‘We are the biggest family’: Rabbi Doron Perez draws on personal loss to call for Jewish unity

Rabbi Doron Perez, president of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the World Mizrachi movement, has penned a new book titled "Smallest Nation, Largest Family." The book explores the idea that the Jewish people is, first and foremost, a family, which serves as the foundation of Jewish peoplehood. The inspiration behind the book stemmed from Perez's personal tragedy when his son Daniel, a tank commander in the 7th Armored Brigade's 77th Battalion, was killed in battle on October 7, 2023, and held hostage by Hamas for two years.

After Daniel's death was confirmed on March 17, 2024, the Perez family held a funeral, burying Daniel's bloodstained army uniform shirt on Mount Herzl. On October 13, 2025, as the last 20 hostages were returned to Israel, Perez watched anxiously on television as his family received an encouraging WhatsApp message from a friend in Cape Town. In the message, the friend wrote, "We may be the smallest nation in the world, but we are the largest family."

Two years after Daniel's death, Perez delivered eulogies at Daniel's funerals, emphasizing the importance of unity among Jews in Israel and around the world. He delivered his first eulogy, stating that people should focus more on what will happen in Israel rather than in Gaza. He reminded the audience that Israel is not the smallest nation in the world but the biggest family.

In the second eulogy, he reiterated the notion that Jews are brothers and sisters, no matter their backgrounds, and that they must support and care for each other like family.

Perez's reflections on the idea of Jewish unity led him to realize that the Jewish people is not just a group with shared religion and nationality but a family built on kinship. He argues that the Jewish people is both a religion and a nation, which is founded on the bonds of parents and children. His book "Smallest Nation, Largest Family" emphasizes the principle of Jewish unity and the role of family in shaping Jewish identity.