Baltimore, Israel & Overseas

A Few Other Blogs Worth Checking Out

2010-01-27T15:03:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy in the Jewish world. From the highs of birthright israel trips to the devastation in Haiti, there has been a lot written on the internet. Today, I'm happy to share two blogs with you:

From Goucher Hillel, there is the Amazing Israel Bus 35 blog, which has highlights from the groups trip to Israel and lots of students' writings.

JDC's Global Humanitarian Assistance program has been in Haiti for the past two weeks and providing frequent updates.

Finally, and this is not a blog, we have a video highlighting the Baltimore birthright Israel day in Ashkelon. Enjoy!

Jewish Renewal Update from Odessa

2010-01-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

One of the great accomplishments of the North American Jewish community in the past 20 years has been the revitalization of Jewish life throughout the former Soviet Union. In places where Jews couldn't acknowledge their religion for decades, their children are no openly celebrating their roots and building a vibrant Jewish future, in no small part thanks to the amazing work of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Over the past fifteen years, we in Baltimore have focused our efforts in Odessa, Ukraine. As we plan the future of our relationship with the Odessa Jewish community, we look forward to an even more engaging relationship that will connect our young leadership with theirs in addressing what are the needs to keep Jewish life fresh and relevant for young Jews around the world.
________________________________________________________________

Young Jewish Leadership Project in Odessa – Second Year, Module 3

December 1-4, 2009 marked the finale of the Young Jewish Leadership project in 2009. Some nine graduates – young and promising potential leaders of the community – had a chance to present their projects that they had based on the 3 weeks’ course of theoretical knowledge at the seminars, their visits to the communal organizations, their personal experience and, also – their own vision of what the community would like to have at its disposal.

A fourth-generation Odessan – Zhenya Popova – was among the graduates of the projects and she found it extremely interesting and enriching. “Our teachers were great, our communication with peers was very useful and mutually educational. I wish the project could last more and involve a greater number of Jewish youngsters”, Zhenya mentions.

On the final day of the Program, Zhenya presented her future project called “At Grandma and Granddaughter’s”, aimed at bringing together the younger and older generations. Other projects were “International Jewish Matchmaking”, “Records Studio”, “Odessa Quest”, “Jewish Home Travel”, etc. Each project was unique and different from the others, but, as Dima Zitser, one of the core trainers noted, “The main feature is that the projects are focused on the community members of different ages and are supposed to meet the various needs of the community. These projects have already been amended based on the visits of the participants to the city organizations. Also, one of the requirements for the future projects was not to involve huge investments. The task now is for the young people to try and launch their initiatives.”

Following the two previous modules, the final module enhanced the aims of the Project and provided the in-depth view of such crucial issues as leadership skills, project creation and management, conflict solving, communicative skills, group-building and community research. The young leaders had a chance to widen their knowledge about each others challenges, views on community development and plans for its future perfection, ideas on projects that may become successful in the Jewish community, etc. Warm cooperative atmosphere was reached through various interactive means of team-work and self-presentations.

During the year of 2010 the graduates of the Project and other Odessa youngsters are envisioned to become part of Ukraine's Metsudah Young Jewish Leadership program. This way, the Odessans will become part of the large-scale, Ukraine-wide, training initiative enabling them to reach wider and deeper levels of leadership training.

Chanukah Celebrations

On December 15^th, Grand Odessa philharmonic hall welcomed Hesed Shaarey Tzion of Odessa clients for a festive celebration of the holiday of light and warmth – Chanukah. Despite terrible weather conditions – heavy snowstorm and ice everywhere on the streets, everyone came to enjoy the concert, absorb joy, light and hope.

Before the beginning of the concert the Director of Hesed Shaarey Tzion gave a speech, in which he welcomed everyone, wished them happy Chanukah and added that taking into consideration the number of people, who despite bad weather still wanted and managed to come, Hesed was able to make a difference in their lives and that difference was definitely positive. He wished everyone lots of happiness, peace, health and luck.

Afterwards, a varied concert program started. It included different kinds of musical pieces, prepared by Hesed Shaarey Tzion Club and Day Center especially for Chanukah celebration. There were a couple of invited guests – the winner of numerous international and national contests “Kantilena” choir; a talented trio, made up of three instruments – piano, violin and clarinet; a gifted student of Odessa specialized Stolyarsky music school Veronica Sherman-Sazonova, who performed two songs “The Holiday of Chanukah” and “Alleluia”; a composer Sergey Kalmanovsky, who came from Germany and performed a couple of fragments from his musical “Odessa-mama”, accompanying himself on the piano; a “Carmen” trio, comprising of three ladies, two of whom played the guitars and the third one sang brilliant songs “Simu Shemen” and a thrilling Spanish-Jewish Chanukah song with castanets.

Besides many vocal and musical concert performances there were several great dancing pieces as well. The youngest performers of the day – a dancing ensemble of Odessa’s Migdal JCC – showed a dance “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and left a truly unforgettable impression with the audience.

There was also a “monologue of an old Odessan” performed by an honored actor of Ukraine Mikhail Bokalchuk, and it received a standing ovation for it. The final touch and highlight of the performance was surely a masterfully performed “Tumbalalayka”, during which all the spectators sang along.

“A brilliantly organized event and a fantastic holiday. The atmosphere was so warm here and I simply couldn’t stop smiling and feeling light-hearted. Chanukah’s the holiday of light and this concert today was filled with so many bright colors, so much light that it is hard to imagine, what else could fit this holiday we celebrate. Truly amazing!” – related one of Hesed Shaarey Tzion clients, who came to enjoy the concert.

Beit Grand Concert

On December 21^st and 22^nd a solo concert of a famous actor Oleg Emtsev in commemoration of Marcel Morso took place in Beit Grand Jewish Cultural Center of Odessa. The program included mimic, comic, eccentric miniatures, which aroused huge fits of laughter from the audience.

The program staged in Beit Grand included cheerful, bright miniatures that give Oleg a chance to improvise a lot. The audience’s vivid reaction only proved how successful this actor is. He received standing ovation and every single person cheered, laughed and smiled all through the performance. “It was an amazing evening. A performance never to be forgotten. I hope he’ll come back to Odessa soon and will perform in Beit Grand again. It is such a perfect place and stage for him – the atmosphere is so warm, homey and pleasant here that I hardly imagine enjoying this concert anywhere else” – related Tatyana, one of Beit Grand’s frequent visitors.

Stories from the Road: Towson/Goucher Birthright- A Night in the Desert

2010-01-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

The other night, the group stayed at the Bedouin tent in the Negev Desert. If you have never spent a night in the desert or anywhere away from the light pollution of the cities and suburbs that most of us live in, it is an amazing thing. You are surrounding by all darkness with the exception of the moon and the stars in the sky. It is a place both for quiet introspection and to reach out for community. Our students were there experiencing Bedouin culture and hospitality, riding camels and donkeys, sleeping in open tents, and having conversations on spirituality. If you have not heard from your students in a few days, it is most probably because of the facts that while the desert is known for its beauty, it is not known for its cell phone reception.

But before arriving at the Bedouin tent, the students had a packed day. After waking in a kibbutz at 3:30 in the morning, they drove to Mount Massada and climbed it in time for sunrise. Massada is a place of many stories that are historic to the land and people of Israel, but it is also both picturesque and a testimony to the engineering skills of the Romans. Following Massada, the group went to a beach at the dead sea. The dead sea is one of the most amazing places on Earth, you walk into the water and are able to float. It is the lowest point on the planet and unfortunately, it is sinking.

Yesterday the group traveled to Ashkelon, Baltimore's sister city. They explored the community, volunteered, and learned about the partnerships that currently exist. Following Ashkelon, they began their travel up north.

Stories from the Road: UMBC/Hopkins Birthright- Shalom from Ashkelon!

2010-01-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

As mentioned before, our Baltimore area Hillels are in Israel on their birthright trips. Today, all of the students from both buses joined together today in Ashkelon, our sister city. They have been spending time with Ashkelonian soldiers as they've been connecting with Israel.

Shalom from Ashkelon!

I'm sitting in the basement of the youth center in Ashkelon while our students use the restroom upstairs just before we board our bus back to Tel Aviv.

Yesterday morning we woke up early in the Negev and took a beautiful hike near Kibbutz Sde Boker that involved beautiful scenery--overlooks, waterfalls, and some serious climbing up steep rocks & cliffs, even ladders within rocks.

We headed from the Negev to Tel Aviv where we spend a couple of hours in the Nachalat Binyamin artists' market and around the very hip Shenkin Street. We rested in the hotel and, after a short talk from a Taglit-Birthrigth Israel representative about supporting the program, had a longer conversation about our relationship with Israel. In the evening after dinner we saw the Na La'ga'at players perform NOT BY BREAD ALONE. They are the world's only blind-deaf theatre.

This morning we woke up early and headed to Ashkelon, Baltimore's sister city, where are soldiers gave us a tour around the city, showing us their high schools, neighborhoods, places they've worked, and places they hang out. We walked around the marina and our tour educator spoke with us for a few minutes about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Then we headed to Baltimore Park where we learned more about the partnership between our cities. There we were joined by a second Baltimore bus (mostly Goucher and Towson students) and headed to volunteer opportunities in the community. Half of our bus did some work on a sustainable farming teaching initiative and half did some work at a store that sells highly discounted clothing to needy youth. We joined back together for a festive lunch here in the Youth Center before having a wrap-up conversation outside.

After ten days together our Baltimore students were so excited to see the home-town of their (not-so) new (anymore) friends and do some communtiy service work together. Now we head to Tel Aviv for a trip to Rabin Square and to Independence Hall before a conluding dinner and trip to the airport!

Looking forward to seeing you all soon Stateside.

L'shalom,
Rabbi Jason Klein
UMBC Hillel

Stories from the Road: UMBC/Hopkins Birthright- Days 5/6

2010-01-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

Shalom from the Negev!

Yet again so much has happened in two days.

It is hard to believe that just yesterday we woke up early in Jerusalem and headed to Mount Herzl cemetery early in the morning. Our soldiers—I believe I can now safely say friends—from Ashkelon were dressed again in military uniforms out of respect for the place.

We started by visiting Theodor Herzl’s grave—originally in Europe and moved to Jerusalem after the founding of the State—and learned about how Herzl’s early career inspired him to envision a Jewish state and how he convened the first Zionist Congress. We walked from here to the graves of leaders of the State of Israel and gave particular attention to the grave of Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister who after serving in all of the other highest posts in the Israeli government and military, and worked very hard to bring about peace with the Palestinian people, was assassinated in 2005 by a radical rightist. We walked by the graves and memorials of the paratrooper heroes who include Hannah Senesh and made our way into the military cemetery. We visited the grave of Mike Levin who many Baltimoreans and Philadelphians know from school or from Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Mike returned from camp to Israel when he found out his unit was being called up for the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and was killed in Lebanon. Lior, our tour educator, also told us the stories of some of his best friends who died during their service as well. We concluded our time at Mount Herzl with appreciation for the IDF soldiers with us. We recited memorial prayers and a blessing for the IDF and chanted Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, together. “Hatikvah” means “the hope,” and I’d like to think that not only is it about appreciating the Jewish homeland that is, but that this “hope” can also be about the Israel that can be—an Israel with love and respect among the Jewish people, and true peace and justice with Israel’s neighbors.

We left Jerusalem and headed to the area of Beit Shemesh, where we stopped for lunch. The most popular food was actually a drink of sorts—Café Aroma’s “icecafe”—frothy and apparently fewer than 500 calories (not by much). Some ate at Aroma; others preferred to scope out the burgers the kosher McDonalds and we had some pretty positive reviews. We boarded the bus for a few more minutes to get to the Beit Guvrin area; we sampled “Krembo,” Israel’s cookie/marshmallow/chocolate treat that I believe holds a similar mythic place among Israeli children as Oreos do among American children (“How do *you* eat a Krembo/Oreo…”.) We disembarked the bus and most of us went spelunking through an underground labyrinth of caves.

Yours truly did this once three years ago on a Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel trip and decided that that was enough for a lifetime so I stayed outside with anyone else who might be claustrophobic too. Brian was dubious at first because he did not have a flashlight but found one at last minute. Though our cave crawlers emerged a bit dirty, most of them were thrilled that they did it!

From the Beit Guvrin area we headed South for a couple of hours, through the City of Arad to Kfar Hanokdim, a Bedouin encampment designed for pilgrims like ourselves. We put our bags into a big tent and drank some tea that Aaron K. suggested tasted like boiled down Fruit Loops (everyone agreed with this backhanded compliment), and visited this beautiful chill-out tent space that Mike and I thought would be a really neat annex to UMBC’s other student life spaces.

There was a place to shop for clothing and crafts, and Danielle was excited to buy a necklace for herself after most of her previous shopping was for other loved ones. By about 5:30 PM most of the group was riding camels into the sunset and then returning to the camp. We were welcomed into a large tent as Khaled, a Bedouin from the Negev desert in Israel, described Bedouin culture with a particular focus on symbols and rituals around hospitality. And then after some coffee roasting and drinking, the next phase of hospitality began as we ate what many people believe was the most delicious meal of the trip.

