September 21, 2008 / 21 Elul, 5768

Dear Friends,

Today we are accompanying Moshe Nativ, the former Director General of JAFI and the Chair of "Amigour", on his final journey. At this time, the Jewish Agency's family lowers its head in great pain for the death of one of its greatest sons. A man who from the day of his Aliyah from Romania to Israel via Youth Aliyah - is a mirror of the history, struggles and achievements of the State of Israel. His life work up until his last day was the security of the State of Israel and the fulfillment of the future of the Jewish People in the Diaspora.

Moshe Nativ spent half of his adult life in the Israeli Defense Forces. Over many years he filled various senior jobs, the last of which was as Head of IDF manpower between the years 1983-1978. He was known for his care for every soldier and commander in the IDF, and in particular for combat soldiers, and it was not for nothing, that the law for released soldiers bears his name.

Upon his release from the IDF, Moshe still did not rest. As a man of vision, he was recruited to serve in many positions at the Workers Company. Later, he made the turn that led him to the magnificent chapter to which he dedicated the rest of his life. With his nomination as head of the Jewish Agency delegation in the US, a new chapter opened in his life, the chapter of the Jewish People. Upon the conclusion of his position in the US, he was appointed Director General of the Jewish Agency and filled this position during one of the most challenging and historical times in the organization, the years of the great Aliyah from the FSU.

As Chair of the Board of Amigour – it was Moshe who led the company to its greatest and most important achievements in recent years. With his connections and talents he managed to recruit the largest Jewish foundations in the world and the Claims Conference to establish public housing for elderly Olim, in particular from the FSU and Ethiopia.

Moshe was a board member in a long line of Boards of Directors – in the Israel Aircraft Industries, the Israel Dockyards, the Union of Retired Soldiers, the Gymnasia of Herzliya in Tel Aviv, as Chair of the Romania Immigrants Association, the Chair of the Immigration Institute of the Rupin Academic Center, the President of the Council for a Beautiful Israel, and more.

There is not enough time or space to adequately describe Moshe. He was a man with a deep and overseeing vision regarding the security of the State of Israel; involved and knowledgeable in the political, social and economic spheres; a man who believed with all his might that despite the wars, despite the hardships – Israel is the home of the Jewish People and a place where a glorious future awaits.

Moshe was a man for whom every door opened to his talents, grace, modesty and personal charm. His friends included not only commanders-in-chief of the Israel Defense Force and Heads of States, but also soldiers who served with him in his years in the army and employees in the systems he managed. Cultivation of the human resource was his life's work. Every person was a world to him and the privilege to make the most of the potential in every person was a top value for him.

There is not a significant field in the country's life and people that Moshe did not deal with. He believed in educating and training the future generation of the State of Israel and acted to promote this field especially in the periphery and development towns. He believed in the importance of the connection between the State of Israel and the People sitting in Zion and the Jewish People in the Diaspora. He was closely acquainted with the Jewish communities and the leadership of the Jewish world and they loved, respected and esteemed him. He was closely and personally connected to the Jewish community in Romania and worked to return the lost Holocaust possessions of the Romanian Jewish community.

Moshe Nativ, a lover of human beings, a collector of mitzvoth. He was sharp, a clear minded person, devoted to the State and to the People; a brave man, who made not-so-simple decisions in his life. And there was, of course, his eternal smile, which captivated you from the moment you met him. A smile through which you saw his abundant soul.

From the day I was elected as Chairman of the Jewish Agency's Executive, I found in Moshe a loyal partner, a man I could consult with, trust his observations, judgment, experience and knowledge. He was to me a friend and colleague, whom I will miss dearly every day.

Nativ Family, Today you have lost your dearest. May it help console you that Moshe loved life and that many people, whose life he touched, loved him greatly in return. We offer you strength in these painful hours and we promise that we will be with you in your time of mourning.

Moshe my friend, I am saying goodbye to you on behalf of the Executive of the Jewish Agency, its managers and its employees. You will be engraved in our hearts forever.

May you rest in peace, dear friend.