For some, making aliyah is the culmination of a lifelong dream. This was certainly the case for Jersey girl Seagal Hagege. “It was always my dream to have a one-way ticket” to Israel, she said in a recent interview with the Magazine.
Born and raised in New Jersey, where she lived most of her life, Hagege (pronounced a-jéj) moved with her young family to the West Coast for a couple of years before taking the plunge and finally making Israel home on October 7, 2020.
As the world was in the grip of the pandemic when they made aliyah, her preferred option wasn’t available – to come on an A/1 Temporary Resident visa – so it was aliyah or nothing.
And so, Hagege, pregnant with her fourth child, along with her husband, Stephan, and their three young daughters Sadie, Livie, and Averie, packed up and immigrated to Israel.
Since that time, their lives have changed dramatically.
Six months after the move, Hagege gave birth to Oliver, a much longed-for son and brother, completing their family circle.
Despite the joy of fulfilling her dream of making aliyah and welcoming another child into the family, Hagege found the first three years in Israel tough.
“The puzzle was not fitting together in the way I expected,” she explained.
Finding suitable schools for the girls aged 8, 11 and 12 was a challenge, as the local schools were oversubscribed in the south Netanya neighborhood of Ir Yamim where the family settled. “There was a disconnect because the kids were not in a local school,” Hagege recalled.
Instead, the girls were placed in schools in neighboring towns, which made everything feel like an “uphill climb.”
Although Hagege sometimes thought about going back to the States, “I didn’t want to feel like a failure,” she said. “The kids never complained, but I didn’t want to throw in the towel.”
As time wore on, things slowly became easier, as the family got involved with the local synagogue. “The people we met in shul became our family,” she said. This was one of the main reasons that the couple decided to remain in Israel. “In shul, I felt I’d found a home in my community.”
ON OCT. 7, Hagege and her family hosted a kiddush in their synagogue to mark the third anniversary of their aliyah. It wasn’t until afterward that she discovered what had happened that morning: the beginning of the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
Volunteering during wartime
That discovery led to an epiphany for this impressive woman, who was still struggling to find meaning in her newly adopted home. “My whole life, I felt like no shoes fit,” she said.
Oct. 7 changed that and gave her life fulfillment and meaning that had been missing. “It wasn’t until after the war began that the shoes fit,” she said.
Almost immediately, Hagege swung into action. On October 8, she donated blood at the local community center. “I don’t like needles, but I wanted to give blood,” she told the Magazine.
That altruistic act was just the start of the extraordinary journey Hagege has been on for the past nine and a half months. “That was when my ‘Israeli’ came out,” she half-joked.
With hundreds of thousands of reservists being called up to fight on Oct. 7, Hagege turned her attention to raising money to buy equipment for them, something she’s been preoccupied – or, some would argue, obsessed – with doing ever since.
Using social media – Facebook in particular – as her primary medium to reach donors, most of whom are in the US, her first task involved raising funds to buy 50 pairs of boots. “I know how it is to sit in the States and not know how to help,” she explained. “I’ve created a space for everyone to do a mitzvah in any way they can.”
Since then, she’s posted hundreds of “missions” and raised over a million dollars. Donor fatigue, of which many are now complaining, hasn’t affected this whirling dervish of energy and passion. “The turnaround time for requests is amazing,” she enthused.
Items for which Hagege has collected donations include vests and plates, helmets, earplugs, mosquito netting, gloves, knee pads, and a generator.
A deeply spiritual person, Hagege has felt a “divine presence” guiding her since Oct. 7. For her, nothing is out of reach: “Any request is achievable,” she stated confidently.
OPERATING UNDER her newly formed Concierge Service for Tactical Gear and Equipment,” Hagege has no intention of slowing down until her beloved soldiers no longer need her. With equipment in short supply in many areas as the war grinds on and gear needs replacing, Hagege, and others like her, are needed now more than ever.
The response to her requests in monetary terms has been very strong. And by delivering most of the equipment herself, often to inhospitable and even dangerous parts of the country, Hagege has also formed some extraordinary bonds: “I’ve connected to a lot of incredible people, and I’m still in contact with every life that I’ve touched.”
Between her large brood and her fundraising missions, Hagege barely has time for herself. Nevertheless, she is still looking for different ways to help. Organizing and participating in weekly Leket Israel volunteer outings to farms in the South also takes up much of her time now. Often joined by one or more of her children, as well as friends and neighbors, these weekly trips have become a welcome day out for people of all ages.
As we concluded our meeting, Hagege became somewhat introspective. “I don’t know why certain things fall into my lap,” she mused. “Everything I have done has felt like me throwing someone a lifeline, while they are throwing me one.” ■
To Adopt a Mission, contact Seagal Hagege at +1 (917) 886-6795 or 053-847-0367.
Seagal Hagege, 48 From Irvine, CA, to Netanya, 2020