Jewish Agency director brings Israeli chutzpah to SA

JORDAN MOSHE

Arran is not your average Israeli, and she plans to give South Africans a sense of the diversity and fascination that Israel offers.

She arrived to take up her position three months ago, and has already revolutionised the aliyah process, brought out a Knesset facilitator to engage with the community, and arranged a course in Israel advocacy.

“When I arrived, I told my children that we must learn to look after ourselves,” she says. “There is no IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] to rely on, and no soldiers who can swoop in to help you if you are in trouble.” Nevertheless, her gung-ho spirit drove her and her family forward, allowing her to embrace the community and fall into her role from the get-go.

Arran and her husband, Zvika, made the decision to come to South Africa last year after devoting many years to a well-established professional career in Israel. “We needed a change,” she says. “We considered travelling the world and because we had children, we needed to travel with purpose. We wanted to be involved in the wider Jewish world.”

After consultation with the Jewish Agency, the couple decided to go on shlichut [commission] and looked into various options. “We were offered the opportunity to come to South Africa right away, or wait a year to go to Los Angeles,” says Arran. “I was originally against coming to South Africa because another shaliach told me it wasn’t a good move for my children.” Her husband, however, encouraged her to try it, so she decided to visit South Africa in July last year.

Arran met the communal leadership, and immediately felt the community’s devotion to Israel and Judaism.

Although she is aware of the race and poverty related problems we face, she saw an opportunity to address these and involve herself in the community.

The couple and their four children moved to Johannesburg in January this year.

 “The shaliach has potential that is not always used, and is able to reach people on the fringes, Jews and non-Jews. It starts by establishing a firm connection in the mainstream, and then branching out. I’ll never tell anyone that they are not welcome or relevant,” she says.

Her chutzpah (audacity) and enthusiasm are her defining traits. When she was in Grade 11, Arran told her parents that she was “moving to another city as a volunteer to work with students in the high school and engage with them on the problems they faced. I felt it was important”. So, she relocated to Kiriyat Gat with five other girls, living in a commune while volunteering in the community and helping other students.

Arran was born and raised in Be’er Sheva to parents of Tunisian origin who chose to settle in the Negev in the 1950s to contribute to building the state. They were both pioneers in their own right: her mother spearheaded social-service initiatives, and her father founded the community’s first newspaper.

After school, Arran joined the army, and as part of her service in 1996, she was sent to Russia in an undercover operation to engage with Russian Jewry for three months. Returning to Israel, she studied biology and psychology at Hebrew University, constantly engaging in volunteer opportunities. “I never just studied,” she laughs. “There was always something else I was doing.”

Arran did a master’s in psychology at Ben-Gurion University, worked as a psychologist, served at a Jewish youth camp in Los Angeles, and also pursued a PhD. For 16 years, she involved herself in teaching at various levels as well.

Arran married Zvika in 2006. The couple chose to move to a young settlement in the north of the Negev to live in a caravan, moving into a house only three years ago. She completed her PhD, worked to facilitate discussions between numerous groups in Israel (including Muslims, Druze, Bedouins and Christians), and served as the head of a mental-illness rehabilitation centre.

In South Africa, Arran is responsible for activities that give a face to Israel in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.

Arran is eager to assist people who want to make aliyah, mentioning that aliyah from South Africa has increased almost 20% this year. “It’s easier to go to Israel than to America or Australia, but it certainly isn’t simple.”

She looks forward to furthering her engagement with different sectors of the local and wider community, planning interaction with non-Jewish schools, and increasing the activities of her office.