After dinner, we headed out into the darkness in two groups and had a conversation called “Spirituality: Wresting with God” in which students had a chance to be alone in the desert for a few minutes to reflect and then share with the group. The stars looked incredible as well. We returned to our tent where the Ashkelonians led some fun games including the “crab war”—appropriate for Baltimore I guess—during which people had to crawl on their back like crabs and get each other out. Josh had a particular talent for this game but Dotan—the Ashkelonian soldier who proposed it—seemed to make a pretty good crab himself.

As the night continued people listened to music, sat around campfires, and generally just hung out before they went to bed, some later than others, in sleeping bags in thin mattresses on the tent floor. It was a pretty warm night in the desert for January but as it became chillier luckily my co-staff and colleague from Hopkins Hillel—Rabbi Debbie Pine—figured out how to use the heater in the tent.

We were up by 5:40, eating breakfast just after 6—another delicious meal with the freshest of breads. We boarded the bus and headed to Masada.
Corinne and Sarah imagined that the hike up the mountain would be a lot longer than it was—the Roman ramp that we took only took about 20 minutes.
But they also didn’t realize how intense the hike down on the snake path would be. While we were on the top of Masada, two UMBC students who did not previously have Hebrew names received Hebrew names in a ceremony that
we did together as a group. Lisa had a funny moment on top of Masada
when she noticed she had received a text message on her cell phone from a Jordanian cell phone company welcoming here to “roam” in Jordan; these signals seem to get mixed up near the borders. We learned about Masada’s history 2000 years ago and Masada as a symbol in contemporary Israel before we headed down the mountain. Now, nearly half a day later, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one whose knees are just beginning to
*really* feel it. Lena was particularly gracious on the way down the mountain as she helped another participant whose fear of heights—perhaps fear of falling—made the walk down particularly challenging.

After some combination of OJ, ice cream, and Ahava products at the bottom of the mountain we boarded the bus and headed to the Ein Bokek beach at the Dead Sea. Most of our students covered themselves with mud and the water was a little chilly in spite of the warm weather.

We headed from the Dead Sea south and stopped in Dimona, where our students took full advantage of 20 minutes in the local mall for bathrooms and food. Nathan was determined to find chocolate “Bamba” (Bamba is peanut-flavored, giant cheese-puff-shaped Israeli snack food). We found some funky version of it which our students snacked on. Our guide mentioned that Dimona receives a lot of attention internationally because it is thought to be the center of Israel’s nuclear program (which Israel has never confirmed nor denied exists at all).

We arrived about a half hour later to our kibbutz hotel where students had a chance to relax before a little more exercise. Our soldiers put on their uniforms once again to simulate boot camp and divided the bus into
three groups. “Lior (our tour educator) told us to wear comfortable
clothes, “ said Evan, “not, ‘you’re going to be in the army.’” Needless
to say, the fast 30 minutes I had photographing our students running around and doing push-up jumping exercises probably went by a bit slower for our participants.

After boot camp, a couple of dogs at the kibbutz seemed to take a liking to Aaron B. and two hours later I think one of them has still have not left his side.

The pool is open at the kibbutz for our students tonight and tomorrow morning we take a hike and then head to Tel Aviv.

Internet access is a little tough here, but I'm going to try to follow this up with an email from my gmail account with some pictures.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Jason Klein
UMBC Hillel

Stories from the Road: Towson/Goucher Birthright Trip- The First Few Days

2010-01-10T16:13:00.004-05:00

Woking with the local Hillels in Baltimore, we are excited to have two community campus buses for this winter's birthright israel trips. Today's we start sharing stories from the Towson/Goucher bus, which also has some students from UMBC and Hopkins. The students seeing for Israel for the first time are joined by a group of Israel soldiers from Ashkelon, our sister city, which will culminate in a day in Ashkelon.

Alison Levine, Towson Hillel's Director of Engagement is our guest correspondent.

Hello everyone!

Shalom from Israel!

As the students are having a GREAT time in the background behind me singing, cheering, and telling jokes behind me, I just wanted to let you know the first set of pictures have been uploaded!

Yesterday, we had a restful Shabbat with incredible weather - we were walking around in shorts and t-shirts. Last night, we went out to Ben Yehuda street one of the top night spots in Jerusalem.

Today, the serious part of the trip started. We woke early and went to Yad Vashem (hand and name) The Israeli Holocaust museum. Following their tour, they heard a Holocaust survivor speak to them. After lunch at the Machane Yehuda shuk (incredible food, smells, and shops), they went to Har Herzl (Mount Herzl). Har Herzl is the national cemetery of Israel, the place where Prime Ministers, soldiers, and national heroes are buried. The experience was made even more poignant because our group is traveling with 8 soldiers from Ashkelon, Baltimore's sister city. The soldiers shared their own stories and memories of friends that they have lost.

Tonight, an Israeli film maker is joining us at the hotel, then tomorrow we head down south to Mount Massada and a Bedouin tent.

More to come in the next few days (depending on internet access in the next hotel!)

ENJOY!
Alison

Stories from the Road: UMBC/Hopkins Birthright- Days 3/4 Shavua Tov from Jerusalem

2010-01-10T14:18:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

As the last hours of Shabbat move forward in the Eastern time zone, I wanted to report about the last couple of days here in Jerusalem.

In fact, as expected, President Shimon Peres spoke at the Mega Event on Thursday night; overwhelmingly our students enjoyed the music, the talks, and the dancing.

Friday morning we woke up and headed to Yad Vashem, Israel's central Holocaust memorial and heroism museum. Our friends from Ashkelon were dressed in their IDF uniforms out of respect for the place and we began our visit there with a talk from an octogenarian named Shaya who was from Szeged, Hungary, and told us his story and his family's story from childhood through the liberation at Teresenstadt and reflected on the ongoing trauma of what it means to be a survivor throughout his life in Europe, in New Orleans, and now in Israel. We were joined by a guide named Yiftach who took us through the new museum at Yad Vashem. We did not have as much time as would have been ideal, but students still seemed to find much of what they saw meaningful. We visited the children's memorial, the center of which is a single flame reflected by many mirrors, and concluded our visit with a short memorial ceremony.

This was certainly a day of transitions as we headed back into the City Center and visited Machaneh Yehuda market where students ate lunch, bought baked goods and other fun foods, and just explored this epicenter of Israeli life.

After 40 minutes to get ready for Shabbat back at the hotel we gave flowers to each student as we lit candles and our bus dropped us off in the Old City so we could visit the Western Wall Friday evening at the onset of Shabbat. The Western Wall, the kotel, is a special place for many Jews because of its close association with the Temple that once stood on Mount Moriah behind it, and it is a complicated, sometimes difficult place for many Jews because its ritual life is controlled by the ultra-Orthodox. There is no option for men and women to pray together in addition to the separate sections and women may barely raise their voices in prayer without fear of verbal or physical attack. Our students had a lot to say about the experience--from joyous to complicated, from moving to frustrating. We walked around the Old City to Jaffa Street and continued all the way down Jaffa Street to the new bridge at the entrance to the City which was really pretty to walk over as we returned to the hotel for Shabbat dinner. We finished the night with an oneg shabbat at which we had some tasty snacks and toasted l'chayim to a great trip so far.

In the morning, some students woke up for some service options in the hotel and the surrounding area and some slept in. At lunchtime we reconvened as we prepared to celebrate the Bat Mitzvahs of two participants from Hopkins. Three people read from the Torah including one of the women soldiers who had never read from the Torah before. It was special.

After the afternoon service, we headed out for a walk on the government hill near the hotel. We saw the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, and walked by the Supreme Court, the National Bank of Israel, the State Department, and the Prime Minister's office. We sat next to the Knesset (Parliament) building and learned about Israel's government structure and then split into two groups to have conversation about Jews as special vs. Jews as normal--to what degree to we feel each and what does that mean.

After some duck, duck, goose in the park, we headed back to the hotel, had a snack, and had a Havdalah ceremony marking the end of Shabbat. We boarded our bus to the center of town and had time for shopping and dinner on Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem's most famous pedestrian mall, before spending some time at a local bar. As I write this to you we are back at the hotel. Some students are still hanging out while others have gone to bed to prepare for our 6 AM wake up call tomorrow when we visit Mt. Herzl and then head south . . . .

Shavua tov, a good week to all of you,

Rabbi Jason Klein
UMBC Hillel Director

Stories from the Road: UMBC/Hopkins Birthright- Day 2

2010-01-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Shalom from Jerusalem!

And what a lovely two days it's been. After a conversation of Jewish Memory two nights ago, yesterday morning (it feels like days ago, it seems) we woke up early at our kibbutz in the Golan Heights, had the bus loaded by 6:55 AM (can you believe?), ate some breakfast, and were on the road.

As we made our way down the Golan Heights over the Hula Valley, there was an extraordinary-looking cluster of clouds between us and the Valley; it was breathtaking (first picture attached).

Our first stop was Misgav Am on the Lebanese border where we had practically a 270 degree panoramic view of Lebanon and of Mt. Hermon (topped with snow) in Israel. Here we learned about the history of Israel/Lebanon border and the evolution of challenges Israel has faced from some of its neighbors since the first Gulf War--particularly the horror of attacks on civilians. We in particular learned about the experience of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

You can get some sense of the view here: http://www.misgav-am.com/english.htm.

From Misgav Am, we headed back down into the Hula Valley, where we stopped for a little while at the nature preserve. We learned about the millions of birds that fly through this valley every year--migrations as far as Zimbabwe and Finland--and how scientists study birds by attaching a small light ring to one of their feet with the hopes of finding some of the birds with rings at different times an different places.

After a drive around the nature preserve, we ascended to Tsfat, known as one of the four ancient holy cities in the land of Israel, and perhaps most famous as an epicenter for Jewish mysticism during the medieval period. We learned about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who is associated with the Zohar, the text par excellence of Jewish mysticism and about Rabbi Isaac Luria (nicknamed the "Ari") and visited one of his synagogues. We had some free time for shopping--from candles to necklaces to Judaic artwork, and many students ate Lahu (I have know idea how to spell that in English--think semi-hard "h"), a Yemenite bread together with some vegetable toppings for lunch (second picture attached). Others were content with more falafel or shwarma.

What the students did not know but what their staff did know is that we wanted to do a special "shehecheyanu" ceremony welcoming them to Jerusalem yesterday evening, but that time was tight (it would be a three hour ride from Tsfat if we were lucky). So we headed out of Tsfat and drove clockwise around the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) to avoid traffic in Tiberias and then headed down the Jordan Valley Road toward the Jericho Road that leads through Jerusalem. We learned about Israel's relatively warm peace with Jordan and heard moving stories of their late King Hussein. We also started to talk more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as we were driving down a road shared by Israeli and Palestinian vehicles and had a view of Jericho in the Palestinian Territories just before sunset.

So somehow by hook or crook--call it divine intervention or the luck of no traffic, we--while singing "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) emerged from the tunnels on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem just as the sun was starting to set. We disembarked from the bus and danced our way to an overlook of the city, took some pictures, and toasted l'chayim over a little wine to welcome the students.

Then, we headed to our hotel near the City Entrance from the main road to Tel Aviv and checked in, had dinner, and heard some speakers from Gift of Life (the prospective bone marrow donor registry) talk about what they do and registered a bunch of our participants. Some students stayed up for a while at the hotel's bar, others were in bed by 9 PM, but we were all back on the bus by 8:00 this morning when we headed to the Haas Promenade, where we had a gorgeous view of the Old City from the south, heard some Jewish traditional stories about that place, and learned about 3000 years of Jerusalem history--complete with visual aids--from the City of David to the Mount of Olives, from the Temple Mount to the Separation Fence between Israelis and Palestinians.

We entered the Old City itself through the Zion Gate and walked through the Jewish quarter. We learned more about the Roman period in the Cardo, and--after a break for lunch and shopping--made our way down the Western Wall plaza. Students had about half an hour to experience the kotel--the Western Wall. Some people wrote notes, others prayed, wished bar mitzvahs "mazal tov," some of our men (third picture attached) experimented with the ritual of putting on tefillin (there aren't any folks at the wall asking women to put on tefillin as there are for men, so I made sure I didn't forget my tefillin if any of our women wanted to try putting on tefillin as well).

We visited the Davidson Center and learned about the excavations in the southwest corner of the Temple Mount and then had a walk through Hezekiah's tunnels (we took the dry tunnels in spite of the very warm day today) that brought water to the city at a time when Assyrians threatened Jerusalem's existence as a Jewish city (8th-7th century BCE).

And then our students headed to Taglit-Birthright Israel's "Mega Event," a night of food, performance, and speeches. There are rumors that the President and/or prime minister will make an appearance tonight in honor of Taglit-Birthright Israel's 10th anniversary, celebrating 220,000 people traveling to Israel on the program.

I hope this finds you all well and wish you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jason Klein
UMBC Hillel Director

One Year Later: What Did We Learn from Cast Lead?

