Gary Segal is well known around the Jewish Community of Greater Vancouver for the many hours of volunteer service he provides local Jewish organizations and committees. Currently, he is the President of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital, is on the Boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Jewish Community Foundation, Talmud Torah Foundation and Ohel Ya’kov Community Kollel, and recently chaired Schara Tzedeck Synagogue’s Century Campaign.
His deep desire to contribute to his community and Israel didn’t come out of the blue, however. There is little doubt in Gary’s mind that the year he spent living in Israel and studying at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the early 1970s instilled the passion for Israel and the community that has guided him as an adult and a father.
“In reflecting back on my time at Hebrew University, it was a privilege for me to attend there and was one of the most memorable and impactful periods of my life,” he said.
“Being immersed in a land and society in which you don’t think twice that you are Jewish and then coming back to Vancouver, where you really have to think about it, really heightened my awareness. It makes you want to work to advance the cause.”
Gary’s decision to study at Hebrew University was somewhat of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. One night after watching a thought provoking movie, he and a friend pondered their future while parked in the driveway of his family home.
It was then that they decided to take their lives east and travel farther than they had ever been before.
“It was my first major trip abroad and it was all about meeting people from all over the world, living in a different culture and with a different language,” he explained. “With the region being such a political hotspot it really opened my eyes up to the world that’s out there beyond Vancouver and British Columbia.”
Gary used his time wisely while at Hebrew University, learning Hebrew, studying and travelling to many nearby African and European countries. This inspired a further year of travel and study throughout Asia and the Arab world after completing his BA degree.
“Israel was a perfect launching pad for me to embark on exciting travel adventures both within Israel and to the surrounding continents,” he said.” That gave me an initial exposure to and passion for international travel and cultures that became a significant part of my personal and business life from then on until this day.”
Gary has also passed much of his passion for Israel and the plight of many other Jews around the Diaspora to his family - specifically his four children.
In 2000, as part of celebrating his daughter’s bat mitzvah in Israel, the Segal family enjoyed their own mission experience, meeting with dignitaries, professors and experts who enlightened them on many aspects of Israeli politics and lifestyle.
Then, in 2007, Gary and his youngest son Justin joined a Federation mission to Ethiopia learning about the struggles of life there and issues surrounding Ethiopian Jewry and Aliyah. After visiting a make-shift elementary school in a remote village that consisted of no building and few supplies, Justin, 17, who had fallen in love with the students during the mission, founded the Spread The Love project. Through Spread The Love Justin has raised approximately $10,000. As a result, two classrooms have been built for the school and various supplies have been purchased for the students. Justin and Gary will visit the school again this year as they continue to raise money and awareness.
Thanks to the ulpan program that preceded his Hebrew University studies, Gary still has a strong grasp of Hebrew today. He also appreciates the opportunities Hebrew University gave him in studying archaeology, international relations and the literature of Agnon with internationally renowned experts.
“That fateful rainy Vancouver night that I decided to study at Hebrew University in Israel, little did I know what a life changing experience it would be,” Gary said. “Being immersed in Israeli society and a Jewish milieu forged an indelible bond with Israel and my heritage. But in so many ways, attending Hebrew University truly is a unique personal growth opportunity for a student.”