OCTOBER 20 • 2022 | 5
As we welcome the new
year, what kind of society
do we wish to be? One that
throws its olim — whether
they be North American,
Ukrainian or Ethiopian —
into the deep end of the
pool and hope that they
know how to swim? Or do
we want to provide them
not only a life raft, but the
tools to be able to navigate
those waters?
At The Jewish Agency,
we strongly believe in the
latter approach. As such,
we operate 26 absorption
centers across the country
where olim can acclimate
to Israeli society. Our
organization provides them
with tools and resources
to be successful from a
personal and a professional
capacity.
That said, we can always
do more and, as chairman,
I plan to explore options
where we involve private
citizens and the public
and private sectors in this
process, as acclimating olim
into Israeli society benefits
us all. The absorption of
olim should be a national
responsibility. From private
families who can forge
ongoing relationships
with new olim, to student
volunteers teaching them
Hebrew, to recruiting local
industries to integrate olim
into the workforce — every
Israeli citizen has a role to
play in this complex process.
Make no mistake — this
is not about charity or
helping the less fortunate.
Rather, it is giving these
olim an equal playing field
so they can live up to their
potential and give back to
the country they love so
much.
In my most recent visit to
Gondar, I saw that potential
with my own eyes. I toured
the Hatikvah (Hope)
Synagogue, I saw the holy
books there that are kept
in mint condition, despite
the dilapidated buildings
surrounding them. I walked
through their classrooms,
mikveh and library. And
I saw a whole generation
of children hungry for
knowledge that their current
living conditions simply
cannot satiate.
I do not know — nor can
we control — what would
have become of our olim if
they remained in Ethiopia.
But we can certainly
influence what kind of
people they will become
once they are welcomed to
Israel.
We must continue to
work, in accordance with
the government of Israel, to
reunite families and bring
olim home, no matter where
they are in the world. It is
also our obligation to ensure
that Ethiopian olim become
the absolute best version of
themselves. It is what they
deserve and what Israeli
society needs.
Major General (Res.) Doron Almog
is the chairman of the executive of
The Jewish Agency for Israel. He is
also an Israel Prize Laureate, and
the founder and chairman of ADI
Negev-Nahalat Eran (www.adi-israel.
org), an expansive residential and
rehabilitation village in Israel’s south
that is world-renowned as a symbol
of true inclusion.
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