A life of giving, a legacy of love

My name is Dita Gould. I am a Holocaust survivor and I understand what it means to live in a world without a country of our own. That must never happen again. Nothing means more to me than that.

My first fundraiser was when I was just 10 years old. It might sound unusual, but I believe that learning to give at such a young age was one of the reasons I survived. I share that journey in my book, The Girl in the Lion’s Mouth.

When my husband and I bought our first home in South Caulfield and were raising our three sons, I was approached by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Blue Box collector on our street. He asked me to collect twice a year. I agreed, and often my children helped.

Today, I am proud to be recognised as the longest-serving JNF Blue Box collector in Australia – 80 years and counting.

Seventeen years after arriving in Australia, I visited Israel for the first time for my eldest son’s Bar Mitzvah, thanks to my parents. I imagined stepping off the plane, kissing the ground and feeling like my life was complete.

But when we landed and I heard my family call my son’s name, I looked up, smiled, and thought: I’m alive, I belong and I am home.

That trip gave me not only a deep personal connection to my ancestral land and roots, but also revealed the power of JNF. I saw first-hand how JNF developed land, built infrastructure, and created thriving communities. I saw arid areas transformed into fertile fields through water conservation, innovative drip irrigation, and desert greenhouses bursting with fruit and vegetables. I saw marshlands created to support migrating birds, so rich in habitat that they chose to stay rather than fly on to Europe.

I also saw how JNF worked for peace and progress, even in difficult situations. On one tour, I visited a village where raw sewage from a neighbouring Arab village flowed into Israel’s river. Israel offered to build sanitation facilities to stop the pollution. When I questioned why our donations should be used for that, my guide said something I will never forget: “Sometimes you need to be stupid to be clever.” The result was clean water and a thriving community downstream.

Even JNF’s walking trails made a lasting impression on me. I once walked a trail so challenging it made the Great Wall of China seem easy, but the waterfalls at the end made every step worthwhile.

Over the years, I returned to Israel often, witnessing decade by decade the transformation JNF made everywhere I went. I always felt immense pride having played even a small part in building the present and future of our beautiful homeland.

My last trip to Israel was 10 months before October 7. In Sderot, we visited a petting zoo for children traumatised by rockets, met the mayor and admired the vibrant town. But when we reached the border wall, I saw two powerful images: on our side, a mural of people holding hands and dancing; on the other side, a sign in Arabic that read: “Just wait. We are coming to get you.” When October 7 happened, it struck me deeply.

That was when I felt a new urgency to give more. I had already planned to leave a bequest to JNF, but I decided to go even further. I sold a property to help rehabilitate Moshav Zar’it, which was severely hit during the war, and my sons fully supported the decision.

The Melbourne Jewish community is wonderfully supportive of Israel, but I believe we can all do more. I promise you this: the naches you receive from giving to charity gives more satisfaction than spending on anything else.

Dita Gould is a Holocaust survivor based in Melbourne.

To learn more about JNF’s work for Israel and ways to leave a meaningful legacy, contact Sandra Sochen at sandras@jnf.org.au or call 1300 563 563