Yitzhak Tshuva's Rare Revelation: "There Were Days We Had Nothing to Eat at Home"

Yitzhak Tshuva, the controlling shareholder of Delek Group, received a lifetime achievement award this week at the National Energy Conference, from the Israeli Institute for Energy and Environment. During his speech, Tshuva spoke about immigrating from the Soviet Union, living in a transit camp, and distant days when there wasn't even enough to eat at home. "Looking back, I must admit that when you start with nothing, you start with a dream - but if it burns within you, you start to achieve with hard work, perseverance, and faith - to succeed, you must have faith in Hashem."

During his speech, Tshuva took his audience back to when he was 12 years old and had to enter the workforce to help with the family's financial burden. "There were evenings when there was nothing to eat at home. I carried blocks and iron and didn't disdain any work. I worked during the day and studied at night to help support a family of 11 living in a transit camp."

But even then, during the austerity period when 12-year-old children had much less than children today, Tshuva envisioned a completely different reality. "I dreamed of a different reality and the opportunities that would come and believed that dreams are not limited and can come true. You should never lose hope," he said, moving the attendees.