2010-01-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

Last year at this time, many of us (including myself) were singularly focused on events happening in Israel. For a month, southern Israel, including Ashkelon, was bombarded by rockets and missiles from Gaza-based terrorists. When the Israeli army entered Gaza to stop the rockets, it was only as a last resort. For those of us in Baltimore, Cast Lead took on added meaning becauses our friends and family in Ashkelon, our sister city, were in the direct line of fire. We frequently read Sigal Ariely's blog postings about living life in a state of fear. Looking back a year later, what do we know now that we didn't know or think about then?

There has been a lot written lately on the security and political ramifications of Cast Lead on Israeli society. Those are important conversations and the ramifications of that time are still felt today in Israel, and arguably around the world. Still, there is another layer to think about: What did we learn from Cast Lead about Israeli society from an American Jewish perspective and how is that impacting our relationship today?

Heros Come from Everywhere
In the first moments of the war (in Israel, that's how it is commonly viewed), when schools shut down, otherwise ordinary teens performed heroic tasks. One of the most vivid examples in Ashkelon came through AMEN (the teen volunteer organization). Rather than going north to escape the missiles, many of the teens in Ashkelon stayed in their homes and during the days volunteered in bomb shelters to keep younger children occupied with fun activities and distracted from the constant sound of red alert sirens. They didn't run from danger when they could have. They saw a need in the community and responded. Nobody had to ask them, they simply did it. When I went to Ashkelon this summer, I went to one of the bomb shelters at the Teen Center. There I saw the coloring activities, paintings, and other activities that turned the sterile concrete space into a warm and welcoming place.

Beyond the teens, professionals from JDC, JAFI, and many other organizations went into southern Israel. They didn't stop their work and took on new responsibilities to work with municipalities, local populations, and recent immigrants to provide necessary support and relieve the psychological trauma being experienced.

And of course there are the soldiers, young adults themselves, who selflessly defended their country then and continue to do so today.

Collaborative Needs Assessments are Critical to Philanthropic Impact
Like many communities around North America, in Baltimore we quickly raised funds from out community's leadership to help meet the emergency needs at the moment. What changed this time was how we allocated the funds.

Working closely with the municipal leadership of Ashkelon, we engaged in a needs assessment with JDC and JAFI and in a collaborative decision making model allocated funds to where Ashkelon saw them as most critical and JDC and JAFI were best able to meet those needs. The engagement of Ashkelonian leadership in this process also ensured that we were addressing emergency capacity needs in the community, which will have a long term impact.

Since that time, our work with JDC and JAFI from federation level has continued to successfully include Ashkelon at the table. We recognize that philanthropic priorities should align with community priorities in Israel, and through discussing those issues we can better utilize and fund the services that JDC and JAFI have to offer to strengthen Ashkelon.

We're Talking About Individuals
Most of the images that we saw in the news from Israel at this time last year were of buildings hit by rockets and soldiers defending their country, but those images didn't tell the entire story. Day in and day out through our friends in Ashkelon who posted blogs and wrote e-mails to us, we understood better how terror was impacting individual lives. There were stories of running for cover during a siren, holding scared children and loved ones, and just basic things like going to the grocery store for provisions.

Perhaps the most powerful storytellers were our shinshinim, Tal Bouchnik and Liron Menashe, who were spending the year in Baltimore bringing Ashkelon closer to our community. When they left home they did not expect to be talking about their families running to bomb shelters or their friends fighting for Israel in Gaza. They spoke from the heart and we could see in their eyes that even though that they were safe here in Baltimore how deeply traumatizing it was for them to know that their friends and family were in constant danger.

Life Goes On
In October, a leadership delegation from our Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership went to Israel to meet with our sister city partners. One of the dreams in Ashkelon is to build a golf course that will attract tourists from Israel and around the world. When somebody asked, "Why do you want to build a golf course so close to Gaza?" the answer was quite profound, "We just don't think like that."

Simple words, but very telling. Throughout Israel there is sadly an acceptance that these things happen, but there is an inspiration that these things cannot stop life or progress. We invest in Israel, we travel to Israel, we connect to the people; we do this not because we worry that Israel won't have a future, but because we know that it will. Israel is part of the future of the Jewish people and while security is a watchword, it cannot prevent life from moving forward.

A year later, we can say that our relationship has changed with Israel and it is stronger. We used the crisis of Cast Lead as a teachable moment that connected people to Israel and we are continuing engage them in Jewish and Israel life today, and we continue to apply the lessons we learned to how we construct the future of our relationship with Israel, Ashkelon, and their people.

Stories from the Road: UMBC/Hopking Birthright- Day 1

2010-01-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

Over the next few weeks, 80 college students from the Baltimore area Hillels will be in Israel on birthright israel trips. The students are going in two groups, and the first group comprised of studetns from UMBC and Johns Hopkins just arrived. I will be posting regular updates from them as the students see Israel, the Jewish homeland, for the first time.

Shalom from the Israel!

I write to you from a picnic bench outside the guest rooms at Kibbutz Merom Golan which has been our home for nearly 24 hours now in Israel.

After joining up with peers from JHU, our students checked in at JFK airport on Sunday night. Before heading to the gate, they grabbed pairs of Converse (Chuck Taylor-style) sneakers that our Baltimore Hillels and Ashkelon community is donating to a store in Ashkelon (our sister city) that sells them to next to nothing for middle- and high-school students who receive government assistance. In spite of being number 18 for departure (thank you, JFK airport), we had a smooth trip on El Al to Tel Aviv and may have even landed early. Shortly after checking our baggage, we met our tour educator (Lior), our bus driver (Yosi), our guard (Guy), and the eight soldiers from Baltimore's sister city of Ashkelon who will be with us for the whole trip. They are a combination of Army, Navy, and Air Force soldiers--5 men and 3 women.

We changed money, picked up cell phones, went over some rules, and then headed North to the Golan Heights by way of Afula (which happens to be our bus driver's home city) where we stopped for a quick dinner of falafel sandwiches on our way north. By the time we arrived here, it was nearly 11 PM, time for bed, and an early wake up this morning.

Today was a full day; actually, I should say it will be a full day as we still have dinner (I'm running a few minutes late so I can write to you!) and an evening program ahead of us.

After a breakfast with fresh breads, lots of dairy products, eggs, borekasim, and salads & fruit, we did an icebreaker program to integrate UMBC students, Hopkins students, and the soldiers with one another; we had a lot of great laughs and bonded nicely before we boarded the bus. First we headed to a lookout point in the Golan Heights called Mitzpeh Gadot, near the pre-1967 border between Israel and the Syria. Here we learned about some of the history of the State of Israel, particularly through the Independence War (1948) and the Six Day Way (1967) and asked some hard questions about topography and geography around the Golan Heights in relationship to the peace process. We continued to a second overlook at Mount Bental (where it was chilly), took a walk through a (not currently used) bunker, saw the Syrian border, and learned about the Yom Kippur War (1973) and why it was so difficult for Israel.

After a cup of coffee, we came down the mountain to Katzrin, the "capital" of the Golan Heights for lunch. Some had pizza, some shwarma. We found we had a bit more money in our budget for shoes for Ashkelon and there was a sale at the shoe store there, so two of the soldiers joined me and one student to get a few more pairs of inexpensive but trendy shoes.

We then headed to an olive oil factory, learned about olive oil (unfortunately we didn't get to press any; 'tis not the season), got to wash our hands (I confess that I washed my face too) with some funky formula that includes anti-oxidant chemicals present (and often discarded from) olives and their ground pits.

After a little shopping, we were joined by our final participant from Baltimore who was delayed from the first group--but now we are all here.

The end of the daylight hours were at Chamat Hagader, the natural hot springs near the Golan Heights, followed by our trip back here.

Tomorrow is an early day as we are planning to be in Tsfat in the north by late morning and Jerusalem after sunset, and I will look forward to telling you more about it when I have more internet access.

L'shalom,

Rabbi Jason Klein
Director, UMBC Hillel

Reframing Our Understanding of Overseas Needs

2009-12-23T10:02:00.001-05:00

Today, at the end of 2009, here is an abridged list of the needs that we have seen over the past year in the Jewish community: families struggling to make ends meet, adults out of work for the first time in their lives, seniors living in isolation without frequent socialization, seniors and children going hungry, families looking to form meaningful Jewish connections, young adults looking to connect to Judaism and Israel, kids taking part in high-risk activities, and more. What community am I talking about? These needs apply to virtually every Jewish community in the United States, but also pretty much every other Jewish community around the world. Whether we are talking about the former Soviet Union, South America, Europe, India, or Israel, the issues that the global Jewish community now faces are borderless.

It is not uncommon to talk about the needs of Jewish communities outside of North America as if they only exist "over there," but talking with and visiting other communities around the world it become quite clear how universal our Jewish issues are. A decade ago, Argentina went into a financial tailspin that wiped out much of the wealth of its Jewish community. Families who had previously given much to charitable causes needed support just to buy food. Today, in the former Soviet Union, in places like Odessa, hundreds of thousands of elderly Jews (many of whom survived the Holocaust) survive on minuscule pensions and must decide between food and medicine. In Israel, conversations about Jewish identity are now taking place in terms of how young Israelis will develop their identity beyond saying "being Israeli makes me Jewish." The are summer camps, family camps, young adult Jewish salons, and more that are taking place in communities around the world...and here at home. The opportunity now is not to break down the silos, but rather link the silos together.

We are bringing what we have learned overseas home, at least here in Baltimore. It used to be that Jewish communities in North America had Kosher food pantries. This took up space
and those in need struggled with dignity as they walked out of buildings carrying grocery bags. This was the same issue in Argentina. There, Joint Distribution Committee began distributing debit cards so families could shop and receive tzedakah more discretely. Since then, that model has been adopted in many other communities. Here in Baltimore it is the Jewish Community Food Fund, which focuses on meeting those same needs with dignity for those in need.

The story isn't any different for isolated elderly. As the American Jewish community ages, more older adults will live away from their families and run the risk of social isolation and not being able to age in place. In the 1990s, JDC developed the Warm Homes program in the FSU, which brings seniors together to socialize, eat, and stay connected. In Israel, through a partnership with the government, Eshel was created to provide supportive communities for the elderly so they could remain living in their homes while receiving basic general and medical support, which is far less expensive than moving to an assisted living community. The outgrowth in North America has been the creation of Naturally Recurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), like Senior Friendly Neighborhoods, which provides support to the elderly so they may continue to live at home in an affordable and healthy manner.

And then there is Jewish identity, which every community no matter where they are struggles with. Birthright Israel, which has brought more than 250,000 young Jewish adults to Israel for the first time, has been one of our greatest programmatic triumphs. The Jewish Agency for Israel has played a major role in not only connecting the participants to the land of Israel, but also the people of Israel. One component of the trip, which provides some of the most lasting results, is the presence of Israeli soldiers on the buses as part of the trips to introduce the participants to living, breathing Israelis. What often isn't said though is that these Israelis now see their country through a different lens. By spending time with non-Israeli Jews they gain an appreciation for their homeland and its significance to their own Jewish identity. Israel and Jewish communities around the world are working together to address how we will each individually and collectively define Jewish identity for coming generations.

Beyond Birthright, through MAKOM, which worked closely with Baltimore in the development of the Israel Engagement Summit and will consult in the implemntation of ideas, summer camp shlichim (more than 1,500 served in North America last summer), and MASA, which brings young adults to Israel for long-term immersive experiences, JAFI is helping to build Jewish identity and develop a new generation of leaders around the world. Through these various initiatives and more, JAFI is exporting the greatest contribution that Israel has to offer to the rest of the Jewish world- the tools to ensure a strong Jewish identity for the future- and is importing a sense of global peoplehood that goes beyond any country's borders. This is the vision that Natan Sharansky has laid out and is being carried out on a daily basis.
So here is our opportunity to connect the conversations. The services we provide and needs we meet locally in our communities and the support we provide overseas are relevant to each other. As we debate how to best use resources, human and financial, we shouldn't be looking to reinvent the wheel. Much of what we are doing at home is relevant to communities around the world, and likewise much that has been done around the world can be applied to meet the needs of our own communities.

JAFI Highlights Baltimore MASA Participants in Ashkelon

2009-12-18T12:38:00.000-05:00

Fourteen teenage girls from Baltimore recently visited their sister city, Ashkelon, as part of the MASA Baltimore Encounters program. The trip enabled Baltimore youth to meet their Israeli peers face to face, to learn more about the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, and to strengthen their connection to THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

"Today we went on an awesome trip to visit our sister city, Ashkelon. We met with very nice girls from the Garin Torani Orot in Ashkelon and spread the Hanukkah spirit," said Hinda Edelson, one of the MASA participants.

The Baltimore teens are spending the year in Israel studying in Jerusalem.

This event was organized by the HaGarin HaTorani Orot (group of idealistic and religious Zionists who work to affect change in Israel) in cooperation with MASA, the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, with support from THE ASSOCIATED. The teens lit Hanukkah candles at a traffic circle in the center of the city, danced, sang festive songs and ate sufganiyot (jelly donuts) that they handed out to passersby.

