Full Article:David Merage was born in Teheran to a Jewish family, and at the age of fifteen he immigrated to England and afterwards to the USA. His family followed him and made a fortune. Today the Merage Foundation donates 10 million dollars a year to projects for developing the Negev. In an interview with Mamon he said: “We want to fulfill Ben Gurion’s vision. Never before has there been such a spirit of cooperation for the south. We threw the stone into the water, and now the ripples are growing.”
Dimona, Tuesday about a month and a half ago. Sitting in a circle in the twilight are a few couples and singles who decided to build their homes in the southern city. Some of them came from other places; some of them were born in Dimona, left the city and came back. They are all doing this through their membership in the
Ayalim Association, which founded the student village they lived in when they were students. When they finished college they decided to be pioneers and continue living in the city, and now they are placing the cornerstone for the first neighborhood in the country for graduates of the association. This is where they will live with their families.
Children’s strollers are also in the circle; in them are the newborn babies of the members of the group. Every now and then the older children step inside the circle and speak their minds. Nearby, an older couple and an elderly woman stand and watch with pleasure – they are members of the Merage family, without whose help the new neighborhood and many other projects in the Negev wouldn’t have been executed.
David Merage (61), his wife Laura (51) and his mother Katherine (87) came from the United States for a two-week visit to see the fruits of the donations from their foundation, Merage, for the development and flourishing of the
Negev.
The
Merage Foundation donates 10 million dollars a year to projects for developing medicine, education, infrastructure, and culture in the Negev. The goal: to place the Negev at the head of the government’s priority list and turn it into a relevant space for the citizens of Israel and the world. Ayalim, which founds student villages in the Negev and the Galilee, is the flagship project of the foundation; its goal is to bring educated youth to study and live in the Negev, in the new neighborhoods that are being built for them. During the Merage family’s visit in Israel, two cornerstones were placed in two new neighborhoods – the one in Dimona and one in Kibbutz Erez.
In addition to the Ayalim Association, Merage established a foundation to encourage initiatives in the Negev, including assisting young entrepreneurs, building an advanced health center in Dimona, which provides its services to the residents of the area, and establishing an
education campus in Sde Boker that includes an elementary school is based on the value of preserving the environment. With the assistance of the foundation the project “Yotzrim BaNegev” (Creating in the Negev) is carried out; within its framework teenagers and youth from the area study dance with the dancer and choreographer Ido Tadmor, and study music with the teachers of the Rimon School.
The members of the Merage family came, as they do from time to time, to derive pleasure from the results of their philanthropic activities, and to meet with ministers, parliament members, heads of authorities, and anyone who can help them promote the foundation’s goals and start additional projects. In Dimona, Merage will set cement on the first stone of the new neighborhood and speak at the inauguration ceremony of the medical center. He will also watch the young people studying dance with Ido Tadmor, talk to the students of the school in Sde Boker, meet business owners in Mitzpeh Ramon, and more.
From Teheran to California
Merage’s mother Katherine is also dear to the hearts of the citizens of the Negev. She and her late husband, Andre, originally from Iran, immigrated to America where they established several philanthropic funds under the name Merage, which operate mainly for Jewish communities in the world. The family started to be active in Israel about 11 years ago; first they donated to immigrants from Iran, and later they started to work actively on behalf of lone soldiers, and expanded projects in the Negev, where is where their main activity is now focused.
Katherine is also one of the leading visionaries of the Hadassah organization, and she and her husband have donated a great deal to the hospital in Jerusalem and to the Hadassah College in the capitol. She lives in California, is the mother of five and the grandmother of ten. Despite her age, she did not miss the trip to Israel. With a driver, a car and a companion close by, she arrived at all of the places her son and daughter-in-law visited in the Holy Land. In every place she was greeted with great respect.
Her son is considered one of the richest Jewish men in the United States. He was born in Teheran and when he was fifteen he immigrated to England on his own to get an education. At the age of nineteen he moved to the United States to continue his studies and finished his bachelor’s degree in marketing at the University of California. His parents and four brothers followed him to the United States.
He and his wife Laura have two children, Jonathan (28) and Sabrina (24), and the tradition of generosity is handed down in the family. “All of the Merage children and grandchildren are involved in one project or another, doing things and supporting the community. We see it as our responsibility,” he says. “We are five siblings, three brothers and two sisters, and we were lucky we married people who share our dreams. We are a very close family and were lucky enough to succeed in the business world.”
Merage made his fortune with his brother Paul by supplying prepared food to schools and coffee shops, through their company, Chef America. Nine years ago they sold the company to Nestlé for 2.6 billion dollars. Today he has a number of businesses in the fields of real estate and investment, and spends most of his time in philanthropic activities.
