Sydney unites with Israel
Speaking in a panel discussion moderated by UIA CEO Yair Miller, Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) chairman Doron Almog, one of Israel's most distinguished military figures and a social activist.
UIA NSW hosted over 1700 Sydney supporters at its 2024 General Division Gala Event at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Sunday night.
Speaking in a panel discussion moderated by UIA CEO Yair Miller, Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) chairman Doron Almog, one of Israel’s most distinguished military figures and a social activist, told of losing members of his own family and having others kidnapped on October 7.
“I couldn’t sleep for 50 days,” he said, describing his worry that Hamas may realise they were related and harm them. When he met them after their release in November, he said, “I couldn’t stop crying.”
He said JAFI is focused on rehabilitating the south and the north while encouraging the younger generation to support and volunteer in Israel. He said 10,000 beneficiaries have received grants through Keren Hayesod-UIA and JAFI’s Victims of Terror Fund.
Almog emphasised the importance of unity. “I would like to thank all of you for your unconditional love for the State of Israel,” he said.
KH-UIA World Board of Trustees chairman Steven Lowy praised the efforts of everyone from the organisation’s executive to international partners and staff on the ground post-October 7, noting that many of the latter were doing their jobs while dealing as Israelis with the ongoing reality of the aftermath of Hamas’s terror attacks and Israel’s operation in Gaza.
He said that the Sydney community is united with Israel when it is strong and when it is struggling. “There’s no stronger community more united with Israel than the Australian Jewish community,” he said.
Kibbutz Be’eri massacre survivor Dafna Admati lit a candle in honour of those who have lost their lives since October 7. “Although they hit us hard … they cannot extinguish the light within us,” she said.
Michal Uziyahu from the Gaza-adjacent Eshkol Regional Council recalled being in the bomb shelter with her sons on that fateful day.
“I held them in my arms. And I said to them, guys, we have to be strong. We are here to survive,” she said.
“There will be tomorrow … they will not break our spirit.
“We didn’t choose October 7, but we will become stronger and better from the atrocities of October 7.”
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