Businesspeople, local leaders, philanthropies and top officials participated in events marking 40 years of the Rashi Foundation. Foundation Chairman Shaul Shani: “We have the ability to integrate every individual into Israeli society. That is our commitment, and we will continue doing so for another 40 years.” CEO Michal Cohen added: “Our role is to enable, without patronizing, based on a true understanding of needs on the ground.”
The Rashi Foundation, one of Israel's leading social organizations, celebrated four decades of efforts to reduce disparities and foster opportunities through education, employment, and welfare in the nation’s peripheral regions. The festivities featured a recognition ceremony held at the President’s Residence, along with the “Israel 2025 Opportunities Conference,” which assembled numerous speakers and representatives from the public, business, and civil sectors.
“Rashi helps different populations grow stronger,” said Chairman Shaul Shani. “It focuses on the individual, giving them tools – education, employment, and essential services – so they can grow and realize their potential. That’s our commitment, and we will continue it for the next 40 years.”
Foundation CEO Michal Cohen emphasized the organization’s commitment to action tailored to real needs:
“We believe in providing opportunities, tools, resources, and support while always remembering that these cannot be offered with a patronizing mindset or the assumption that the giver knows best. Our role is to enable, because it’s clear that what suits one population may not suit another, and what works in one municipality won’t necessarily work in another. Creating equal opportunities in Israeli society is both a necessary and achievable goal. It can be realized through a deep understanding of real needs, the ability to connect resources with opportunities, consistent and profound commitment, and an uncompromising belief that every person deserves the right to grow and fulfill their potential.”
The conference also featured powerful personal testimonies, such as Eli Sharabi, who returned from Hamas captivity in Gaza after 491 days, and said:
“For me, life is about choice. From my first day in captivity, I believed that. I didn’t choose to be kidnapped, I didn’t choose what happened to us, but I did always choose how to respond, what to hold on to, and how to stay human. These things help me choose life, to look for a way forward. I choose life. I choose light. I choose to move ahead.”
He added: “Hostages are not a left or right issue, they’re a straight-up moral issue. This is our ethics. These are our values. You don’t leave anyone behind.”
Merav Leshem Gonen, a leading member of the Hostage Families Forum and mother of five, including Romi, who returned from captivity after 471 days, spoke of the power of community and civic responsibility:
“We try to hold on to day-to-day certainty, thinking everything is under our control. But the truth is the opposite. The world is uncertain and unsafe. We have to create our sense of security. We can manage who we are. The road is long. The world as we knew it shattered into pieces. I couldn’t save my daughter, I couldn’t go into Gaza, but this is my opportunity to set aside fear, anxiety, and worry, and to ask: what can I do? To create something new.”
"Raising the Israeli flag is the greatest thing I can do for my country today," shared Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik. "Standing with the gold medal in front of everyone, with pride, that's my answer to all our enemies. I want to give hope and a chance to athletes so I started an NGO that provides scholarships. I worked at the local supermarket, I was even a substitute teacher through the Rashi Foundation in Be'er Yaakov, I slept in my car, I did everything. I never complained. One of the most important things I credit for my success is the understanding that you should never approach anything with an inferiority complex."
Haim Yellin, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, summarized the atmosphere in the Gaza border region:
“We’re in some kind of internal war to return to what was, while understanding that we can’t truly return to what was. We’re still in trauma. We want to be at the post-traumatic stage. We want to be on the other side, but we can’t. We’re stuck. The key word from the government toward these communities should be ‘enable.’ If you allow people the time they need, they’ll come back. Otherwise, they’ll look for alternatives. The north and south of Israel speak the same language of values, free from politics. That gives hope, and hope is the best contagious disease in the world.”
Written in collaboration with the Rashi Foundation
