8 days of olim shining their light on Israel: Yossi Abramowitz
Celebrating Olim from North America and the UK that have shined their light on Israel and the Jewish people.
By JPOST.COM STAFFYosef Abramowitz poses with one of the Green Globes which were scattered around the capital last year.(photo credit: COURTESY ENERGIYA GLOBAL)
“Captain Sunshine”might sound like a playful nickname, but for Yossi Abramowitz, it describes his highly serious and ambitious plan: to provide clean electricity for 50 million people by 2023.That’s the goal of Energiya Global Capital, the developer of affordable solar projects where Abramowitz serves as president and CEO. He is also the co-founder of the Arava Power Company, which inaugurated Israel’s first medium-sized solar field.As the founding father of Israel’s $10 billion solar market, Abramowitz showcases the Jewish state as a compassionate provider of renewable energy for the betterment of the world.A former candidate for Israeli president, Abramowitz was born in New York, initially lived in Israel from 1969-1972, and made Aliyah from Boston more than three decades later in 2006 with Nefesh B’Nefesh. He has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights work with the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews and was awarded the Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize for Entrepreneurship in 2014.For Abramowitz, expanding access to renewable energy is more than humanitarian work. He considers it a spiritual pursuit as well as a unique mission for the “start-up nation.”“I propose that the next phase of Israel’s economic development be in the industries that advance and affirm God’s image”Abramowitz wrote for The Jerusalem Post in October 2016. “In doing so, Israel can become a superpower of goodness in the world.”Abramowitz’s Energiya Global Capital is an official partner and co-founder of Power Africa, a multi-billion-dollar USAID initiative Israel joined last week at Abramowitz's initiative. Over the 8 days of Hanukka, The Jerusalem Post and Nefesh B’Nefesh will bring you 8 extraordinary Olim from North America and the UK that have shined their respective light on Israel and the Jewish people. Nefesh B’Nefesh, the main facilitator of Aliya from these areas, has brought over 50,000 Olim to Israel since the organizations’ founding 10 years ago. Its annual Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize honors these Olim each year. To nominate exceptional Anglo Olim making a difference in Israel, please visit: http://www.nbn.org.il/bonei-zion/
