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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