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“My Dream is

for Every

Jewish School

to have an

Israeli Shaliach”

An interview with Gael Grunewald, Mizrachi representative in the National Institutions

When Gael Grunewald made Aliyah at age 18, he knew he wanted to make an impact in the Jewish state,
but didn’t know exactly what that would look like. After decades of service at World Bnei Akiva and as
Mizrachi’s representative in Israel’s National Institutions, Gael today is the Vice Chairman of the World
Zionist Organization (WZO), as well as head of the WZO’s Education Department, where he sends
hundreds of Israeli shlichim around the world to serve as teachers in Jewish schools.
Rabbi Aron White spoke with Gael to learn about the National Institutions
and his dream of sending a shaliach to every Jewish school in the world.

Before we talk about your current position, can you tell us a encouraging Aliyah, promoting Jewish and Zionist education
little bit about your background? around the world, strengthening knowledge of Hebrew, providing
social services for impoverished Jews, fighting antisemitism and
I grew up in France, and made Aliyah almost forty years ago. BDS, and more.
After learning in yeshiva and then at university for my computer
science degree, I served as a head Shaliach for the Jewish Agency The World Zionist Organization (WZO) was founded by Herzl
in Europe, during which time I lived in Belgium. I have been in 1897, KKL was founded by the WZO in 1901, and the Jewish
involved with Bnei Akiva and the National Institutions for the Agency was founded in 1929. The relationship between them is
past 30 years, including serving as Director General of Bnei Akiva, complicated and can be confusing. For example, the WZO is a
Deputy Chairman of Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, and the head of little bit like the father, and the KKL is its child, but the child is
the settlement division of KKL. today more wealthy than the father, as it owns some 14% of all
the land in Israel.
You have represented Mizrachi at the National Institutions
since 2006. What are the National Institutions?
The National Institutions are a group of organizations – the
World Zionist Organization, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, the Jewish
Agency – who are the representatives of the Jewish people as a
whole. Israel is a sovereign country, and its state institutions offi-
cially represent the citizens of Israel. The National Institutions
represent Jews from all over the world, and Jews from all over the
world have their say in how they are run and what they do. There
are so many different things that the institutions do, including

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