Farewell Eli Alaluf, You Inspired Lasting Change

Amal Educational Network mourns the passing of Eli Alaluf, a visionary leader, Israel Prize laureate and one of the most influential champions of social justice, education and the fight against poverty in Israel. For over four decades, he worked tirelessly to reduce social gaps, strengthen Israel’s geographic and social periphery, and ensure that every child, regardless of place of birth, could access opportunities for a better future. His deep partnership with the education system and with civil society organizations created a unique model of long-term, systemic investment in communities, combining public responsibility with courageous and strategic philanthropy.

Throughout his public life, Alaluf insisted that meaningful change must grow both from the ground up and from the top down: from classrooms, neighborhoods and local leaders, and at the same time from national policy, budgets and long-term infrastructure. As CEO of the Rashi Foundation, he led hundreds of educational and welfare initiatives that built new schools, early childhood centers, scientific and technological learning frameworks and community services across the Negev and the Galilee, while empowering local educators and municipalities as full partners in design and implementation. His belief that philanthropy must listen to communities, identify real needs, and then mobilize both governmental and philanthropic resources has left a lasting imprint on how we think about educational equity in Israel.

For our donors and friends, Eli Alaluf’s legacy is a powerful reminder that strategic giving is not only about generosity, but about partnership, persistence and responsibility for the next generation. His life story shows how one person, guided by values and a clear vision, can help reshape national agendas in education, welfare and employment, while staying close to the people whose lives are most affected by these policies. In Amal’s ongoing work to expand opportunity and excellence in all parts of Israeli society, we see ourselves as continuing a path that he helped pave: connecting philanthropic initiative, professional expertise and community voices into long-term projects that change reality on the ground.

“In deep sorrow I part from my longtime friend, Eli Alaluf,” shares Karen Tal, Director General of Amal Educational Network. She describes him as a constant source of inspiration for her work in education, a man who followed his passion, believed in people, and knew how to connect leaders, donors, schools and communities around ambitious, long-term projects for the sake of Israel’s children. In her words, his legacy obligates all of us to continue building bridges between government, civil society and philanthropy, so that real and lasting change in education will always move in both directions: from vision to classroom and from classroom back to national priorities.