The Joe Alon Connection Program – The Israeli Perspective

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Israel, a 78-year-old state, is widely regarded as an extraordinary success story. The personal story of Joe Alon, one of the key figures in the establishment of the Israeli Air Force who was murdered in Washington while serving as Israel’s Air Attaché, encompasses pivotal events and foundational principles of renewed Israeli identity.

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This Israeli identity integrates three central elements:

1. Growth from Pain

The pain of the Holocaust is etched into the Jewish DNA and embodies two parallel imperatives: the acute Jewish need for a sovereign state, and, at the same time, a deep sensitivity toward human beings. This is why we visited Beit Terezín, established by survivors of Theresienstadt as a center for Holocaust study and remembrance, focusing on the unique story of the ghetto and the daily life that continued within it. Joe’s parents, Tekla and Friedl Placzek, were imprisoned in the Theresienstadt ghetto and were murdered in Auschwitz in 1945.

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2. Strengthening Israeli Power

With the establishment of the State of Israel, fortifying its strength became a central pillar. The Israel Defense Forces were built upon the understanding that defense is essential to ensuring “the natural right of the Jewish people to be like all other nations, standing in their own sovereign state,” in the words of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

This is why we visited the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim. We were joined by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Israel, Ms. Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, and First Secretary Mr. Michal Dvořák. We learned about the establishment of the Israeli Air Force, about the assistance provided by Czechoslovakia in training fighters and supplying military equipment, and we met the people behind the stories of heroism. Joe was the first commander of  Hatzerim air base, a Holocaust survivor who became one of the founders of the Israeli Air Force.

On the same day, we continued to the Joe Alon Center and the Museum of Bedouin Culture. We learned about the Bedouin community and the transformations it is undergoing, and we experienced the ancient art of thread embroidery.

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3. Innovation and Humanism as a Way of Life

Belief in the individual, in the human spirit and in human capability, is a cornerstone of the Jewish people’s modern development and of the State of Israel in particular. This belief underpinned the aspiration to establish a national homeland for the Jewish people. Since its founding, Israel has demonstrated its readiness to defend the state whenever necessary, while simultaneously maintaining a constant pursuit of peace and good neighborly relations both within the country and beyond its borders, as reflected in the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, with the Palestinian Authority, and with the Gulf states (The Abraham Accords).

(The visit will take place toward the end of the academic year.)

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Joe Alon’s life story moves through these three stations. Their integration highlights the central value the program seeks to emphasize: growth from collective pain into a humanistic Israeli strength.