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October 31, 2003
New Israeli JNF shaliach
Yossi Darr served as a navy commando for 21 years.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
At High Holy Day services around North America, rabbis and lay
leaders pleaded with congregants to support Israel by visiting the
Jewish homeland or even moving there permanently. Yossi Darr, a
retired commander from Israel's special navy commando unit, decided
to help his country in the opposite way.
Just over a month ago, Darr, along with his wife, Etty (short for
Esther), came to Vancouver to serve a three- or four-year term as
the Israeli shaliach (emissary) for the Jewish National Fund,
Pacific Region (JNF).
The mission for this soldier who spent 21 years in the Israel Defence
Forces?
To return to his roots as a defender of his country by raising money
for the Israel-based JNF.
"The past three years were really bad in Israel and I thought
that I had to do something more for the country," he said from
his office in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
"When the JNF approached me and asked me if I'd be willing
to be a shaliach, I was sure this was the right decision. This is
one way to help the country."
Darr's goals in Vancouver go well beyond his efforts with the JNF.
He also hopes to further educate Vancouver's Jewish community about
the realities of life in Israel.
"I think that the role of the shaliach is not just to bring
money to Israel," he explained. "I think it is also to
bring the spirit of Israel into the community. I think that people
here are very fond of Israel, but it seems that they don't have
a really updated knowledge and understanding of how people are living
their daily lives there.
"This is something that I find as a very important mission,"
he continued. "To bring Israel into the community so that people
can understand how we live – how a mother can let her child
[ride] on a bus in Jerusalem because he has to go to school."
In the short time Darr has spent in Vancouver, he has developed
a strong sense of the Diaspora's constant struggle to maintain a
strong Jewish identity among community members.
"I have attended services at several congregations [during
the High Holy Days] and the message from the rabbis was almost the
same; we are worried about the decline of the Jewish population
of North America," he said. "I hope they will be able
to find the tools from the JNF to help address this concern, but
if I can do my work for the JNF and take some responsibility to
help fix this problem, then I will do that at the same time."
Born in Algeria, Darr and his family immigrated to Israel in 1961
when he was 13. After his IDF service, which he described as the
best years of his life, Darr began working from Israel for a California-based
radiation chemistry company that produced systems for the American
military.
In 1995, as part of a large-scale effort to improve relations between
Israel and its neighboring countries, Darr worked for a North African
industrial company in the fields of phosphates, food and pharmaceuticals.
On behalf of his country, he brought Israeli know-how to the company
as a goodwill gesture. However, as relations with Israel deteriorated,
the project was cancelled in 1998.
Darr spent the past three years helping to save Israeli companies
on the verge of bankruptcy.
Darr and Etty have a son, Yotam, and two daughters, Ma'ayan and
Adva, all in their 20s. Yotam has followed in his father's footsteps
and is currently serving in Israel's navy. His daughters each served
36 months in the IDF as well.
Darr said he looks forward to spending the next several years in
Vancouver, sharing his experiences and passion for Israel.
"Vancouver looks great," he joked while looking out his
rain-soaked window before developing a more serious tone. "When
I was a soldier, I said that if there was a Jew who was threatened
anywhere around the world, because he was a Jew, then I would be
the first to come and save him. I hope that this warm feeling will
be reciprocated."
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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