The HESEG Foundation is a charitable foundation created by Canadians

Gerry Schwartz Gerald W. Schwartz, OC (born 1941) is the founder, chairman and CEO of Onex Corporation. Schwartz has a net worth of US$1.5 billion, according to Forbes. Early life and career Schwartz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He graduated from Kelvin Hi ...

and

Heather Reisman Heather Maxine Reisman (born August 28, 1948) is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist. Reisman is the founder and chief executive of the Canadian retail chain Indigo Books and Music. She is the co-founder and past Chair of Kobo, and was ...

in 2005Kennemer, Daniel, "New fund for lone soldiers launched", ''Jerusalem Post'', May 4, 2005 to provide scholarships to former lone soldiers (those without family in Israel) who serve in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. HESEG provides money to cover tuition and living expenses for former "lone soldiers" who wish to remain in Israel to study after they've completed their military service.Wheeler, Glen,
Indigo's Israel problem
", ''Now Magazine'', July 7-13, 2007 Approximately 6,000 "lone soldiers" serve in the IDF in any one year. At a ceremony at

Sde Dov Sde Dov Airport ( he, שדה דב, ''lit.'' Dov Field, ar, مطار سدي دوف), also known as Dov Hoz Airport ( he, נמל התעופה דב הוז, ''Nemal HaTe'ufa Dov Hoz'', ar, مطار دوف هوز) was an airport in Tel Aviv, Israe ...

Air Force Base in 2005 launching the foundation, Schwartz said "I hope that with the help of the Heseg Foundation, we will be able to grant lone soldiers, who have contributed and sacrificed so much for Israel, the chance to grow and enrich themselves academically, and, above all, that their future in Israel will be ensured." In 2006, HESEG donated 100 mobile air conditioning units to provide relief for residents of northern Israel forced to live in

bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

s during the

Israel-Hezbollah War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

.Rettig, Haviv, "Canadians bring breath of fresh air to shelters", ''Jerusalem Post'', July 21, 2006 Schwartz and Reisman's role in the foundation has led to a boycott campaign by anti-Occupation activists of the

Chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

and

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

book chain (Chapters/Indigo) as Reisman owns the chains and Schwartz, her husband, serves on the company's board of directors. ''Heseg'' is the Hebrew word for "achievement".

References

External links

HESEG Foundation website
Foundations based in Canada Israel Defense Forces Scholarships in Canada {{Israel-mil-stub