The Baltimore girls also volunteered at the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon as part of their "chessed mitzvah" (good deeds). They visited patients and handed out sufganiyot. Along with Israeli youth from local youth movements they went door-to door handing out sufganiyot. Afterwards they lit candles and sang Hanukkah songs with Israeli families and shared a festive meal together.

Pictures from MASA Exchange in Ashkelon with HaGarin HaTorani Orot.

Jewish Renewal in Odessa

2009-12-16T13:31:00.000-05:00

What follows is another update from the field on initiatives supported by THE ASSOCIATED. In the fifteen years that we have been working with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Odessa, we have been able to focus our work and participate in a renaissance of Jewish life that includes the opening of a new JCC, Hillel programs that attract hundreds of students at a time, family programs, and so much more.

This March there will be a community mission to Odessa and Budapest to learn more about the community and plan for the future of our relationship with our sister city in the former Soviet Union. If you are interested in participating, e-mail Jonathan Strausberg at jstrausberg@associated.org.

Jewish Renewal Report from Odessa
Only 20 years ago, it would have been unimaginable in Odessa to witness:
A Rosh Hashanah celebration in a local dinner-theater
A high-profile week of Jewish culture  with a klezmer concert
A summer retreat camp for Jewish families

Yet over the past two decades, the Odessa Jewish community, in partnership with JDC and THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, has begun to flourish once again.

The legendary city that spawned authors such as Hayim Nahman Bialik and Isaac Babel now once again has a Jewish literary scene, with Jewish authors regularly addressing rapt audiences of Hesed Shaarey Tzion seniors and young Jewish writers honing their craft at Beit Grand's Young Jewish Writers Club. The city where famed Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky started his life's work, has created the Jewish Youth Congress where young Jews study the results of Jabotinsky's dream and begin their own path to community involvement.

These programs and events are at the heart of JDC's Jewish Renewal Programs in Odessa. Using Migdal JCC, Moriah JCC, Hillel and, most importantly, the Beit Grand Jewish Campus as a base, these renewal programs are providing Odessa's Jews with the knowledge they need to understand their past and the motivation and skills they need to shape their community's Jewish future.

Original Goals of the Project
From the elderly grandparents for whom JDC programming reflects the customs and traditions they remember from their youth, to the youngest toddlers hearing the shofar for the first time, JDC's Renewal Programs in Odessa are providing a vital link to Jewish life, restoring the traditions of the past and paving the way for the future. In addition to providing Odessa's Jews with the resources they need to explore their heritage, JDC also aims to provide the community with the tools it needs to translate this heritage into the future, creating vibrant, self-sustaining Jewish life.

While restoring Jewish life and promoting self-sufficiency are the over-arching goals of the program, JDC has also identified the following specific objectives:
Increased Outreach
Sustainability
Continuity of Programs
Self-Sufficiency

Timeframe for Meeting Objectives
Building a strong Jewish community after decades of communism takes time. Yet the objectives described above are evidence that the Odessa community is able to meet increasingly ambitious goals each year, its reach to the unaffiliated now growing wider and deeper. Some of the milestone and community events this year are:

Odessa Jewish Campus:

Spring was a season of celebration at the Beit Grand Jewish Campus in Odessa. In mid-March, Beit Grand hosted its first ever Purim celebrations. These included three separate parties for the children of the community, a party for Hesed clients and a special event for students at Odessa's Jewish schools.

In June, the community gathered once again, this time to celebrate "Days of Jewish Culture." Encouraged by the success of last year's Klezmer Festival, JDC – in collaboration with Beit Grand, Migdal JCC, Hillel, the Israeli Cultural Association andother Odessa Jewish organizations – decided to expand the event into a week-long affair entitled "Days of Jewish Culture."

In addition to klezmer music, this year's week-long extravaganza featured movies and documentaries on Jewish themes, numerous art exhibits, theater and dance performances and tours of the city, with a special focus on Jewish sites.

In August, Beit Grand held two separate Open Houses designed to introduce unaffiliated community members to the Campus' varied programming.

As the leaves began to turn, the Beit Grand Jewish Campus was busy with Rosh Hashanah celebrations, an academic conference on the Holocaust and a special program entitled "People of the World Inscribe the Bible."

In addition to the aforementioned holiday celebrations, Beit Grand celebrated the fact that the Odessa Hillel has now joined the ranks of community organizations that call the Campus home.

Fall also ushered in a new year for Beit Grand's Menorah programming, most notably the opening of the Anavim kindergarten, a Montessori-style education program designed to attract middle class families. In addition to Anavim, Menorah now offers a drama studio headed by a prominent Odessa actress; an Art Center which features a child-friendly ceramic and pottery studio; sports programs for children and parents; and pre-school enrichment programs.

Hillel:

Beit Grand's newest resident, the Odessa Hillel Organization, is helping to increase the Campus' appeal, attracting a new demographic to Campus activities and adding yet another generation to the city's Jewish home. In August, Hillel spearheaded the Jewish Youth Congress, an intensive experience that strengthens the Jewish knowledge and leadership skills of promising young adults.

In September, Hillel marked the end of a successful year with a Rosh Hashanah celebration in Odessa's Bernardazzi dinner theater. 5769 saw Hillel celebrate the 85th anniversary of Hillel International and the 10th of Hillel in Odessa. In addition, despite the global financial crisis, Odessa Hillel managed to implement new projects – including an English club and newspaper – while attracting new members to its activities, giving it plenty of reason to celebrate.

Migdal JCC:
Migdal JCC had a busy spring, hosting an elaborate Purim party in March and playing an important role in the "Days of Jewish Culture" in June, with the Migdal Or Theater Troupe performing at both the opening and closing events and the Shorashim Museum hosting a number of special photography exhibits on Jewish themes.

In August, Migdal hosted its 13th annual Halom Family Camp in a resort-area near Odessa. In September an Open House introduced new creative programming, being conducted by Migdal's Student's Club and the Shorashim Museum. The High Holiday celebrations were also a highlight of this month.

Mazel Tov and Beitenu:

After a brief summer vacation, Mazel Tov and Beitenu were open for business again in September, inviting visitors to preview their offerings. The fall holidays were marked with a special Rosh Hashana puppet show written and performed by the Mazel Tov children, a Yom Kippur event for parents and children and a special Sukkot show where the children were both the entertainers and the audience. The thrill of the holiday season lives on in the hearts of Mazel Tov's young participants – whose numbers grow each month - as they attend Hebrew classes, dance practice or engaging art programs throughout the year.

Moriah JCC:
The bi-annual Moriah Almanac came out in June 2009, right in time for the "Days of Jewish Culture" event, providing a tangible reminder that Odessa's Jewish culture continues to thrive. A Moriah professional is now working with Beit Grand, providing professional advice to clubs such as the Young Jewish Writers Club and the Tour Guide Course - which aims to connect young people to their roots by training them as tour guides of Jewish Odessa - and advising on various Campus exhibits. Moriah helped curate "Jewish Odessa in Black and White" – an exhibit of books and Judaica - as part of the Beit Grand Open House Program.

Challenges to Achieving Original Goals and Adaptations
Odessa is faced with attracting a target audience that is deeply unaffiliated with Jewish community and retaining their involvement, while dealing with the financial challenges of the economic downturn.   In Odessa these challenges are magnified, a result of the city's history and the fact that Ukraine has been especially hard hit by the global economic crisis.

In working to attract the unaffiliated – approximately 63% of Odessa's Jewish population - and keep them involved in Jewish communal life, the Odessa Jewish community is fighting not just apathy but a legacy of religious repression. With this in mind, JDC – working in partnership with the local community – is constantly creating events that keep Jewish life on the city's radar. Events like the "Days of Jewish Culture" are widely publicized not just in the Jewish community but throughout Odessa, helping attract the unaffiliated to community events. The challenge of retaining one-time visitors is being met by new ongoing community programs, like the prestigious Anavim kindergarten, which provides high-quality education alongside Jewish content.  In addition, this year both Migdal and Beit Grand designed informative Open Houses designed to acquaint visitors with their extensive programming.

Project's Impact on Participants and the Broader Community
"When I made the Holocaust movie "Heavy Sand" in the 1980s, I thought it would never be released. Now I am talking to a hall with over 200 people about the film. Now, not only are we able to speak openly about the tragic past, but we look with optimism to the future. That is the essence of the Days of Jewish Culture."

Thus spoke film producer D. Barshchevsk at this past June's opening of Days of Jewish Culture in Beit Grand. In fact, he could have been referring to any of the many Jewish Renewal activities currently underway in Odessa—activities that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago.

The impact of programs such as the Days of Jewish Culture, and others like it, are measured quantitatively – with an impressive 11,550 persons attending renewal activities in Odessa over the past six months, 300 previously unaffiliated persons expressing an interest in continued Beit Grand activities and 150 expressing an interest in activities at Migdal JCC. But qualitatively there are results as well.

The Klezmer festival was able to expand into a week-long celebration of Jewish culture, supported by city institutions and widely covered by local media. Parents from the Mazel Tov program – most of whom were uninvolved with the community when they began sending their children to Mazel Tov – voluntarily gathered to help build the communal Sukkah at Migdal JCC—an indication of the spontaneous, creative energy now at work in Odessa's community. The fact that Beit Grand was chosen to host the international project, "People of the World Inscribe the Bible,"— which has visited religious and community centers throughout the world—shows how Beit Grand has truly become identified as Odessa's Jewish home and center of Jewish life.

Unanticipated Outcomes
Odessa's community, which has always shown tremendous drive and initiative, rose to a new level this past year, flocking to activities at Beit Grand and supporting Migdal JCC.
The overwhelming success of this past year's renewal activities, despite the political and economic unrest that shook Ukraine, were not fully anticipated and are a stirring testimony to the community's strength and the value of Jewish Renewal programming to Odessa's Jews.

Strategic Planning: Negotiating Partnerships with Israel

2009-12-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

As you have read many times in this blog over the past few months, we are in the middle of developing a new strategic plan for the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership. Strategic planning is an intense process, which requires many difficult questions to be asked. Going through the process in two communities simultaneously with the end goal of creating one coherent plan is an even greater challenge, but one that has the ability to bring two groups closer together.

As our conversations developed before and during Baltimore's mission to Ashkelon, our two communities have become closer. We have created deeper understandings of what we are collectively looking to get out of our Partnership, engaged new members of the community who are stakeholders, and continued the introspection as to what it means to be a Jew in Israel or the US and sharing that knowledge. In a time where community dollars are increasingly more precious, the intangible value of sharing this knowledge is an important measure of the success of partnerships.

We are now in the phase of planning where we have broken into sub-groups each with a specific focus to develop action plans: governance & structure, funding policy & evaluation, marketing & communications, program development, creating the Baltimore-Ashkelon Volunteer Center, and economic development. In Baltimore and Ashkelon, each of these groups will meet independently and then begin communicating across the ocean. This is where the hardest work may occur- negotiating priorities of interests between two distinct communities. We have to reconcile what is realistic in terms of human and financial resources, collective interest in both communities, and keeping those most invested in our Partnership engaged and interested. This isn't always easy, but this is where partnership truly resides.

Old definitions of partnership between Israel and the global Jewish community often involved opening a check book, but that is not where we are today. As the world becomes smaller, Israeli society becomes more sophisticated, and our understanding of the commonality of the needs of Jewish communities, our partnerships have adapted. Although financial resources still generally flow from the global Jewish community toward Israel, these resources are being matched by the human power that Israel brings to the table. Crating consensus on how we use these collective resources and what we invest them in make partnership work. As partners there things that each side has to "sacrifice", but we create partnerships because there is much more to gain in the long run.

Next week I will share another update with you on the strategic planning process. This is a constantly evolving process that we know will have ripple effects in both Baltimore and Ashkelon for years to come.

Out of the Numbers, the Individual Stories- Updates from the FSU

2009-12-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year when I receive progress reports on the overseas programs that THE ASSOCIATED directly funds. In the next couple of weeks I look forward to sharing with you some of the amazing work that our partners do around the world thanks to the support of the Baltimore Jewish community. It is easy to get lost in the numbers of people who benefit or simply survive from the programs we support, and those numbers are jaw dropping, but on the most fundamental level we are helping one person at a time.

Today I am going to focus on the welfare work that is being done throughout the former Soviet Union by the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Across 11 time zones in the FSU, JDC is providing welfare and relief to 168,000 elderly (down from 248,000 just 2 years ago) and 25,000 children. In a region where there is no social safety net since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the services provided are essential to day-to-day survival. So far this year, nearly 3.5 million hours of homecare have been provided to the homebound elderly, nearly 250,000 food packages delivered on a weekly or monthly basis, more than 300,000 communal dining hall meals served that provide nutrition and socialization, and almost 400,000 meals on wheels deliveries to immobile elderly. Each of these numbers is down compared to last year, because of budget cuts but the needs are just as great now as they were before.

The newest population served by JDC are children- close to 25,000 today, including 7,400 in Ukraine through the Partnership for Children. From January to August, these children have collectively received: 10,500 hot lunches (sometimes the only meal they will get during the day), 4,500 food packages to take home, 2,200 holiday food packages, 3,500 monthly food cards for families, and 10 children received close to 4,000 hours of homecare assistance. The children who benefit from the Partnership come from a variety of homes, some where parent(s) are struggling to work, some where parent(s) struggle with addiction, and some where the parent(s) are essentially absent. If children are the future, then we are on the most basic level keeping that future alive.

