Lowy honoured for ‘exemplary leadership’
Having assumed the role in 2019, Lowy has decided to stand down and will hand over to Bruce Leboff for a “refreshment of leadership”.
Steven Lowy said it has been a “privilege” to serve as chairman of the World Board of Trustees of Keren Hayesod-UIA as he reflected on his five-and-a-half-year term, which included navigating the challenges of the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the current war in Israel.
Having assumed the role in 2019, Lowy has decided to stand down and will hand over to Bruce Leboff for a “refreshment of leadership”.
“I actually took the role for four years, but I was asked to extend it primarily because of COVID, because for the first two years I was stuck here,” Lowy told The AJN.
“Then it was extended a little further because of October 7, but I’m a firm believer in good governance and succession planning.”
Under Lowy’s leadership, Keren Hayesod raised an astounding $1.1 billion, with $285 million directed to the Jewish Agency for Israel. Two weeks ago, President Isaac Herzog hosted an extraordinary gathering at his residence in Jerusalem to honour Lowy, who was awarded the inaugural Keren Hayesod Ze’ev Jabotinsky Award for Exemplary Leadership – a testament to his vision, dedication and impact.
“The environment was very difficult with COVID, the war in Ukraine, then the deep fracture in politics in Israel through the judicial reform and the impact that had on society and on the Diaspora jury,” said Lowy.
“And then, of course, post-October 7. You’re asked to do a job, and you don’t quite know what’s ahead of you and that’s what occurred in my time.
“I feel privileged that I’ve been in a position, together with the lay leadership around the world and the professional leadership, to achieve so much in that period of time.”
During his tenure, Lowy went into Ukraine only a few months after the war started to help with the evacuation and has visited Israel seven times post-October 7. He said the “biggest privilege” has come over the last year, as he’s observed how Israelis have responded under such terrible circumstances.
“I went there 10 days after October 7 with a group of leadership and we experienced the most horrific things,” he said.
“We met bereaved families, went to shiva homes of people we had never met before, went to funerals of people we had never met before. That was a very difficult experience, but it was in many ways a very uplifting experience. We thought we were going there just to show them that the Diaspora Jewry is with them, but we actually gained enormous strength by seeing their strength.
“It’s a very dark period in Jewish history, and we saw the strength, resilience and the unity of people who were suffering dearly.”
Lowy said there’s a lot of heavy lifting ahead for the global Jewry in helping Israel to rebuild, but there’s an equally important role in the diaspora make sure our communities remain strong.
“We’re at a really pivotal time in Jewish history, probably the most difficult in our lifetimes and certainly in my lifetime,” he said.
“When you talk about Israel fighting a war on seven fronts, there’s really eight fronts, because the eighth front is the Diaspora. We are the soldiers in the Diaspora fighting antisemitism – whether individually, on social media or working with those who have the responsibility of advocacy.”
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