Israeli journalist Yaron Deckel come to speak about his career and journalism at the Upper School on Jan. 8. Throughout his 37-year career in radio and television, Deckel has conducted high-profile interviews, including with several Israeli prime ministers and three U.S. presidents.
Four years ago, Deckel pivoted from reporting and commentating to Israel advocacy in North America. Currently, he is the Regional Director for Canada at the Jewish Agency for Israel. In that capacity, he said he works to improve relations between North American, particularly Canadian Jews and the State of Israel.
“We are trying to find ways to connect young adults and kids to Israelis as much as possible,” Deckel said. “That’s the way to educate the younger generation about what Israel is about, about Zionism and Israelis because there are gaps and differences in the culture between Israelis and North Americans.”
First, Deckel spoke with members of The Lion’s Tale, emphasizing the importance of teaching readers something new through the stories of people, rather than through policy. Afterward, Deckel spoke with Hebrew students about his journalistic career and current advocacy work.
Freshman Ariel Mincha said that he learned a lot from listening to Deckel speak about his experiences working as a journalist and at the Jewish Agency. In particular, he said that Deckel helped him think about the relationship between Jews in America and in Israel.
“He told the people in the class that, no matter where we are, we are thinking about Israel,” Mincha said. “He said it was important for Israelis to know we support them, and we should know we’re doing an amazing job.”
Hebrew Teacher and Israel Engagement Coordinator Anat Kaufman organized Deckel’s visit with help from the Jewish Agency. She also said that Deckel spoke at Jewish Day School in Fairfax, Virginia, after leaving JDS.
Kaufman said she was excited by the opportunity to host Deckel after listening and watching him for many years. Like Deckel, Kaufman said that it is important to talk about Israel, and said that she was eager to expose students to different perspectives.
“It’s great every time we have the opportunity to hear different Hebrew from someone else, not only the teacher,” Kaufman said. “But also to speak about Israel. It’s always important to speak about Israel, to hear about Israel from the news, about food, about anything.”
In addition to talking about his career, Deckel spoke about the intersection of policy and personality in history the Middle East and North America during both of his presentations. He spoke about covering both war and peace, specifically when Deckel spoke about his 1995 interview with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which was Rabin’s final interview before his assassination.
He also spoke for several minutes about the logistics of scheduling and conducting an interview with President George W. Bush about Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. After observing powerful people and traveling America for decades, Deckel said that in his new position, like his journalistic career, he wants to show students the importance of the relationship between America and Israel.
“It fascinates me to visit different communities and to visit different places. I have done it for the last 30 years, and I still like very much being involved [with outreach] in the United States and meeting American Jews,” Deckel said.
