Velik receives award

UNITED Israel Appeal (UIA) NSW Young Leadership chair David Velik was presented with the Avi-hai Award for exemplary leadership at the Keren Hayesod-UIA Annual Leadership Conference in Israel.

The event also highlighted the instrumental work by UIA in saving Jewish refugees from Ukraine and attendees heard first-hand from a refugee who is now in Israel thanks to UIA support

The Jewish Agency for Israel’s incoming chairman, Major Doron Almog, also took part in the event and addressed the audience.

Almog was one of the torchbearers on Yom Ha’atzmaut in 2006, as a token of appreciation for his contribution to the development of the Negev.

He is the recipient of the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement and Special Contribution to Society and the State (2016) and chairman of the Israel Security Award Committee (2022).

“Today I stand here before you as I am making my third commitment, to embark on my third Jewish journey – for the entire Jewish people, to reach the heart of every Jew on Earth and to instil pride in our Judaism and the State of Israel,” Almog told attendees at the opening plenary.

“The connection between the State of Israel and global Jewry is of existential strategic importance.

We will work together to increase aliyah and absorption, to build stronger connections with world Jewry, reinforce mutual commitment and love of humankind, and strengthen the weaker sections of Israeli society.”