The Jewish Agency announced Thursday that it has selected Doron Almog, a former IDF general, to serve as the agency’s next chairman.
Almog, who achieved the rank of Major General in the IDF, is a recipient of the Israel Prize’s lifetime achievement award for his work with Aleh, a youth village Almog founded to assist the handicapped.
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog served as the Commander of the Southern Command from 2000 to 2003.
A former officer in the paratrooper brigade, Almog led an Israeli force during the 1976 Entebbe Operation to free Israeli hostages held by terrorists in Uganda. Six years later, he commanded the 35th Paratroopers Brigade in the First Lebanon War.
In the mid-1980s, Almog led the Shaldag Unit during the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from war-torn Sudan.
Almog will replace Yaakov Hagoel, acting chairman of the Jewish Agency since 2021.
The previous Jewish Agency chairman, Isaac Herzog, vacated the position that year after he was elected president.
The Jewish Agency’s appointment of Almog will now be submitted to the Board of Governors for approval.
The board is expected to vote on the appointment at the opening plenary of its upcoming meeting, scheduled for July 10 in Jerusalem, with the participation of hundreds of Jewish leaders from around the world.