As I said, the numbers are astounding, but not as incredible as the stories of the people who benefit and survive through these programs.

Bertold and Albina: Struggling with Poverty and Disability

Bertold and Albina, a childless couple residing on the outskirts of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, have no living relatives. Bertold sums up their desperate existence, "My wife is an invalid. I live only to take care of her." However, Bertold himself is disabled - due to polio - and cannot walk without crutches.

The two live in the house that Bertold inherited from his parents. While it was one of the nicest in the area, today, it is in utter disrepair. The front porch is rotting and the walls are beginning to fall apart. The roof is water-logged, and as a result, the ceiling leaks whenever it rains. Bertold fears that a heavy storm will cause the entire house to collapse.

Despite the home's many problems, Bertold is convinced that their neighbors, an unsavory lot, are determined to steal it from him. They recently broke in, stole chairs and broke the windows. Whenever Bertold attempts the trudge to the neighborhood water pump – the house has not had running water in nine years – the neighbors stalk him, calling names and throwing rocks. Recently, they grew even more violent, throwing Bertold to the ground and breaking his tooth. He cannot afford to go to a dentist to get it fixed.

Even without the neighbors' harassment, collecting water is no easy job. The pump is a half mile from the house, and, as he explains, "It is very hard maneuvering with my crutches and the buckets of water. I cannot carry very much. By the time I get back to the house, the buckets are practically empty."

Nevertheless, he keeps making the trek because Albina depends on him. She cannot leave the kitchen of the couple's home, because her rusted and twisted wheelchair cannot fit through the door frames.

Though their situation often seems hopeless, Bertold and Albina are grateful that they have some food to eat. Hesed Yehoshua of Tashkent provides them with food packages and hot meals, typically their only form of sustenance.

As JDC’s client base ages, homecare hours take on even greater importance, and accordingly, JDC is making homecare a priority in its welfare work. However, most Hesed clients are desperate for both homecare hours and food. As is apparent from the account below, JDC's conscientious homecare workers alleviate the client's discomfort, while stretching their budget to ensure maximum nutrition.

Maxim's Story

Six year-old Maxim's mother is sick with cancer and has not been able to work for the last three years. The family receives a tiny disability pension from the state, of $60 monthly. Together with some alimony from Maxim's father, the family's total monthly income is just $95 a month, most of which is used to pay for medications for Maxim—who has a heart ailment and bronchitis—and for his mother. They are fortunate at least to have the support of Maxim's 15 year-old sister, Galina, who helps care for Maxim.

The family lives in Evpatoria, in Southern Ukraine. They live in a crumbling Soviet Era high-rise, in a two-room apartment that hardly even has regularly running water due to the building's aging water and sewage system. They lack the most basic furniture; Maxim's mother sleeps on a broken couch and Maxim sleeps on the same baby bed he had since an infant, which he has long since outgrown.

The high cost of their medications leaves them without enough income for food, clothing and other basic needs. Neighbors came together to provide the family with a refrigerator, a chair, and an ancient washing machine. But Maxim's mother has to spend so much time in the hospital and the burden for caring for Maxim falls on Galina.

The Partnership for Children in the former Soviet Union provides Maxim with a food card so Galina can regularly shop for food at their local grocery, as well as purchase vitamins for him. Partnership staff took Maxim to buy warm clothing, to ensure he could stay healthy as possible through the winter. Maxim's mother says,

"I don't like to accept so many things. But I realize that if the Partnership did not give warm clothes for Maxim, he could become seriously sick. The Partnership has become like our family. I fall into total despair from time to time. If it were not for the Partnership…I don't even want to think about it."

Israel Engagement Summit: Executive Summary

2009-12-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

Below you will find the Executive Summary from last month's Israel Education & Engagement Summit. There were many tremendous conversations that occurred at the Summit and many conversations since. What was important from the inception of the Summit was that it would not just be an evening of talking about how we can make Israel relevant for the next generation of Baltimore Jews, but actually making it happen.

Before sharing the Executive Summary with you, I am happy to finally post the videos that Michael Weiger (from Melitz) and Jonny Ariel (from MAKOM/JAFI) used in their presentation.

Israel

Education & Engagement Summit

Executive Summary

On Monday, November 16, 2009, more than 100 members of the Baltimore Jewish community participated in THE ASSOCIATED’s Israel Education & Engagement Summit. The purpose of the summit was to open a community dialogue about the future of the relationship between the next generation of Baltimore Jews and

Israel

. Representatives from more than 20 organizations participated in the summit, bringing their knowledge and investment in a vibrant relationship with

Israel

to the table. During the summit, seven facilitated roundtable discussions took place focusing on the following areas: Maximizing the Value of Existing Resources, Connecting to

Israel

through Advocacy, Connecting to

Israel

through Volunteerism and Leadership Development, Using Technology to Facilitate Israel Connections, Connecting to

Israel

through Environmental Issues, and Connecting to

Israel

through Arts, Sports, and Culture. Each discussion identified a series of actionable items that could be implemented; many common themes emerged and are described below.

The concepts presented here are only the beginnings of ideas. Further community input to further develop the ideas is essential before moving forward in developing detailed action plans.

Create an Israel-focused website that can serve as a centralized clearing house for information and creating connections to Israel, which would include:

§ Community Calendar

§ Develop a curriculum for

Israel

advocacy- Utilize technology, such as Skype, to maximize reach of such an initiative.

§ Information about

Israel

travel

Israel

news

§ Israeli cultural, sports, and environmental links

Create a community Israel desk.

§ Convene a Coordinating Coalition for

Israel

– Involve all of organizations that have

Israel

as part of their agenda in an ongoing conversation to create a culture that allows different organizations to communicate with each other.

§ Serve as an in-person access point for local

Israel

information.

§ Develop and implement social and cultural

Israel

programs for the community that do not exist.

§ Provide support to community organizations that want to have or strengthen

Israel

programs, including linking them to local, national, and international resources.

§ Create a local speakers bureau- Identify speakers who for little or no cost will speak in the community on different Israel-related issues.

Improve follow up engagement among Israel trip participants.

§ Create a central database of

Israel

trip alumni, including teen/school trips, Birthright

Israel

, and MASA programs.

§ Create structured follow-up model to connect people after returning from

Israel

to the local community and ongoing

Israel

programming.

§ Connect

Israel

trip alumni to advocacy initiatives and educational programs.

The goal in the coming weeks is to develop these ideas more and begin work on actions plans for each of these areas so that they may be successfully implemented. Community volunteers, the next generation populations that we seek to engage, and professionals will be involved in this planning as an extension of the discussions begun at the Israel Education & Engagement Summit.

What We Can Learn from Israel Working to Rescue Gilad Shalit

2009-12-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

-Pirke Avot 1:14

It has been more than 1,000 days since Gilad Shalit was taken prisoner by Gaza-based Hamas terrorists. During the past week there have been an increasing number of reports that the Israeli government is working on details of a prisoner exchange that will bring Shalit home to his family. Few countries in the world are willing to negotiate with terrorist organizations or enemies to bring one person home, but Israel is. In a country where military service is mandatory, it is one of the things that forges the deepest bonds and promotes the sense that as a country and people. We are fortunate that in our daily lives that we do not confront issues like those of Gilad Shalit, but on a daily basis we struggle to deal with taking care of the one.

In the past 18 months we've had to deal with the ramifications of the economic crisis here at home. People who have never been jobless are now out of work, families that could afford beautiful homes now struggle to pay their mortgages, adults planning to retire are reconsidering or delaying that decision, and the stories go on. As a Jewish people we have taken care of our community members in trouble for centuries. We have created community infrastructure so we can respond to these needs in times of trouble, because we know from history that nobody else will. This is the sense of collective responsibility that Israelis feel towards Shalit; he is everybody's son or brother.

This value is the same as we have historically had for Jews around the world from a philanthropic/tzedakah perspective. Right now, through JDC, there are 168,000 elderly in the former Soviet Union who we provide food and medical relief for, but there are easily another 100,000 who are in need of help. Additionally, there are 25,000 children who we are providing relief to in the FSU who would otherwise be living on the streets without any family; there are at least just as many children who are still in need of help. If it wasn't for our grandparents or great-grandparents emigrating from the Pale those would be our parents, grandparents, or even us who would be in need of assistance.

And then there are the Jews in Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, South Africa and many other countries where the Jewish Agency is helping to rescue Jews from anti-Semitism and bring them home to Israel. Despite the fact that this is the first time in more than a century that Jews can live freely in every country in the world (including Iran), it does not mean that their quality of life is good. Seventy-five years ago there was no Israel when Hitler preparing to eliminate the Jewish people; countries would not provide a safe haven to Jews, and sadly we know the rest of the story. Out of the flames we said, "Never again." We made that promise to ourselves and every generation that will come in the future.

So back to Israel and Gilad Shalit...Is one life worth the exchange for hundreds of prisoners? It is a difficult question and an answer either way comes with consequences. If it is yes, then how great a sacrifice to security is Israel making? If it no, then what do we tell the Shalits or all of the young Israelis who put their lives on the line for the sake of the Jewish homeland? We too have to make difficult decisions, the answers to which are often unsatisfying. Do we support the elderly Jew in the FSU without any family or rescue the Jew in Iran who is trying to escape anti-Semitism, or is there something else that we need to do at home with our resources? What is clear is that we have a responsibility to care for others, because we live in world that we are not isolated from nor can we ignore. What are the sacrifices we are willing to make in our own lives to help another? A month's worth of Starbucks can help feed that person who is hungry, train the unemployed to find work, or allow a victim of anti-Semitism find their way to Israel. We pray for the speedy and safe return of Gilad Shalit and remember that we are all responsible for each other.

A Story of Survival and Perseverance

2009-11-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

This posting originally on the JDC Ambassadors Circle blog. I am reposting it here, because not only is it timely in this season of Thanksgiving (what we are thankful for in our lives and what we are thankful for that we can do for others), but also tells a story about the critical work that we are doing around the world.

From Asher Ostrin, Executive Director of JDC FSU Programs

In this briefing, Asher shares a story from Stanley Abramovitch, Director of former Soviet Republics of Asia, based on a recent trip to Belarus:

"Two Jews survived the Grodno ghetto in the Second World War. One of them left a few years ago for Israel where he died recently. The other is Gregory (Hersh) Hassid who still lives in Grodno. I met him in the Hesed office where he told me in fluent Hebrew learned in the Jewish school before the war, his story, about life in the ghetto and his many escapes from death.

The Germans occupied Grodno on the day after the war broke out. The few people who tried to escape towards the east of Russia away from the invading army where caught by the German army which moved very fast across Belorussia. Gregory was seventeen years old that September. There were about thirty thousand Jews in Grodno at the time. Another thirty thousand lived in small towns and villages around and near Grodno.

Soon after Grodno was occupied, the Germans set up the ghetto, in fact, two ghettoes in different parts of the town. Gregory and his family were moved into the larger ghetto. The Germans spoke of labor camps to which all Jews would be finally moved. When they announced that they needed four hundred volunteers for the labor camp Gregory and his father joined the group. They were locked up in the large Grodno synagogue and from there put on a passenger train that was to bring them to Treblinka.

Gregory heard some young men talking about jumping from the train. The only way was to jump out of the window. The young people queued up ready to jump. The first one out was shot at by guards stationed on the platforms of the train. The others hesitated to follow. Gregory told his father that he would jump. The father who was fifty years old encouraged him and told him to leave him, the father, to his fate, as he was an old man. When none of the other young peopled dared to jump out of the train, Gregory jumped. He too was shot at but he was not hurt.

His odyssey through the villages and woods started for him as soon as he was safely out of the train. He walked alone, begged for food, and stole some slices of bread where he could. On a few occasions, Polish young people stopped him and wanted to deliver him to the German police. A group of young Poles once caught him on a bridge. They decided to throw him into the half-frozen river. Luckily an older peasant passed by who convinced the young men to leave him alone.

He escaped death many times. He somehow managed to run away each time when a peasant wished to hand him over to the Germans. He walked at night since it was too dangerous for him to move through villages in daytime.

One day walking through the woods, he came across a man lying in the snow. Gregory spoke to him in Polish but the man just looked at him without answering. When Gregory asked him in Yiddish if he were a Jew the man jumped up, embraced him and kissed him. The man's name was Yitzhak Pepco from Wasstilishok, Belorussia. Yitzhak told Gregory that the Jews of his village were taken to a death pit and shot. He jumped into the pit a few seconds before the shooting began. The shot bodies fell on him. When night fell, he managed to crawl out from under the dead and dying bodies and leave the village. He had been on the road for over two weeks. He had a few gold rings, which he had taken with him when the Jews were collected by the Germans. He received food from farmers in exchange for these rings. By the time Gregory found him lying exhausted in the snow he had no food and no rings left.

