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“1950. Dozens of olim crowd the customs counters at the airport in Iraq, with open suitcases and unwrapped packages. Impatient customs officials are harsh. The frightened children grab on to their parents’ legs, but in the air is the exciting feeling of new beginningsˮ. This is how Shlomo Hillel, one of the leaders of the Ezra and Nehemiah rescue and aliyah operation, and later world chairman of Keren Hayesod, described the scene. Similar scenes had also taken place during the rescue operation that was launched following anti-Jewish riots in Yemen, “On the Wings of Eagles”. The Jews were forced to flee as quickly and as far away as possible. Some of them found themselves walking in the scorching desert, destitute, attacked by bandits. They stayed in refugee camps in Aden until the Jewish Agency for Israel organized an air train to fly them to Israel. This is how the operation received its popular name, “Magic Carpet”. During 1949, some 50,000 Yemenite Jews were brought to Israel, and in 1950 and 1951, 123,000 Iraqi Jews also arrived in the Holy Land. These two aliyah campaigns were among the largest and most important in Israel’s history.

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Photo: New immigrants from Iraq, 1951

What would you prefer? To hear a long lecture filled with numerical facts or to see a musical performance putting across the same content in a light and entertaining manner? In the 1980s, Keren Hayesod decided to replace the lectures that were ordinarily delivered to Jews around the world with a show that surveyed the development of the state through text, poetry and music. The show was written by Dan Almagor, a well-known Israeli writer, and featured the best Israeli artists of the period, such as Rivka Raz, Hanoch Levin and Dorit Reuveni. It was performed in Spain, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, with enormous success. The revenues from the campaign were far higher than expected. In the 1980s, Keren Hayesod put on additional shows together with the leading Israeli ensemble of the time, “Hakol Over Habibi”; these performances raised funds beyond all expectations. To this day, leading Israeli artists travel around the world for Keren Hayesod, helping to raise funds and strengthen ties with the Diaspora. Shiri Maimon, Idan Raichel and Sarit Hadad are just a few of the Israeli artists who have taken part in Keren Hayesod campaigns in recent years.

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Photo: Dan Almagor and his ensemble before his trip abroad, 1982

The Net@ project was established in 2003 with the support of Keren Hayesod, with the aim of developing and encouraging excellence and leadership in young people from the periphery. Every year, some 1,700 youngsters take part in the after-school program in 21 locations around the country. In addition to technological training, the program empowers participants by providing leadership training and personal development, the opportunity to contribute to the community and more. Galit Tasi from Ramle is a wonderful example of someone who, with the help of the program, achieved a professional diploma and began working at Cisco Systems when she was only 17. Thanks to the program, the path to army service in an elite unit was also open to her. Before enlisting, Galit decided to give back to those who had supported her. She postponed her army service and volunteered for a year of community service in Akko, helping at-risk youth. A week before the end of her army service, Galit received an offer to work as assistant to the IDF attaché in Washington, where she is still working. Galit is one of over 4,500 graduates of the program, almost 100% of whom completed their studies with a full matriculation certificate. They were exposed to opportunities that were previously out of reach, such as army service in an elite unit, academic studies and a promising career.

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Photo: Net@ Jerusalem, 2016

Although the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra had been established just three years earlier, a financial crisis in 1939 threatened its continued existence. It turned to Keren Hayesod for assistance and was given a grant of £300. During this period, Keren Hayesod also helped several other important cultural institutions in the Land of Israel, including the Bezalel School of Art and Design, the Habima Theatre, the Ohel Workers Theatre and the Bialik Institute of Culture and Literature. Keren Hayesod provided support to build the first, beautiful concert hall in the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, whose premiere concert was held in the 1930s, and to renovate Heichal Hatarbut, the home concert hall of the Philharmonic Orchestra to this day.

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Photo: The Philharmonic Orchestra on Mt. Scopus, January 1943

2020 marked 100 years since the establishment of Keren Hayesod. In honor of this festive occasion, Yaacov Agam, the greatest Israeli and Jewish artist alive today, was chosen to design and create a new logo. The new logo shows a beautiful, colorful rainbow floating above a Magen David, the Star of David. According to the artist, the rainbow and the Magen David represent the values of Keren Hayesod – support for Israel and the Jewish people. Agam says that the rainbow, with its nine colors, was created from red feminine strength and blue masculine strength. It is a symbol of defense and protection, from which unity and prosperity derive. Agam expanded further on his choice of a rainbow: “The rainbow is one of the most ancient and universal symbols in the Bible and in Jewish art, representing the blessing of peace bestowed upon creation by God after the destruction caused by the great flood. The rainbow is made up of different colors, and yet they all coexist in harmony, creating beauty and strength out of togetherness”. The logo has been incorporated into Keren Hayesod’s centennial celebrations, and is used in recognition awards and souvenirs of this special year.

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Photo: Logo for Keren Hayesod’s centennial celebrations designed by artist Yaacov Agam

From the 1970s and until the beginning of the 2000s, over a million olim came to Israel from Soviet countries. 160,000 Jews came from the USSR in the first part of the wave of aliyah, but the largest number came in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast number of immigrants who arrived during this period changed the history of the state. In 1990, the question was how to deal with 30,000 new immigrants a month. Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Agency for Israel faced a serious challenge. Planning, along with complicated and complex logistical organization in Russia, Europe and Israel, was needed. A special fundraising initiative – the Exodus Campaign – was launched, with spectacular results. In just three years, world Jewry donated over half a billion dollars, enabling the massive number of immigrants to be successfully absorbed and socially integrated, to find employment and to learn Hebrew.

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Photo: Olim from the USSR arriving in Israel,1999

Seeking shelter in just 15 seconds has become routine for thousands of Israelis! 2014. The Gaza Strip is ablaze. Dozens of barrages of missiles fall on Israel’s South. The alarms sound continuously. Men, women and children are trapped in safe rooms, forced to spend days and nights there. Their lives are on hold. The range of the missiles has increased over the years, turning into a tangible threat to more and more Israelis. In response to the increasing distress, Keren Hayesod sets up 350 mobile shelters near kindergartens, schools and agricultural fields, and works on renovating and renewing 400 shelters. Keren Hayesod helps enhance the safety of the residents of the South in an effort to restore their daily routine and improve their quality of life.

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Photo: Mobile shelter in Netivot.