“We feel that we need to give back some of our success to the society,” he says. “He who succeeds should give back. It’s a cycle: in the past other people helped us succeed and get to where we are now, so now we have to help others. As Jews we have a commitment to help the Jewish community and Israel. We are very committed to Israel.” Befitting this commitment, they have an apartment in the Akirov towers in Tel Aviv, where they stay when they are visiting. While they tour the Negev they stay in a guest room in Ashalim.
No American Directors
This interview is being conducted during the family’s tour of the foundation’s projects across the Negev. At the beginning of the conversation Merage turns to me and requests, “You can write whatever you want about my family and me, but please don’t write even one bad word about these people.” He means the people who work in the foundation and the citizens of the Negev in general. As opposed to other philanthropists, Merage choose young Israelis to run the foundation in Israel. The foundation’s general director, Naama Dahan (34,) is a lawyer by training and is originally from Jerusalem; her connection with Merage formed when she joined the student village Ayalim had founded in Ashalim. Her brother Matan (30), also a student in the student village founded by the association and currently completing his law degree, was chosen by Merage to be the general director of the Ayalim Association. Inbar Seidmann (34), originally from Holon, has a BA in economics and an MBA from Ben Gurion University; she is the director of projects in the association. The association’s offices are located in Ramat HaNegev.
“I don’t think it is right to bring one of my managers from the United States to run projects in Israel,” Merage says. “Israelis who were born here understand Israel’s culture, and there are plenty of educated people with a lot of passion who do an amazing job. If they ever feel that they need an expert, I will get an expert from any place in the world to help them, but I don’t feel the need for it.”
How did your romance with the Negev start?
“Our family used to come to Israel for vacations. Mostly we stayed in hotels in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and traveled like most people do: sit in the car, turn on the air-conditioning and drive from place to place, without stopping or looking around. One day we drove to the Negev; we looked around and said, ‘This Negev is beautiful, maybe we need to learn more about it.’ We traveled to Ben Gurion’s grave, and visited Midreshet Sde Boker, and that made us want to get to know this land better.”
“We decided to buy an apartment in Tel Aviv, and we saw that the prices are very high. We asked ourselves, ‘How can a young family afford to buy a home in Tel Aviv?’ Then we asked ourselves, ‘Why does the majority of the population concentrate itself in a few large cities, while the Negev – 60% of the area of the country – is populated by only 10% of the citizens?’ Israelis travel to the United States, to India, they come to California to climb mountains…why don’t they come to climb mountains in the Negev? Two hours’ drive from their homes there are amazing wide-open spaces. Many people don’t find opportunities here, and they go to work in other countries, when the Negev could accommodate them.”
How did you make the transition from talk to action?
“We spoke with many friends, among them business people and politicians, and they all told us that the development of the Negev was Ben Gurion’s dream. We said to ourselves, ‘We will work to make that dream a reality.’ We came to the Negev and spent many days studying the area. Today I can say that I have seen more of the Negev than most Israelis, and I have learned to appreciate its beauty. We’ve made many good friends here, because people here are less stressed, more relaxed. We decided to contact people in the community and in the government, philanthropists and foundations, and to try and realize the vision of Ben Gurion. Everyone will take part and be put to use. It’s like throwing a pebble into water. At first you see only one small ripple, but then it grows and grows.”
Merage emphasizes over and over that he is not alone; in his projects there are, according to him, between 200 – 300 partners: government offices, local authorities, the Jewish National Fund, the Parks Authority, the community centers corporation, the Ness Fund, the Shemesh Fund, the Shomer organization, academic institutions, and more, as well as business people such as Nochi Dankner. “Ninety percent of everything we do, we do with partners. We love working that way because the more of us there are, the stronger we all are. The government is also very supportive. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but they are very positive and want to help.”
In the Negev community there is the feeling that the state doesn’t do enough for the area.
“The government has many different priorities, but when we all come together – heads of communities, business people, educators, people in the health field, and also private individuals – we can make our voice heard. I don’t think there has ever been such a large alliance on behalf of the Negev. Now the ripples are getting bigger and bigger, and the government is becoming a part of that. You as citizens of Israel have the ability to bring people together such that it will become the first priority of the government.”
Laura Merage, joins the conversation. “There is so much to do, it doesn’t matter whether the government will be involved, there will always be more to do,” she says. “I think the winning combination is if citizens and business people join forces and approach the government with a step-by-step program, and say, ‘Here it is; we need your help.’”
What do you think about the situation in the Negev?
“Every citizen needs to look at the Negev as part of his tradition, his identity. We need to include the Negev in the vocabulary of Israelis, because over the years it has been forgotten. In the last seven years, during which we have been working on behalf of the Negev, many people have joined us. Before that, no one wanted to write about the Negev, no one wanted to invest in the Negev; there was no public discussion about founding hospitals and schools in the area. Today, a lot more is happening, and the time has come to move things one step forward. I think that young people need to say, ‘The Negev is mine.’ The Negev is part of Israel; it’s not on the moon.”