Gregory and Yitzhak continued together. They stole vegetables from the fields; occasionally they received some bread from a farmer's wife. During the day, they hid in the wood, at night they tried their luck at farmers' houses that stood outside the village so as not to be seen by other neighboring peasants. Sometimes they were lucky; mostly they were driven away. They walked near Bialystok, Kuznica, and Suchin until they came across the Bielski group of Jewish partisans. The same group recently featured in the movie called "Defiance". They stayed with the Bielski partisans until the Russian army arrived in July 1944.

Gregory Hassid returned to Grodno. There he was mobilized and assigned to the prison police. He worked for a time in the office of the prison. The police wanted to send him to a police college for him to work later with them. He knew that he would never be able to leave the police (NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB), if he agreed to go to that college. He managed to refuse the offer. He then completed his high school studies interrupted by the war and continued in college to study physics and mathematics. This qualified him as a teacher, a profession in which he worked all his life until 1993.

He married in Grodno. His first wife died young. He remarried but the second marriage was not a happy one. When a little girl was born, Gregory was overjoyed. He dreamed of this girl being with him and looking after him in his old age. He thought that he found some happiness in his life. However, it was not to be. When the child was not yet two years his wife left him and took the girl with her.

Gregory now lives in Grodno, the last surviving Jew from the ghetto. The pension he receives is far from adequate for him to live on. He gets food packages from Hesed. Once a week a woman from Hesed comes to clean up his home and to cook him a warm meal. He used to visit friends but he recently suffered a stroke, which left the right side of his body semi paralyzed. Therefore, he can no longer walk as he used to in the past. He can still read and watch television. His biggest problem is loneliness. His friends died. Therefore, he has no one of his age he can talk with. He sits in a dark room, to save electricity, and thinks of his life, the loss of his mother, his father, his sisters, the cruelty of human beings, of peasants who were always ready to hand him over to the Germans. He remembers how many times he miraculously escaped from the Germans, from the Belorussian and Polish peasants. On the one hand, he feels fortunate for having survived. And yet he is not happy.

He thanked me profusely for listening to his story, for giving him a chance to speak in Hebrew for a couple of hours.

We took him back to his lonely dark apartment. Gregory Hassid stood a long time at the door of his house waving to us until we disappeared from his view."

This briefing was circulated Erev Rosh HaShana 5750. For us as Jews, this is a time of Heshbon Nefesh, of reflection. It's an opportunity to create a context for our own lives, and to reexamine our commitments and responsibilities as Jews.

I hope that Gregory Hassid, and the story of his life, contributes in some small way to that.

The Case for the Collective

2009-11-20T12:34:00.000-05:00

E pluribus unum- Out of many, one. We see this on US currency and symbols every day. It's not far off from the Hebrew phrase am yisrael ehad- the people of Israel are one. The question is how closely to we believe in and fellow these words? On a local level, are we individuals that happen to live in a community or do we band together to make a single community? On the national and global levels, are we each a distinct community are are we one people with a common destiny and sense of shared responsibility? Finding the balance in these questions is nothing new. When the Founding Fathers of the US were forming the country they struggled between the roles of the states versus the national/federal government; arguably, the answer is still evolving. So why does this matter to Jewish communal and institutional life today?

This week the inherent tensions in these questions emerged out of the discussions on how JAFI and JDC would divide the core overseas allocations given by Jewish communities via federations. Historically, the Jewish Agency has received 75% of the core allocation while JDC received 25%. I will not attempt to come up with a solution to this question or make any assumptions about if there will be a change. The reason that this question emerged can be attributed to two reasons: first, the needs JAFI and JDC are in constant evolution as the world changes; and second, and more significantly, the total core funding available has shrunk over the past few years.

The drop in core allocations have happened for two independent reasons. As community's have seen a decline in their overall financial resources (campaigns, endowments, etc.), the overall allocations pool has shrunk, which has impacted local and global agencies; additionally, as the US has struggled through the recession, members of the Jewish community have not been immune from the pain and more resources are being directed to local needs. The second reason is the desire of some communities to entirely abandon their core allocations and move to an entirely designated process of giving. The abandonment of the core in its entirety erodes the values of am yisrael ehad and collective action.

JAFI and JDC have been forced by some communities to submit funding requests for things that are basic and core to their operation in attempts to recoup these funds. The result of these actions are an increase in the use of human resources devoted towards fundraising and the resulting costs to do this, a decreased ability for our partners to strategically plan for long-term goals and needs, and an increasing fracture in our collective impact. While a vast majority of communities maintain a core allocations structure as well as an elective/designated structure that help achieve goals in target areas, the abandonment of the former for the latter hurts not just our partner organizations but the people that they serve.

There is a legitimate need to balance the needs and interests of federations and donors by engaging them directly allocating funds to have a strategic impact in a community or area of needs with the overall needs of the organization; this isn't different from local agencies that still need to turn the lights on before providing services. The desire though to "spread the wealth" among a large number of organizations creates more work to assure accountability and maximizing impact. During the past decade we saw innumerable little organizations emerge in the Jewish community that were not designed to endure the type of economic challenges we face today; we have seen many of these organizations shut down and as a result leaving the people that they serve in a lurch. The value of our collective action and support, whether it is in a local community or globally with JDC and JAFI do not just embody our value of am yisrael ehad, but also make common business sense.

This week's parsha, Toldot, begins the saga of Jacob and Esau. They each have their own personality and struggle with one another, but in a few weeks we will read of their reconciliation when they both come to realize that what makes them family is stronger than what divides them. As the decisions about allocations are made, it is important to remember the good work that we can do together and remember that we are not doing this work for ourselves, but the Jews in the world who have no voices, no support, no safety at home, or any other need that we can help address.

Israel Engagement Summit Highlighted in Baltimore Jewish Times

2009-11-20T08:51:00.001-05:00

Summit For Israel Engagement Launched

Community leaders convene to craft a new relationship to Israel in an uncharted era.

November 20, 2009

Neil Rubin
Editor
The familiar scenes of the 20th century’s tragedy and trauma flashed across the video — Palestine’s Jewish pioneers, Holocaust survivors, Israelis at war, Soviet Jews being liberated and so on.

But when the lights came back on and the speakers approached the microphone, those present were told they were facing a profound dilemma: What’s next? What will be the scenes on the screen in 20 or 30 more years?

Welcome to the current predicament of American Jewish life.

With that in mind, about 100 diverse community leaders — including teens, young professionals, veteran community leaders and representatives of about 20 organizations — converged on the Park Heights JCC Monday, November 16, for the Israel Education & Engagement Summit.

The effort, coordinated by the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Blatimore, the Center for Jewish Education and the Baltimore Jewish Council, was intended to kick-start Jewish Baltimore’s redefining its relationship with the State and people of Israel.
Click here to read more

Israel Providing Direct Support to JAFI- What might it mean?

2009-11-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

Today's Jerusalem Post reported that a deal is in the works for the government of Israel to provide direct financial support to the Jewish Agency for Israel. This could be a game changer, because Israel previously only provided support to specific programs that JAFI operated, such as MASA. As Federation contributions to overseas causes, including JAFI and JDC, have declined over the past few years, JAFI has seen its budget cut by nearly 25%. The result has been a cut in staff and services, including camps in the FSU, aliyah support services, and helping youth at-risk in Israel. These are programmatic areas that are typically funded with core dollars, not designated giving. Obviously, the increase in funding will have a direct impact in reversing the contraction that these programs experienced, but there are other potential broader implications.

This summer, the Jewish Agency went through a major governance restructuring. One of those changes was a revision in how JAFI's Board of Governors is composed. In particular, the issue was historically how Israelis were selected through the World Zionist Organization to sit on the Board. The move was made to make sitting on the Board less of a political placement than it had previously been. This was a major push from North American donors and leadership who provide more than $150 million annually in core and designated financial resources.

This nearly came to a head this summer when Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Natan Sharansky as his choice to serve as Chair of the Executive (the professional head) of JAFI. In the past, the prime minister named the head of the WZO who would also serve as the head of JAFI. Wanting to de-politicize this process, Sharnsky went through a nomination process and was named head of the Jewish Agency and required that future heads of JAFI not also serve as the chair of the WZO. The end result is a less politically aligned Jewish Agency, which is what makes the government's decision to provide core funding all the more interesting.

JAFI has and continues to provide many core services in Israel. The most easily identifiable is facilitating aliyah for thousands of people every year. This includes providing emergency evacuations in some communities (like Iran and Venezuela), running absorption centers, operating ulpan (Hebrew language classes for recent immigrants), and providing housing and job training/placement. These services have been particularly intensive and expensive in regards to helping the Ethiopian Israeli community. With this infusion of money, will the government's role in the management/leadership of the Agency changed?

A few years ago, when the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews began giving millions of dollars a year to JAFI, their president joined the Agency's executive committee, which has a major influence over budgeting and policy. Will there be a similar governance representation change now? We don't know yet.

From an American donor perspective, the fact that JAFI will now receive direct operating support from Israel shows that Israel's involvement in the Jewish Agency will change to being one of an "investor," similar to the role of Jewish communities around the world. We still need to see if this deal will be finalized, but in thinking about the philanthropic relationship between Israel and the global Jewish community this would be a huge step forward.

The Changing Place of Israel in American Jewish Life

2009-11-17T13:52:00.001-05:00

Last night, THE ASSOCIATED hosted the Israel Education and Engagement Summit, chaired by Michael Elman and Jennifer Meyerhoff. More than 100 people participated, including teens, young professionals, community professionals, and top leaders representing more than 20 organizations shared their thoughts and made their recommendations on how to connect the next generation of American Jews to Israel. The changing role of Israel in the future of our Jewish life is one of the most important thing that we need to resolve. Whether its in Baltimore or any place else in the world, for the past century the modern Zionist movement and the state of Israel have been central to Jewish life and identity. Having a connection to Israel not only strengthens the country, but serves as an entry point to Jewish life and identity here at home; but what connected us yesterday may not connect us tomorrow, and we need to adapt as a community.

Jonny Ariel, executive director of MAKOM, and Michael Weiger, executive director of Melitz, were our lead facilitators, and they did a masterful job. Previous generations saw Israel come to life out of the ashes of the Shoah, survive wars against Arab neighbors, bring hundreds of thousands of Jews home from the FSU, Ethiopia, and elsewhere, and sadly witnessed the assassination of a prime minister; these are their memories. While I believe in the importance and value of collective memory, we need to write new stories that younger generations can own, shape their identity and relationship with Israel, and they can share in twenty years with their children.

In the study "Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel," only half of all under-35 year old respondents agreed with the statement that "Israel's destruction would be a personal tragedy." Why is this? One of the teen participants last night said that the question may not have been asked correctly, because for so many young Jews a world without Israel is simply inconceivable, so maybe a new or different question needs to be asked.

MAKOM uses the phrase "wrestling and hugging" when we talk about relationships with Israel. We have to accept that there are nuances and gray areas to how we feel about Israel and Israelis. It is okay to have statements like, "I love/care about Israel, but..." It is how we answer or connect to the "but" statement that is most critical. By embracing the wide array of ideas, we can facilitate multiple entry points into having meaningful relationships with Israel. There is no one answer or single fit, which means as a community we need to best utilize our human and financial resources to meet as many needs as possible.

In seven roundtable discussions we discussed how to create meaningful connections to Israel through: environmental interests, technology, travel, volunteerism, arts/sports/culture, and advocacy, additionally we also had discussions creating better collaborations to maximize the impact of our collective resources. Each group discussed items that can be implemented with varying degrees of cost and have the ability to have a wide impact on the community. Below is a slideshow with the recommendations from each group.

We know that Israel has the potential to transform Jewish identity. For so many years we focused on what we as Jews living in the US could do for Israel, but now it is time that we look to what Israel can do for us. Israel is not only a repository for Jewish identity, but it is a laboratory where experimentation in the future of Jewish identity can take place.

At the same time we have to be realistic in our shared capacity. Studies consistently show that travel, and particularly long-term immersive experiences, in Israel is the most effective tool in shaping identity, but it is expensive. Working with organizations like MASA, which provides scholarships for long-term Israel programs, we can connect people in our community to a international resource; it makes no sense to not collaborate and utilize existing resources to accomplish our goals. In an age where every dollar and hour counts, we have to use them more effectively and refocus from what our institutions "own" to what we can collectively do for the Jewish people.

Neil Rubin, editor of the Jewish Times, and Richie Pearlstone, chair of the Board of Governors for the Jewish Agency, gave the closing remarks and summed up the potential for our discussions. We own Israel and it is the responsibility of the people who care about Israel to take the next step and engage more people in conversations. If nothing comes out what happened last night it will be a lost opportunity, so I am making a promise that we will not let our efforts go to waste. We are writing a dynamic story that belongs to every Jew and how we shape and frame that story now will impact the Jewish world for decades to come.

In addition to MAKOM, Melitz, JAFI, and the Jewish Times, I want to recognize MASA, Jewish Volunteer Connection, Center for Jewish Education, Baltimore Jewish Council, Baltimore Zionist District, AIPAC, Jewish National Fund, BBYO, and every other organization that gave their time and expertise to the conversations that will transform our community.

