This is the second in my ongoing series, “Profiles in Activism.” After the war began on October 7, 2023, Seagal Hagege founded Kadima Concierge, a grassroots, community-based fundraising and logistics initiative that has raised over 2 million shekels to support IDF soldiers, displaced families, and communities affected by the war. Along the way, she launched the Helmets 4 Chayalim project, which has artists transform decommissioned IDF helmets into works of art that inspire connection, healing, and community engagement. Both initiatives are under the Ari Fuld Project.

No one is more surprised by this turn of events than Seagal herself.

No one is more surprised by this turn of events than Seagal herself.

No one is more surprised by this turn of events than Seagal herself. Indeed, the whole venture almost never happened. By October 6, 2023, three years into a difficult Aliyah, Seagal had reached her breaking point. While she and her family had fulfilled a lifelong dream of living in Israel, the reality of actually being here, dealing with immigration and bureaucracy and finding schools for her children had proven to be more than a little difficult.

That Friday evening, she found herself browsing American real estate listings, wondering whether it was time to admit defeat and return to the United States. Twenty-four hours later, everything changed. Suddenly, the frustrations that had seemed overwhelming the day before became insignificant in the context of the nation’s collective trauma and horror. All of a sudden, “Get me out here” became “How can I help?”

All........

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