Hop! Channel Co-Founder Alona Avat Dies at 67 After Cancer Battle

Alona Avat, one of the founders of Israel’s Hop! children’s channel, died on Friday after many years of battling cancer. She was 67. Her family said she is survived by her partner, Tamir Paul, and their three children, Lihi, Yoav and Idan.

Hop! issued a farewell statement calling Avat a visionary, an entrepreneur at heart, a value-driven leader and someone deeply committed to early childhood, education and high-quality content for children and families. The channel said she and Paul founded Hop! in 2000 and led its growth into the Hop! media group.

In a past interview with ynet, Avat said the idea for the channel came from recognizing that what was being broadcast for children at the time did not always fit their emotional and cognitive abilities. “We understood that we could provide a response to a very special audience, with different understandings from their older siblings, with different needs,” she said. “Today it seems obvious, but then we had to convince people.”

Hop! added that under her leadership, the channel grew from a dream of quality preschool content into an international media group that changed children’s television in Israel and influenced children’s content worldwide. Her family said, “She taught us not only how to live, but also how to part with dignity.”