"I wish you to be strong, wise, like Moses, who led his people out of the wilderness." So the chairman of the board of directors of O1 Group, Boris Mints, congratulated the co-owner of Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman, in 2018 on his birthday. This year, both businessmen became like a prophet and went on a pilgrimage to the Israeli desert, and all three of his sons went with Mints.

The Arava desert procession in the south of Israel was organized by the Russian Jewish Congress on the eve of the Jewish holiday Pesach, which this year will begin on the evening of April 19th. The campaign, which began on April 16, will last four days. It symbolizes the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, in whose honor Pesach is celebrated.

“As always, we will walk the entire route of our ancestors. Who has been, knows: these impressions are unforgettable. This is part of the cultural code of our people, symbols of the liberation of Jews from slavery, in honor of which Passover is celebrated, ”says President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) Yuri Kanner.

The RJCs note that the march participants will not only have to overcome several dozen kilometers of rocky terrain, but also experience the difficulties of a grueling journey, information hunger, lack of mobile communications and other benefits of civilization. The only relief is the camels, which will carry a supply of water, food and a tent.

However, Friedman does not suffer such deprivations for the first time. Pilgrimages have been held since 2012, and, as a representative of REK, told Forbes, he participated in most of them. In past years, Friedman’s fellow Alfa Group associate German Khan, President of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo Andrei Rappoport, former head of Rosnano Leonid Melamed and ex-owner of a casino in St. Petersburg Mikhail Mirilashvili also acquired the experience of “leaving the desert” .