Benefactor Isaac Ochberg

Kibbutz Dalia is nestled in the beautiful Menasche Park in northern Israel, a popular area for tourists and residents alike. The kibbutz itself is off the beaten track and it is unlikely that you would have come across a weather beaten brass plaque attached to a wall of an attractive pergola on the kibbutz. The plaque identifies Isaac Ochberg as the donor of a vast tract of land to the Jewish National Fund.

And who was this man? A man who loved Israel, who served the Jewish community as a benefactor and tsaddik, a man who vicariously `fathered’ orphans of the Ukraine, saving their lives and giving these unfortunate children the opportunity of a meaningful Jewish life in a new country. A man who, despite his personal frailty and illness and a life beset with tragedy, directed his interest and love to all things Jewish. A generous supporter of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and with his bequest to Israel in his will, remains to date, the single largest individual contributor to the Jewish National Fund. This is not a man who should be forgotten and it is the intention of the descendants of the `Ochberg Orphans’ who owe their very existence to him, to make sure that his name lives on, not only by those personally involved in his story but by every person who passes through Israel and visits the magnificent area that he bequeathed to our country.

Born in the Ukraine on May 31, 1878, Isaac followed his father to Cape Town, South Africa, when he was 16 years old. It wasn’t long before he became a wealthy entrepreneur, a generous benefactor and active philanthropist. He was an active participant in Jewish communal affairs and an ardent Zionist his whole life. He represented South Africa at the 16^th World Zionist Conference in Zurich in 1929.

In the early 1920s in Europe the war had been raging between many factions for over six years and the ongoing pogroms were relentless. Jewish orphans in their hundreds, if not thousands, were wandering all over the countryside, many succumbing to the hardships of their fugitive lives, to hunger and to disease.

Isaac Ochberg was determined to rescue as many of these children as he could and was persistent in his efforts. He went to the Ukraine and visited orphanages searching for suitable orphans to fill his quota of 200 which the South African government had permitted entry. The fact that he succeeded in his aim is a tribute to the caliber of this phenomenal man.

Known as 'Daddy Ochberg' to his charges, he overcame tiresome bureaucracy and transported his orphans to London for their ongoing passage to South Africa, where the children were housed in the Cape Town Jewish Orphanage of Oranje and the Johannesburg Jewish Orphanage of Arcadia. For many years Isaac Ochberg was President of the Cape Town Jewish orphanage and continued to keep a watchful eye on his orphans. Many of his charges grew up to be pillars of the South African Jewish community.

Isaac Ochberg died in November 1937 while on an ocean voyage. He was 59 years old. He was laid to rest in Cape Town at one of the largest funerals ever seen there.

Films have been made of this man’s life, and books written with all the facts. He was and is an inspiration. For the thousands of descendants of his 'orphans' he is the reason they have a life today. And it is these descendants together with the Jewish National Fund who intend to honor his memory by the establishment of a Memorial Park and museum that will bear his name here on the land that he bequeathed to his beloved Israel. It is thanks to the untiring efforts of a small committee working between Israel and South Africa that this function will take place. One of the original orphans who today lives in Haifa will herself be honored on the occasion. There will in addition be many children and grandchildren of the orphans at the dedication in July 2011. They will gather in Israel from all the ends of the earth in what promises to be a memorable and auspicious dedication to a true man of valor.

The Ochberg dedication ceremony will take place at Kibbutz Dalia on July19 & 20. For additional information contact: David Kaplan tel: 09 767 404, 050 743 2361,  hildav@netvision.net.il; Beryl Ratzer 09 834 42681, 052 365 1037  ratzer@bezeqint.net; or Bennie Penzik benzipen@smile.net.il (Isaac Ochberg Committee Israel Chairman).