It was an offer that she simply couldn’t refuse.
But delighted though Irit Barash was to become Executive Director of the Jewish Agency in the UK last year, at the express request of Israel’s President Herzog, she immediately had to face unprecedented obstacles.
“It is not easy when you can’t meet people or travel,” she laughs, recalling how she arrived in Britain in November 2020, just as a national lockdown was being imposed amid a second wave of Covid.
The restrictions only added to the already formidable task Mrs Barash had taken on of promoting and strengthening Jewish identity and aliyah in Jewish communities around the country.
But, as she told the JC, in “true Israel spirit”, the agency – which has helped create more than three million olim worldwide since it was established in 1929 – has had to come up with “innovative ways” to reach out to communities in the UK in recent months.
She said: “A lot of that has happened online, of course and, in many ways, worked really well.
“For example, we have been able to reach more rural and harder-to-reach communities in the UK through running online events. Of course, it isn’t as good as face-to-face.
“But now the connection is there, we are hopeful we can grow it as things gets back to normal.”
Previously a senior director at fundraising body United Israel Appeal, Mrs Barash, 61, said she has a deep-seated commitment to her mission “to continue to strengthen the bond between Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Zionism has always been a key part of my life”.
She added: “It was a natural continuation for me to come to the UK. It was a chance to continue serving the Jewish people.”
Born in Haifa, she spent 22 years in the IDF serving in military intelligence, where she rose to the rank of colonel, before moving to the UK.
“It was very male-orientated and there were not many women doing what I did but because it was Israel, I was able to,” she said.
It is also where she met her husband. “They say the IDF is the best matchmaker in Israel, and they are not wrong.”
For those who choose to make aliyah, the Jewish Agency exists to make the transition smoothly, Mrs Barash explained, offering personalised employment and career-consulting sessions, as well as courses of Hebrew lessons and “everything a person or a family needs to transition into Israeli society”.
She said: “I always say it doesn’t finish at the airport – that is where it starts. We want people to become part of the fabric of Israel so that means encouraging Hebrew studies, it means helping with employment.”
Mrs Barash said the agency has continued to see an “increase in numbers of people making aliyah worldwide”, despite the Covid pandemic.
In the UK, on average 600 people make the decision to go on aliyah each year and she would like to see the number grow, particularly given the affinity for Israel she has found in the community.
She said: “I think when it comes to other parts of the world the reasons are often down to antisemitism or economic reasons.
“But with Britain I think it is much more about ideology still.
“We are also seeing younger generations realise there are a lot of opportunities in Israel in the high-tech arena. It is an exciting place to be if you want to work in that area – there is a lot of potential.”
As part of its work the Jewish Agency brings Israeli emissaries or shlichim over to the UK to volunteer in Jewish communities for a year.
“Some come as young as 18. They call it a gap year, they divert their IDF service with permission and come to work in communities, schools, shuls and youth movements.
“It is great for them because they get the experience here and for the UK communities, they get to see our best ambassadors. And build connections with young Israelis.”
There are currently 13 Israeli shlichim from the Jewish Agency across the UK and they hope to have more.
“It is about building connections between the diaspora and Israel,” Mrs Barash said.
One of the most difficult challenges that the volunteers face is working on campuses all over the country, where anti-Israel feeling is soaring.
Mrs Barash said that they are seeing “more and more anti-Zionism, anti-Israel hate and antisemitism on campus. Jewish students find themselves bombarded with it.
“It is where we need to do the most work strengthening identity.”
They support students with the help of UJS and “try to help and point students to the tools they need to confront it”.
Mrs Barash said: “We try to represent the democratic face of Israel on campuses and remind people it is a pluralistic society.
“Students themselves have questions about what is going on and the answers are often difficult, so we try to help them.”
She believes investing in Jewish identity and strengthening a bond with Israel when you are young is the key to the country’s survival.
“I think of Israel like the house and what we do in the diaspora is strengthen the foundations.
“When Israel is crumbling, so is the diaspora.”