American Jews' Changing Role in Israel Society

2009-11-13T13:50:00.001-05:00

When the modern state of Israel was born more than 60 years ago there were two options that American Jews could play in the fabric of Israeli society. The first option was to make aliyah; at the time Israel only had 800,000 Jews and people were needed. The other option was to give money; Israel was absorbing tens of thousands of Jews a year, building a national infrastructure, and fighting wars against its neighbors for self-defense. This was the model of Israel-American Jewish relations for decades, and the case was similar with other wealthy Jewish communities around the world. Over the past two or three decades that dynamic has been changing. There have been a number of factors at work that have brought about this change, including philanthropists, the state of Israeli society, and public sector organizations like JDC and JAFI.

The change in philanthropists has occurred on two levels. In the US, the interest of philanthropists has moved away from large public works projects (like those of the Project Renewal days under Menachem Begin) and towards programs that address niche societal needs. This is part of the larger trend of donor directed giving that we experience here at home. The other change in philanthropy is that for the first time, Israel has major philanthropists of their own emerging. Whether they are giving to JAFI, JDC, or other organizations in Israel, they are giving to very specific projects; this may be as a reflection of what their American philanthropic counterparts are doing, but I suspect that there is something deeper. Israel's sense of civic duty is rooted in the compulsory military or national service; it is a hands on way of giving to the country and philanthropy seems to be working in the same way. Israeli donors want to give to something that they can directly engage with in personal and meaningful ways. The result of these parallel trends is that donors in the US and Israel are undertaking the funding of projects together. We have not reached the point of Israeli donors giving to Jewish causes outside of the country, with a few exceptions, but this may come into being as the society changes.

A few weeks ago, I sat with a group from Baltimore in Jerusalem with Dan Ben-David, the head of JDC's Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel (yes, it's a long name). From the time Israel was established until today, Israel's economy has moved from one primarily based on agricultural output to one of the technology hubs of the world. As Leah Golan, Director-General of JAFI's Israel Department, "Israel's only natural resource is its minds." The changes and growth in the economy have changed society there, creating new wealth and improving the socio-economic conditions for a majority of the country. At the same time poverty in Israel is sadly increasing. Nearly a quarter of all children live below the poverty line. JDC, JAFI, and other organization are refocusing their work from "building Israel" to ensuring that nobody is left behind as Israel's economy grows and society advances. The focus is on establishing sustainable partnerships between organizations, donors (from the Diaspora and Israel), and the government to close emerging and growing gaps. At the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly this past week, the conversations related to Israel were about such issues. The growing sophistication of these relationships is also serving to grow charitable giving in Israel, which has been historically low but we now see that reality changing.

The third major leg in this changing dynamic has been JDC, JAFI, and other non-governmental organizations. Not only have become more sophisticated in their approach to donors, but their relationship with the government of Israel has added significant value and focus to their work. One example is Tevet, a program that JDC operates that is helping the chronically unemployed in Israel enter the workforce. This is vital to the future of Israel, because despite relatively low official unemployment, there is a vast swath of Israeli society that does not work but is not counted in the unemployment numbers because they do not seek work, including recent immigrants, Arabs, the ultra-Orthodox, and people with disabilities; combined they represent hundreds of thousands who receive public support and live in poverty, the cost of their support is going up and is having a direct impact on Israel's ability to plan for the future. In the same way, JAFI is providing essential services that are closing the socio-economic gaps in the country. Atidim helps prepare youth from the periphery of the country and disadvantaged neighborhoods prepare for university and then careers in a variety of business sectors. Programs like Atidim are proactively empowering youth to seek out successful careers and hopefully eliminate the need for unemployment intervention initiatives later in life. These are just two programs that are engaging American Jews in transforming Israeli society.

When Israel was established it was said that through rebuilding the land we would rebuild ourselves as a Jewish people. While we are increasingly less involved in the physical building (or rebuilding) of the country, Jews from the US, Israel, and around the world are involved in building and strengthening Israeli civic society, which in turn is building our sense of kehillah (community). We can see through the changing dynamics that the sum of who we are as a Jewish people is greater than the individual homes, neighborhoods, or even countries that we live in.

On Monday, the Baltimore Jewish community will host the Israel Education & Engagement Summit. Following the event I will be writing on the changing role of Israel in American Jewish Life.

A New Golden Age for the Jewish Agency?

2009-11-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days and weeks I've participated in and read about a number of significant conversations focused on the Jewish Agency for Israel. These conversations have been about the work, leadership, and organization of JAFI, the largest Jewish organization in the world. The past few years have not been easy for the Agency. Allocations from Jewish federations have been down, the value of the dollar declined, and inflation has gone up- all of this before the recession even started. Everything I've heard and read though indicate that JAFI is poised to enter a new golden age.

Much of this change should be credited to Richie Pearlstone and Natan Sharansky, the lay and professional heads of JAFI. Since becoming the chair of the Board of Governors, Pearlstone (a Baltimore native) has lead an overhaul of the governance structure, including having more lay representation within the Agency. Sharansky, the former refusnik, has brought new passion to the Agency as its lead spokesman and advocate. He is engaging lay and professional leaders from around the world, and is cultivating new philanthropists in Israel, the FSU, and elsewhere. This is a seismic change that is even impressing some of the Agency's toughest critics.

The influence of this leadership, which goes beyond Pearlstone and Sharansky, has had a direct impact on JAFI's work. Probably the most substantial shift, which is still in progress, is the bringing birthright Israel and MASA closer together. Birthright, which in the past decade has brought nearly a quarter million young adults to Israel, is what many people call the most successful Jewish communal endeavor in the past twenty years; the hope with birthright is that it would serve as the entry point to Jewish life and identity for the unengaged. MASA (it means journey in Hebrew) is an autonomous company owned entirely by JAFI supports long-term immersive experiences in Israel. Both receive major financial support from JAFI, the government of Israel, and Jewish federations/philanthropists, but an underlying tension existed. As silos are being broken down, this has the potential to be a game changer. Together, these programs are arguably two of the strongest tools in building had shaping identity, and while I don't think a merger is in the shaping a better connection to create an effective continuum of engagement would have a major impact on Jewish life.

MASA is an example of some of the organizational change happening within JAFI. A recent JTA article addressed many of the internal changes to make JAFI more efficient, but initiatives like MASA and MAKOM represent a new model with the Agency owning these businesses that have to be more entrepenureal in serving client needs. These units encourage greater innovation and facilitate external partnerships to maximize resources and impact. Another example of this is Net@, a program supported by THE ASSOCIATED, which trains youth from many of Israel's peripheral communities to be network technicians, leaders, and volunteers in their community. Net@ is a collaboration between an Israeli NGO (Tapuach), Cisco Systems, JAFI, Israeli cities, and global funders; it is leveraging resources to maximize impact.

There are still challenges for JAFI on the road ahead. Funding continues to be the greatest concern and will have the largest impact on the Agency to do its work. The other obstacle, which Sharansky seems to be addressing, is raising awareness in Israel that JAFI is much more than "the aliyah organization." My sense is that the change in perception is already occurring, as evidenced by the media coverage in Israel over the past few months. The funding is clearly the larger concern, and the Agency must figure out a way to effectively make their case and raise the money to continue having a sustained major impact on global Jewish life.

The Stark Reality of Today's Global Jewish Community

2009-11-08T19:28:00.001-05:00

Today I had the opportunity to join leaders from the Baltimore Jewish community for a briefing from the Joint Distribution Committee's top leader at the Jewish Federations of North America's (formerly UJC) annual General Assembly. Steve Schwager and Irv Smokler talked to us about JDC's state of affairs. I tweeted the meeting and you can read my notes at www.twitter.com/jstrausberg, so I won't rehash the whole meeting here.

It was 95 years ago that JDC was born when Henry Morganthau, the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, reported the desperate state that Jews in then Palestine were living. Since then JDC has been serving Jews in need around the world. While many of the needs are the same, the state in which we live as a people has changed.

For the first time in Jewish history, since even before the Diaspora, we as Jews live without being a subjugated class. Even in Iran and Venezuela (there will be more on them later), Jews have the freedom to practice their religion and make aliyah to Israel. With this freedom, hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world struggle to connect to their Jewish community or their personal Judaism. Why is that?

Even though we have never been freer or wealthier, there are literally hundreds of thousands of Jews in the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and countless other countries who live in the most abject poverty imaginable. For many of these Jews who lived without Judaism for decades, and in some case not at all, they cannot think about their Jewish identity when they are homeless, sick, or don't know where their next meal is coming from. In the FSU alone, at last 60,000 elderly are no longer receiving material support from JDC and another 20,000 children are going hungry; this isn't because JDC doesn't know who they are or lacks infrastructure in the communities to meet their needs, they simply don't have the money to pay for the needs. This is reflected in the fact that of the 1.5 million Jews in the FSU only about 600,000 are connected to the Jewish community in some way. As Steve Schwager said, "We cannot afford to write-off 900,000 Jews."

Beyond the FSU, Iran and Venezuela are two of the "hot spots" for Jews around the world, and they are inextricably linked. In the past 18 months, there has been a systematic and state-supported uptick in anti-Israel rhetoric that is morphing into anti-Semitism. While Jews are free to leave both countries, they struggle with the question of going to Israel or the US, because they have trouble taking the accumulations of their successes with them. It is scary to think that this is similar situation to what was happening in Nazi Germany in the early-1930s.

As we closed our meeting, Irv Smokler, the lay President of JDC, asked what could we do to make a difference to help Jews around the world. In a time when the American Jewish community is wealthier than ever, fewer people- particularly young adults- give to Jewish causes, either locally or for global matters. In the room we had Katie Applefeld, one of our Odessa Committee chairs and the chair of the JDC Advisory Group, she is the embodiment of engaging and investing in young leaders to take an interest in their community and become advocates for the needs of Jews around the world. We need a lot more Katies, but we have begun the process of creating more young advocates and look forward to the day that Jews around the world will reap those rewards.

Tomorrow I will write about JDC in Israel, another impressive story.

Project Otzma Alumni Updates

2009-11-04T10:29:00.004-05:00

One of the great immersive Israel programs for the past 25 years has been Project OTZMA. It brings young adults, usually post-college, to volunteer in Israel for 10 months. This year, we are privileged that Ashkelon is hosting the Otzmanikim (yes, there is a Hebrew word we describe the participants in plural with!) for the first three months of there time in Israel. Last week, I met with a number of them in Israel and I was blown away by them.

Working with a number of OTZMA alumni, its pretty easy for me to see the longterm impact of the program, but when I received an OTZMA e-mail today highlighting two alumni from Baltimore. If you are interested in participating in Project OTZMA or know somebody who is, please contact me or visit: www.otzma.org.

Here are their stories:

Jennifer Keys, OTZMA XXII (2007-2008)
I wanted to be a dancer. Baltimore School for the Arts followed by New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts set the stage for a career in professional dancing. When that moment finally came however, I realized that my heart was no longer present. Hours in the studio amounted to an extreme desire to dream beyond the studio walls and share my art form in a very different way.

Upon graduation, I understood that I needed to give myself time to rediscover my passions. Otzma was the first and only program I researched to nurture my desire to volunteer and reconnect with my Jewish background.

I was given an opportunity to harness my artistic skills and teach dance to special needs children in Kiryat Shemona. This was a hands-on opportunity to share my talent with children who truly valued my time with them. Each smile I exchanged with the children reaffirmed my commitment to service and connection to Israel.

I immediately craved this connection once I returned from Israel. I was awarded the Schusterman Insight Fellowship—a 2-year program that has placed me in three different Jewish non-profit organizations in Washington, DC, encouraging a wide range of professional skills and community activism. I have had the opportunity to work in the International office of BBYO, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue as well as my upcoming placement in the International Hillel office.

Jewish communal work remains an important value to me, yet it is my service work in the Child Life ward of the Georgetown University Hospital that has recently reconnected me to the smiles I came to know so well in Israel.

My time on Otzma has undoubtedly opened my eyes to a life I had certainly not prepared myself for in the studio. The meaningful opportunities I was given as an Otzmanik have shaped my life in such a positive way that I will forever be grateful to have been a member of this special program.

Evan Levitt, OTZMA XIII (1998-1999)
Gordy Zacks, chairman of the R.G. Barry Corporation and former advisor to U.S. Presidents on Israel coined the term “defining moment”. My ten months in Israel as an OTZMA fellow was one continuous defining moment. Ten years after departing the United States for Israel as an OTZMA fellow, I still find myself reflecting on the greatest year of my life.

OTZMA opened my eyes to the Jewish Federation system and enabled me to serve as an instrument by impacting the lives of people in need in Israel. At the same time I developed a life long connection to Israel, a connection that has guided my career path and guides my passion.

One day I will never forget is the day I made a connection with a group of Ethiopian immigrants. Less than two hours before our meeting, they arrived in Israel for the first time. Many arrived with only the clothes on their backs. I worked with Jewish Agency staff to introduce them to their future – to introduce them to the land of Israel. Since that day I have dedicated my professional life to sustaining the global Jewish community and connecting people to Israel.

