Inspirational Israeli

TAL OHANA

Tal Ohana was elected mayor of Yeruham in 2018, the first woman to serve in this position in the town's history. In 2019, she won the Ben Gurion Award for Public Service and Young Leadership, and this past May, she won the national award from the Movement of Quality Government in Israel. Tal holds a master’s degree in public policy from Reichman University. She is married and has one daughter. What is your favorite part of the day? To hold up my daughter when she wakes up from her good night’s sleep. Her big hug, after she let her tired mom sleep tight. This hug charges me with energy for the rest of the day. During the day I have some moments when I sit with the different teams to promote, to think, to plan different activities of the Council. It gives me great pleasure when I get to meet both with the directors and the people on the ground.

If you could meet with any famous figure, living or dead, who would it be? I would have liked to have met my greatgrandmother, Rachel z”l. She passed away just a few days before I was born. Although we never met, something within her is with me. When I was 20, I went to add her name as my middle name, and it was only then I realized that my grandmother asked my mom to give me her mom’s name but my mom didn't want to. She was a woman of kindness. She made Aliyah to Israel at a late age, 60, and she took care of her grandchildren. She was a saint.

What has been the most challenging time in your life and why? I think the most challenging time of my life was when our family business fell apart. The business was where I grew up, I gained all my skills there. The challenge was all

the uncertainty around that time, but it was heartbreaking to see my dad, who was so strong and successful until then, losing himself and his life work. It was hard.

What is one of your proudest moments? I think that it is only in retrospect that I can look at some moments on the way that I can be proud of. Six years ago, when I was the vice mayor of Yeruham I opened a big nursery center with a school and boarding. It was very important to the city. Only recently, when I took my daughter to get a vaccine in the center, I realized how beautiful and important this center is.

I’m trying to touch people's lives, even a small touch, so every time I hear about another young person from unprivileged circumstances who found a job, I’m proud.

What is your favorite Israeli dish? It’s hard for me to describe it as Israeli. My favorite dishes come from my mother's kitchen, which is inspired by our Moroccan roots. For eight years I went back and forth from Israel to Morocco for a Zionist project I was involved with. When I came back home, I told my mom that I had been looking for food that tastes like hers but could not find it. It shows us that Israel added some layers of flavor to the qualities of Moroccan food.

What is your favorite location within Israel and why? My favorite place in Israel is the desert crater. I love the desert, and when I need a boost for the heart and the spirit, something that will cleanse me, make me take a deep breath and know that everything is going to be OK, I go to the Yeruham crater. Sometimes I will go to Ramon Crater as well. Something in the desert makes my spirit go high.

Who is an inspiration for you? Inspiration for me is people who combine spirit and action. People who have a vision but stay humble, as well. People who are connected to their roots, to the Torah. I love listening to Miriam Peretz speak about how her life journey made her become such an important person in Israel. We want to hear every word that comes out of her mouth. She has the ability to tell a story that so many people can relate to.

What advice would you give a young person who wants to change the world? I would tell him to jump into the water. Just jump fast and start swimming. Even faster than you think you can. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said: Connect your heart’s passion to the world’s needs. This connection is where you should be inspired to be. Keep listening to everyone. Really listening. To criticism, to the presents of faith, as I call them. Keep listening, and you will get to where you should be.

What is your biggest fear? To wake up in the morning and live a meaningless life.

What challenges have you faced in your political career? What are your plans for the future? The political challenges I faced were the moments when I had to look at a person’s personal needs that were not aligned with the public’s needs. It took me a long time, and it is still a challenge, to look at a person with compassion and love from my heart. I came to politics because I want to make a change, I want to make people live the life they deserve, have a better life, have more equality, have more social mobility, and especially live a meaningful life. As I want for myself.

My plan for the future is to go for another term as the mayor of Yeruham. And then be a person that can make a change in Israel. Either in the government or any other public way that will allow me to make a difference.

How did you effectively enforce COVID-19 restrictions in the early days of the outbreak? From the first moment of the COVID outbreak, I realized that this is a mission I need to be in charge of, from A to Z. I also realized that this is a story of resilience, not just health. I wanted to talk to the public every day, to show them that I’m here for them, that I’m doing everything in my power to help them. I wanted to show the people that I’m thinking about all aspects of their life. Their social needs, psychological needs, and financial needs. This allowed us to feel like one big team. And they supported me when I decided to close the synagogues early, the city itself before Passover. I realized then what it means to be a leader of people. What it means to carry every burden on myself but also hope. I learned a lot. Both for that time and for the future of who I want to be.