Danny Hakim, at The Blogs

Jun 11, 2026, 2:59 AM

Scouts of Hope: What a Women’s Delegation Brought Back from Abu Dhabi

30 women social change makers delegation

In a region exhausted by fear, our Women Champions for Change (WCC) delegation returned from Abu Dhabi with a different report: the dangers are real, but so are the partners, the possibilities, and the women determined to keep walking...

Apr 10, 2026, 12:23 AM

From Tehran to Tel Aviv: Women, Courage, and the Unbreakable Thread of Freedom

There are moments in history when distance becomes irrelevant, when identity transcends geography, and the heart refuses to disconnect. Dora Kadisha - Nazarian’s story is one of those moments. Born in Iran, she fled at just 17 during the 1979 Islamic...

Mar 30, 2026, 12:25 AM

The Fire Within: Leadership Between Sirens and Hope

This week, like so many across Israel, I found myself running to a shelter. It is a strange experience — one that compresses time. In seconds, the noise of daily life disappears, replaced by urgency, instinct, and a quiet, shared...

Mar 9, 2026, 9:15 PM

Resilience on the Road to Los Angeles: Israel’s Paralympic Journey

As the Winter Paralympics begin, I find myself reflecting on the resilience of Israel's athletes - and the country they represent. This week, as the Winter Paralympic Games open in Cortina, Italy, Israel will be represented by a single athlete...

Mar 2, 2026, 2:11 PM

Queen Esther and the brave Women of Iran

More than two thousand years ago, in the kingdom of Persia—modern-day Iran—a young Jewish woman found herself in a palace she did not choose, in a position she did not seek, facing a moment that would define history. Queen Esther...

Dec 22, 2025, 4:18 AM

Featured Post

I was a Bondi Beach baby. It was our safe place.

'Three-year-old Jeffrey Hakim, of Beverly Hills, enjoyed a Christmas snack on the sand at Bondi Beach yesterday, but brother Daniel, 10 months, trapped in his play pen, seemed to think he would not get any.' — The Sydney Morning Herald, December 1959.

From an optimistic migrant childhood to facing threats and communal loss: a life shaped by belonging, vigilance and resilience

Nov 19, 2025, 12:27 AM

From the iron wall to the open hand: Why Israel must embrace smart power

Karate – Kara-te in Japanese – means “empty hand” or “open hand.” At its core, it is a brutal martial art. The weapon is not a sword or a gun but the body itself – the hand, trained to...

Oct 5, 2025, 6:12 PM

Hope in Defiance: Women Leading change in the Middle East

Alongside Trump’s 20-point peace plan, the Women Champions for Change (WCC) summit held in September offered a shift from gridlock to imagination, hope and faith. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks defined the difference between Optimism, Hope and Faith. Optimism is the belief that...

May 5, 2025, 2:12 PM

Marathon of Hope

How Civil Society and Sport Can Spark a Global Wave of Peace Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once drew a profound distinction between optimism and hope. Optimism, he said, is the belief that things will improve. Hope, however, is the conviction that...

Nov 14, 2024, 7:57 PM

50 years of fighting antisemitism with karate

Fifty Years of Defending Myself In just one week, I found myself in two vastly different situations: reliving the glory of my youth on a karate mat in Australia and then taking cover from missiles at home in Israel. These...

About Me

Danny Hakim OAM is a 2 times world karate silver medalist and holds a 7th-degree black belt from Japan. He is the founder of Budo for Peace and Sport for Social Change. He is a board member of The Azrieli foundation, Maccabi World Union, The Alliance of Middle East Peace and Kids Kicking Cancer. In January 2022 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to the international community and in 2025 was elected honorary president of Israel's Paralympic committee.

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