to Israel.
Meet
Meir Goldberg
AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ERETZ
MEET THE OLIM
Meir Goldberg
and family.