The Jewish businessman and producer Yair Dori said the T.V. soap operas he produced in Argentina created a bridge that helped him relate culturally with Israel, and also contributed to settle Jewish issues in the small screen.
"My Jewish spirit is present in everything I do; it is present in my success and my work because it is a part of my identity. I take it everywhere with me with love, honor and respect," Dori stressed in an interview with Argentina’s Jewish News Agency (AJN), after winning the Golden Martín Fierro Award, Argentina’s most important show business prize.
The producer also referred to the need of working to "keep Latin American Jewish communities alive."
Asked about the role of those who live in the Diaspora, the Argentine-Israeli producer stressed: "It is important that people know their identity, even though they do not live in Israel, so that they do not lose the roots of their people and know that Judaism is not only a religion."
Dori told AJN that the work of his production company "encouraged tourism from and to Israel, since it made Argentina known through the fiction works" that have been carried out in the country.
The businessman added that this "helps both Argentina, in particular, as well as Latin America, in general."
Regarding the negotiations launched between Israel and the Islamic organization Hezbollah, aimed at bringing back to Israel the kidnapped soldiers, Dori, who was held captive during the Six Day War, said the Jewish State has "a commitment to bring their prisoners back home, even thought the price may be painful and unfair."
Dori noted that "the negotiation with Hamas is much more problematic, but an agreement is also the right track."
Regarding the attacks perpetrated against the Argentine Jewish community, Dori stressed that "I identify with any attack, since I went to war."
Addressing the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, where 85 people were killed, the producer stressed that it was "an attack against the institution that symbolizes Argentine Judaism."
"I am worried about this issue, we have to become aware of this problem and wave the ‘never again’ flag," Dori concluded.
The Jewish businessman and producer also participated in the creation of other T.V. hits in Argentina, such as "Padre Coraje", "Floricienta", "Hombres de Honor", "Amor Mío" and "Rebelde Way", a series were he included the Jewish issue as part of the plot.
Moreover, Dori was the one who took the music of Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa and the dance of Julio Bocca to the Israeli stages.
LT-GB