Month: April 2020

In 1924, Keren Hayesod produced its first documentary film[1]Land of Promise (Banim Bonim in Hebrew), presenting the courageous and difficult work of the young pioneers. The film shows dozens of Zionist olim, under the burning sun, fulfilling their dream of making the desert bloom and settling the Land of Israel. Jacob Ben-Dov’s amazing photographs show the pioneers creating settlements, paving roads, setting up water and electricity infrastructures, renovating neighborhoods and establishing Hadassah Hospital. It was Keren Hayesod’s crucial contribution that made it possible to carry out this broad range of activities. With their bare hands and through communal work, the pioneers laid the foundations of the state-on-the-way. These rare photographs preserve not only the hard work of the pioneer generation, but also their joy, their exuberant and unique lifestyle, business activities and family. The photos offer us a unique glimpse into the pioneering activities of the 1920s. Keren Hayesod, which early on recognized the importance of filming, preserving memories and public relations, has in its possession exceptional documentation of the Yishuv and the State of Israel, from its early days until the present.

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Photo: From the silent movie “Land of Promise,” produced by Keren Hayesod, 1924

The volunteers, activists and leaders around the world constitute the living heart of Keren Hayesod. Thanks to their far-reaching work and leadership, Keren Hayesod has flourished and grown and reached outstanding achievements throughout its 100 years. Keren Hayesod’s leaders are people of endless dedication who invest significant time – sometimes entire lifetimes – to Keren Hayesod. They act on behalf of the State of Israel and the people of Israel out of a true sense of mission. At the expense of their free time, these people work day and night for Keren Hayesod – as volunteers. Their work begins with joining the fundraising effort. This might involve bringing people to fundraising events or leading a women’s division or professional division, and later becoming president, chairperson or member of the executive in the local campaign. Eventually it might lead to becoming part of Keren Hayesod’s international leadership, which meets several times a year in Jerusalem. They are all partners in action; they are all key to Keren Hayesod’s success and its ability to remain relevant. Without them, nothing would happen. In his final words at the Zionist Congress in July of 1920, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, later the first president of the State of Israel, said: “The key to the Land of Israel now lies in our hands”, and that is the slogan of Keren Hayesod’s leadership.

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Photo: The key presented to Keren Hayesod’s outgoing campaign chairmen and presidents in recognition of their longstanding devotion to Keren Hayesod and the people of Israel.

“For me, the Ethiopian Jews are a model of true Zionism”, says Micha Feldman, the man who was the Jewish Agency for Israel’s main emissary in Ethiopia. “Entire families with their old and their young didn’t wait and didn’t ask anyone, and set out on the dangerous road to Sudan in order to realize their dream to make aliyah to the Land of Israel”. In 1970 Micha Feldman began working as an absorption center director. He later became a youth movement shaliach in Germany, and subsequently, an aliyah shaliach in San Francisco. In 1982, he began volunteering on behalf of the Jews of Ethiopia and since then, has devoted a large part of his life to helping them. He witnessed the arrival of the first olim to Israel, even before Operation Moses, something that he, as the son of Holocaust survivors, found very moving. Feldman worked in Ethiopia for several years before becoming one of the leaders of Operation Solomon in 1991 – the operation that brought 14,310 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 24 hours. 43 aircrafts carried out the largest airlift in history. During those 24 hours, eight babies were born, on the ground and in the air. “I didn’t sleep or eat for two days”, recalls Feldman. “After landing, I ran over to the last immigrants, who were completely exhausted. When they saw me they said: ‘Thank you, Abba Mika'”. Micha Feldman shared his experiences during this historic event in his book, Exodus from Ethiopia, which was published in 1998. He was subsequently sent to many countries by Keren Hayesod. Among other places, he went to Germany, where, while standing in front of the crematoria in Dachau, he said: “I thank God and the Jews of Ethiopia for the privilege of being part of history”. “I have been involved in aliyah from Ethiopia for 37 years already and am with them in times of distress and times of happiness”, he says. “I feel tremendous pride when I see young people of Ethiopian origin who become lawyers or officers, or graduate with honors from the Technion”.

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Photo: Micha Feldman, Gondar, Ethiopia, 2006

 

1999. Chechnya is burning. Tens of thousands of refugees run away from the areas of fighting without knowing what their fate will be. Reports of fleeing orphans reach the international press; among them is one Jewish girl. In a complex, life[1]threatening operation, Jewish Agency emissaries locate the girl and bring her and some of her friends out of the danger zone. The girl is Natasha, who grew up in an orphanage in Grozny and was forced to flee the city during the battles, together with her friends. Natasha was brought to Israel and sent to an absorption center. She joined the army as a volunteer, wanting to give back to the country that saved her. She later registered for a preparatory program at Tel Aviv University, where she met her husband, and today the couple is raising a son.

Thanks to the generosity of Keren Hayesod donors, Natasha’s life was saved. She created a new life in Israel. Natasha’s story is not the only moving story. For many years, the Jewish Agency for Israel, with the help of Keren Hayesod donors, has led complex and dangerous clandestine operations to bring Jews to Israel from countries where they are in danger. The principle is clear: no Jew will be left behind. A monumental effort is made to reach places where Jews are in economic or social distress or where their freedom of religion and/or personal safety are endangered. In 2018, 760 Jews in distress were brought to Israel. Another estimated 50,000 Jews around the world are in distress and in need of help. Rescue operations are not always made public, because they are sometimes carried out clandestinely, below the radar of the local governments.

Watch the full movie

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Photo: Natasha, 2017