Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich is donating $5 million to the Jewish Agency for Israel, the organization has reported. This is reportedly the largest-ever single gift received by the Jewish Agency will be used by its international unit to fight growing anti-Semitism around the world.
Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog said, "Jewish communities around the world are coping with record numbers of dangerous, anti-Semitic attacks. I applaud Roman Abramovich for taking a strong initiative to combat anti-Semitism and am grateful for his contribution to the Jewish Agency's efforts to ensure Jews are safe in their communities around the world."
Headquartered in Jerusalem, the Jewish Agency is the world's largest Jewish nonprofit organization, which since 1948 has brought over 3 million new immigrants to Israel. In recent years, with dwindling immigration, the Jewish Agency's role has been defined as, "To inspire Jews throughout the world to connect with their people, heritage, and land, and empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel."
Abramovich immigrated to Israel in May 2018 and owns a home in Tel Aviv, although he remains based in Russia for most of the year. He has invested in many Israeli startups and donated generously to Israeli causes including $30 million to Tel Aviv University's Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, $20 million to the nuclear medicine center at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan and millions of dollars to the Haifa-based Yad Ezer La-Haver Foundation, which provides a warm home to needy Holocaust survivors.
Abramovich, who made his fortune in the 1990s through the sell-off of national resources following the collapse of the Soviet Union and establishment of the Russian Federation, is best-known as the owner of English Premier League soccer team Chelsea. But over the past year, he has been unable to visit the UK, which has denied him a work visa due to the diplomatic spat with Russia in the wake of the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in England.
In January 2018, Abramovich launched Chelsea's high media profile 'Say No to Anti-Semitism' campaign, which has leveraged the celebrity status of the team's top players to publicize the problem of growing anti-Semitism in the UK and around the world.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 16, 2019
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