Tony Reichler was only 16 when he decided to move away from his native Venezuela for a new opportunity—but he was ready. “My life in Venezuela was not bad, but it was not a life of meaning,” Tony says. He wanted to finish school abroad, in Israel, and the Jewish Agency for Israel was there to help.
Tony enrolled in Na’ale: The World’s Jewish High School, a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Na’ale allows parents in Jewish communities abroad to register their tenth-grade children for three years of tuition-free high school in Israel. Teens will learn Hebrew, build lifelong friendships with peers all over the world, and develop a lasting relationship with the land through fun and educational trips and cultural activities.
You could say that single decision set the stage for Tony’s next chapter—reaching his full potential as a citizen of Israel. And The Jewish Agency was with him every step of the way.
“My parents raised my sister and I as good citizens of Venezuela and as lovers of Israel,” Tony explains. His father, a Zionist who emigrated to Venezuela and settled there after meeting Tony’s mother, would tell the family stories of his own experiences in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. That idea of public service stuck with Tony later, as he completed his high school school diploma and officially made Aliyah (as the vast majority of Na’ale participants do).
Aliyah is a program of The Jewish Agency that supports Jews who wish to immigrate to Israel from locations throughout the world. Through an all-encompassing, hands-on system of resources, The Jewish Agency provides guidance throughout the entire application process—answering questions, helping make arrangements, and being there for community members and their families as they undergo this life change.
Finding your place in a new home, however, takes time and dedication. Tony entered an intensive Hebrew language program in northern Israel and for two-and-a-half years, he learned to speak Hebrew and worked to complete his immigrant absorption process. When the time came for him to follow in his father’s footsteps and enroll in the Israel Defense Forces, The Jewish Agency was once again by his side. While serving in his combat unit, he was particularly empowered by Wings: Services and Continuing Support for Lone Soldiers, another of The Agency’s programs. They provide services, counseling, a stipend, opportunities to stay with host families, and more for soldiers who serve Israel while their families live abroad. Wings also prepares their soldiers for life after discharge. They help these often-new Israeli citizens transition into civilian life in an unfamiliar country. For Tony, this meant enrolling in university. Wings was able to help there, too.
“I knew I was taking a financial risk and an academically challenging path by enrolling in university,” Tony says. “But I wanted to study governance and strategy, and I have a strong desire to succeed in Israeli society.”
And it’s this drive that led him to to where is his today, a second-year student at IDC Herzliya, a private college modeled after Ivy League Universities in the U.S. He’s studying diplomacy and strategy and he hopes to enter the public sector after graduation. But his connection with The Jewish Agency is still something that strongly defines his journey.
He’s become a spokesman for The Agency, traveling across the U.S. and around the world to talk about how Wings is helping soldiers in Israel. Known as a particularly dynamic public speaker, he talks about his own life, and relates how The Jewish Agency has been there for him and others like him, working to strengthen the relationship between Jews around the world and Israel.
This past year, things came full circle as Tony returned to his native Venezuela on a mission on behalf of The Agency. He spoke of how in Israel, “I learned in high school, served in the army, and fulfilled public service. This type of self-realization is something I did not experience in Venezuela.”
Since immigrating, Tony’s story only grows richer with each passing day. “In the State of Israel, you can grow as a person,” he says. “I very much love what I’ve been doing here since I made Aliyah.”