Laura says that the initial activity of the family in Israel wasn’t easy. “They told us, ‘Two people that no one has ever heard of, who don’t even live here – why should I believe you? Why should I listen to you?’ So we had to start doing, in order to convince people that when we said something, we really meant it. Now many people know that if Merage says, ‘I’m going to do this,’ it will happen.”
“They are the new Zionists”
After a meeting with students and teachers at the Tzin Elementary School, which is on the educational campus named for Merage in Midreshet Sde Boker, we travel to Mitzpeh Ramon. The community, which has about 5,000 residents, is thirsty for tourists. Merage met with local business owners, and will look into possible ways of helping them. Among other things, the family is hosted by Menachem and Aviva, residents of Mitzpeh Ramon, who started a motel for bicycle riders. “People call and tell us they particularly want to come to the Negev in order to ride their bicycles,” they tell us. Merage is happy to hear it. He goes everywhere with a notebook, jotting down details and checking how he can help. Later, we go on to Dimona.
Everyone who is familiar with your activities knows that you are very involved in the projects, above and beyond the financial help.
Merage: “Our idea of philanthropy is not just writing out a check. We want to be involved in creating change. We want to make use of our knowledge, our experience, our name – everything we have.”
How do you choose the projects?
“First of all, you have to have a vision and a goal. Then we go to where others have not wanted to go, because we’re prepared to take a chance and give the initial funding. There are many big projects, but people don’t want to be the first to take the risk. Most of the things we do, in business and in life, we took the risk of being the first, and through hard work and creativity, we succeed and get to the point where others join in, and that makes the project even more successful.”
Of all the projects you’ve done in Israel, which one is your pet project?
“I would say the Ayalim Association. Two young people [Matan Dahan and Danny Glicksberg, who founded the association] had a dream, and we joined them. Today, many more have joined them. They are young, educated people who work hard and are creating serious change. They are the new Zionists.”
How do you feel when you come to places like the school in Sde Boker or the medical center in Dimona, and your surname is displayed on them in big letters?
“The project is what’s important, not the name. I’m very proud to bear the name Merage, but the Negev doesn’t belong to Merage. The Negev belongs to Israel. I hope that many Israelis will come and do good things, and will be able to add their own names.”
Inbar Seidmann, the foundation’s project manager, mentions that at the start of their activity in Israel, the family insisted that their name not appear on the projects. “We advised them to do so in order that we might take advantage of their name as a means of leveraging the projects,” she says.
Laura: “There are projects we did seven or eight years ago, and no one knows that they are Merage projects. But we were told that it is important to put the name so that in Sde Boker they can see what Merage has done in Dimona and say, ‘We want to be your partners,’ and in Dimona that they will see what Merage has done in Ayalim, and so on.”
I imagine you’ll do many more projects. Do you have dreams for a big project you haven’t done yet?
“Our next step with our partners is to promote the idea of developing new communities in the Negev – neighborhoods, settlements, and communities for young adults, religious communities, and more. To bring people from all over Israel and build communities for them in this area.”
What Does the Merage Foundation Do?
The
Merage Foundation Israel works to develop the Negev through various projects. Through the Ayalim Association, eleven student villages have been established so far. The association was founded nine years ago by a group of young people who had just completed their army service, and after two years they gained the support of the Merage Foundation.
The initiators of the association are its general manager Matan Dahan, and his friend Danny Glicksberg (31), the deputy general manager, who returned from a post-army service trip and wanted to establish communities for students and young adults in the Negev. Later on, they were joined by Naama Dahan, today the general manager of Merage Foundation Israel, and Inbar Seidmann, her good friend from the army who today is the foundation’s project manager. They met with Shmulik Rifman, the head of the regional council of Ramat HaNegev, and decided to establish the first student village in Ashalim. Rifman is the one who brought the young people together with the Merage Foundation.
As of today, the Ayalim Association has established student villages in Ashalim, on Moshav Yahini, in Dimona (two), Beer Sheva (two), and in Yeroham, as well as in Kiryat Shemona, Acre, Menahamiya and Neve Ur. Some 500 students live in the villages, altogether. They receive 10,000 NIS in scholarships and stipends from the foundation every year in exchange for donating 500 hours per year in the community. The goal is that the students will remain living in the settlement even after they complete their studies.
The Merage Foundation also established a state-of-the-art medical center for general health services in Dimona which began operating recently. The center has a trauma room, dialysis machines, a dental clinic, an x-ray lab, and medical specialists, and serves the residents of the eastern Negev.
Lately, the foundation has been promoting the establishment of bicycle centers in the Negev that will provide rentals to cyclists as well as providing guidance, repair services, showers, restrooms and a restaurant. The centers will be located on Kibbutz Ruhama, in the Lahav Forest, in Yeroham, in Arad, in the Sapir community in the Aravah, and in Timna which is in the Eilot area. The foundation is constantly investigating additional projects.