The passion I developed while on OTZMA gave me the energy to develop a teen trip to Israel for Jews, Christians, and Muslims for Jewish National Fund. The passion continues to fulfill me as a professional in the Jewish Federation system first in Philadelphia and now in Monmouth County, NJ. In December, I will lead a Taglit Birthright Israel trip to continue the connection. Ten years later OTZMA is impacting my life and the lives of others. Thanks OTZMA!

Reposted: Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Working Trip- Day 6

2009-11-03T14:07:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting in Ben Gurion Airport waiting for our flight back to the States. It's hard to believe that a week has gone by and our time in Israel is over (at least this time).

Our last day in Ashkelon was amazing. We started with a visit to the Jewish Agency's Calanit Absorption Center, which is home to 38 Project Otzma participants. Otzma is a year long volunteer program for young adults finished with college, and they have been calling Ashkelon their home since September. This opened our meeting about developing the Baltimore-Ashkelon Volunteer Center. The idea came about when Mayor Benny Vaknin visited Baltimore; in both communities we've held many conversations about what this center will be and how we will maximize it's value in Ashkelon and strengthening the ties between our two communities. As Marc Terrill said at our meeting, this is an idea that has tremendous potential and that we will work together to make happen. While we are still working out details, Jewish Volunteer Connection in Baltimore will help play a role in sharing ideas on how an organization such as this may work and using it to expand the reach of our Partnership. Five years ago, who could have imagined such an idea!

For the rest of the day we "dreamed" about the future of the Partnership. We talked about priorities, opportunities, and even simple things like where we want to start our work in moving the Partnership forward. More than 25 people from Ashkelon participated in the discussions with us, and as we broke into small groups to brainstorm; the fact that we had so many ideas in common and such openess to talk about our differences is a sure sign that our relationships and partnership have matured overtime. From these meetings we're bringing home action items and will be planning their implementation, but more important are the memories and relationships formed and strengthened over the past few days.

As we closed our time in Ashkelon, we reflected on our time together. I wish I could share each and every beautiful word that I heard, but for the sake of space I'm going to highlight two comments. Jeff Elkin, the husband of our Partnership co-chair Saralyn Elkin, said, "I feel like we're home here, its more than friendship." To give a bit of a humorous context, when we started the trip Jeff said that he was just along for the ride- my how things change! The other comment came from Ashkelonian Alan Marcus who said, “In the five years of our partnership we have grown from being a 'new friendship' to being a family.”

Our trip ended with a visit to the Michael Lapides Baltimore Park and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground. I've put together a little video so you can see how much the park and playground have changed since the Family Mission of December 2007. With our Ashkelonian friends we added to the beautiful mosiacs so we cuold leave our mark on the park. And finally we said l'hitraot- we didn't say goodbye, we said "See you soon," and I know we will.

Israel Engagement Summit- Register Today!

2009-11-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

It's only two weeks until the Israel Education & Engagement Summit. Have you registered yet?

Birthright Israel Study- What does it mean?

2009-10-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, Brandeis University released a study on the impact of Birthright Israel on Jewish identity (click here to link to the study). The study compared birthright alumni who went on the trip between 2001 and 2004 to those who applied for the trip but did not participate. Since its inception, birthright has been one of the greatest successes of the North American Jewish community in a long time. In a decade, more than 225,000 young adults have been to Israel on a birthright trip, and based on demographic information in the coming 3 to 5 years half of all Jewish young adults who have been eligible for the trip from ages 17 to 27 will have gone on one of these trips. This number when combined with other group Israel travel through day schools, youth movements, etc., will mean that for the first time since the establishment of the modern state of Israel, at least 60% of the American Jewish community will have been to Israel at least once before the age of 30. The big question has been, 'What is the long term impact of a birthright trip?'

According to the study, nearly half of all participants categorized birthright as a "life changing experience." How much of a behavioral change is there? After the trip, more than 60% describe the trip as making them feel much closer to their Jewish heritage and more than half feel they are part of a global Jewish community, which is 20% greater than non-birthright participants. In more tangible terms, birthright participants are 20% more likely to join a synagogue and attend a religious service at least once a month. Looking at marriage patterns, non-Orthodox birthright participants are nearly 60% more likely to marry somebody who is Jewish than non-participants (72% vs. 46%), and among those who married somebody non-Jewish the likelihood of conversion by the non-Jewish spouse is three and a half times greater among trip alumni. Looking to future generations, 74% of alumni report that raising their children as Jews is "very important" compared to 57% of non-participants.; among intermarried alumni, they are 93% more likely to state that they consider raising their children as Jews as "very important." All of these numbers are great measurements of success for the program, but there are some numbers that are concerning.

Under 40% of birthright alumni feel "very much" a part of their local community; they feel closer to being a part of the global Jewish community and Jewish customs/traditions. This highlights the biggest challenge and critique of birthright. Participants make a great connection to Israel and the broader Jewish community, but not enough is done once they are back "on the ground" from their trip. In the past, this has been seen as the "responsibility" of the local community, but I don't think that is completely the correct attitude. Birthright alumni create strong bonds among their fellow participants on their trip and their American guide. There needs to be some way of utilizing the guide to help conduct some of the follow-up work once alumni are home and connecting them with the community, which the community must also help facilitate. Some progress is being made through Birthright Next, but there is still much work to be done.

The other number of concern, but not in this study, is the fact that in recent years 80% of birthright applicants who were wait listed (demand far exceeds capacity) do not apply for a subsequent birthright trip. This is a population that as a result does not get the same transformational experience or the level attention in follow-up by the organized community. Two things need to happen to resolve this. First, more funding is necessary for birthright, which in this economic environment is easier said than done; at $3,000 a pop, the funding gap between applicants and space available this winter is close to $40m! Second, better information sharing is required between birthright and local communities to connect with applicants who don't get a space right away so they can receive attention from the community and get the follow-up attention so they reapply for birthright or find another Israel trip. Both of these needs require considerations about the utilization about human and financial resources, and I do not assume to have the answers on how to balance these needs with others.

Having spent last week in Israel and meeting with many birthright alumni who have returned to Israel for more intensive Israel and Jewish experiences, such as MASA, it is easy to see and understand the benefit and impact of the program. Where birthright goes as it prepares to celebrate its bar mitzvah in a few years is the big question that we need to start asking, as well as how we can replicate birthright's success in terms of being "hip and cool" to other areas of Jewish life.

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Highlighted in JT

2009-10-29T16:24:00.004-04:00

Friendship to Family: The Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership
October 30, 2009
Ashkelon, Israel
Saralyn Elkin and Dr. Jeffrey C. Miller
Special to the Jewish Times

More than five years ago, the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and the Baltimore Jewish Community launched the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership.

We wanted to build a bridge between our community and the community in Ashkelon, but since its inception our partnership has become so much more. For the past week, a delegation of community leaders from Baltimore was in Israel meeting with our Ashkelonian partners and planning the future of our relationship and work together.

The world has changed since our Partnership started and we wanted to take the opportunity to plan our future from a place of strength.

There is so much from our Partnership that we can be proud of:

* More than 3,000 people have traveled between our communities, building relationships, friendships, and strengthening our global Jewish community.

* Volunteerism has catapulted among teens in Ashkelon from 900 only a few years ago to more than 5,000 today thanks to the launching of AMEN.

* Together we built the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground, which is a monument to the vitality of our Partnership.

* In its first year, the Shinshinim program brought faces of Ashkelon to thousands of Baltimoreans, and the reach of the program is continuing to grow.

It is not enough simply to rest on these and other accomplishment. Our Partnership has so many more opportunities to reach out and touch the lives of the people in both of our communities.

As we sat together with our Ashkelonian partners, we discussed how our communities will work together to make each other stronger. Whether it is strengthening Jewish identity, promote living by Jewish values, or helping each other in times of need, we are working together towards an even brighter future.

One of the most empowering outcomes of our mission and the strategic planning process that we are in is the fact that in Baltimore and Ashkelon new voices are being heard and new ideas are being shared. Our partnership has never been stronger, and we are even now serving as a resource to other communities as they seek to strengthen their connection with Israel.

In our closing session, one of our Ashkelonian partners said, “In the five years of our partnership, we have grown from being a “new friendship” to being a family.” There is little more that can be said.

If you want to read about the entirety of our mission, you can visit
http://baltimoreisraeloverseas.blogspot.com

Saralyn Elkin and Dr. Jeffrey Miller are chairs of the Associated’s Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership. More information on the Associated is at www.associated.org.

Ashkelon Community B'nai Mitvzah Celebration- The Video!

2009-10-28T12:17:00.002-04:00

It took a little bit of time, but here's a video from the b'nai mitzvah celebration. In the video, you'll see Tal Bouchnik and Liron Menashe, our two past Shinshinim, who helped prepare the children for their b'nai mitzvot, and Jeff Miller, our Partnership co-chair. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating here- this is one of the most moving things I have ever been a part of!

Young Judea in Ashkelon

2009-10-28T05:27:00.001-04:00

Wendy Miller brought this article to my attention. As we return to Baltimore from our meetings in Ashkelon, it is always incredible to see just how widespread the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership is and the impact it has in small and meaningful ways.

Feature:
Young Judaea in Israel Walking the WalkBy Barbara Sofer

For Young Judaeans, going to Israel is like going home. Whether for a year or a summer, it means not only studying on diverse tracks and touring the land but also volunteering wherever they are needed—from playing with children in bomb shelters to taking inventory of army supplies.

Back in her hometown of Baltimore, Nufar Chabin, 19, and her friends washed cars to help pay for a new television to be donated to a youth club in Ashkelon. Chabin hoped to see the television when she was in Israel the following September on Young Judaea’s 2008-2009 Year Course. Indeed, a date was set well in advance for Baltimore students on various yearlong programs to visit Ashkelon, the seaside city twinned with the Baltimore Jewish community. But when January 15 rolled around, Operation Cast Lead had started and Ashkelon was the target of rocket fire from Gaza. Other teen programs in Israel cancelled their visits there; only the Young Judaeans showed up.

“We wouldn’t consider breaking our date with Ashkelon,” Chabin said. “If anything, we thought it was more important than ever to come.” a On the bus, their counselor briefed them as they approached the radius of possible missile attack: If an alarm sounded, they should get off the bus and get down on the ground; once in the city there would be shelters.

The dozen Judaeans arrived safely, but the missile alarm siren went off while they were debriefing in the very youth center with the television paid for by the car wash. They divided into two groups to work underground where children ages 4 to 14 had been spending their mornings—schools were closed and there were no shelters at home. They played games, demonstrated arts and crafts and beaded jewelry with the kids.

“It was really fun having them,” said Noa, a 13-year-old who came to the shelter with her three younger siblings during the rocket attack.

“I felt part of a partnership when I was in Baltimore,” said Chabin, waiting out the alarm in a shelter. “But today, standing here in Israel, you can’t help but feel so much closer.”

While the teens were in Ashkelon, Joe Lustig from New Orleans was packing parachutes needed to airlift food and water supplies to a northern Army base. Across the warehouse, Wendy Cohen of Dallas was taking inventory of mechanical parts and gun belts. They were among some 200 Judaeans around Israel who responded to text messages that the Israel Defense Forces was short-handed on the supply lines.

“Nothing feels better than to be able to give back,” said Lustig. “Being on Year Course, we felt privileged to be able to make a hands-on contribution.”

Developing the lifelong desire to contribute to Israel and the Jewish people are what Young Judaea’s Israel programs are all about, according to Dan Krakow, director of those programs for the past 20 years.

“There’s a unique Hadassah-Young Judaea approach that embraces pluralism and fosters a lifelong attachment to Jewish peoplehood that marks all our Israel programs,” he said. (In 2003, when the government of Israel together with the Jewish Agency decided to establish MASA, a governmental body that would encourage and support long-term Israel programs such as Young Judaea’s, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon first asked to meet with Year Course participants to better understand what impact it had on them. He was impressed and subsequently decided to back the initiative.)

Over the years, Young Judaeans have sandbagged the Chagall Windows at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, protecting them from air attack during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and baby-sat scared children with gas masks during the Gulf War in 1990. In more peaceful times, they have tutored immigrants, coached disadvantaged Jewish and Arab youngsters in Jaffa in basketball and worked with environmentalists to help save giant turtles washed up on the Mediterranean shore.

Year Course started in 1956 when 15 teens just out of high school arrived in Israel and checked into the modest San Remo Hotel in downtown Jerusalem. They were 18 years old—only a decade older than the young state. Volunteer work included a lot of banana picking and cow milking. Recently, Year Course numbers have grown; last year’s boasted 541 participants. Over five decades, more than 5,000 kids have participated.

Short-term programs have grown as well—more than 1,000 young people take part in educational and fun summer tours for teenagers (Machon for Young Judaea members and Summer Program for all teens); Amirim, a college summer volunteering program; and the post-college WUJS Israel Hadassah, a six-month combined study and internship in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In addition, more than 2,500 people in Jerusalem take part in activities sponsored by Merkaz Hamagshimim Hadassah (a combination absorption and community center)—everything from the environmental initiative that nudged Jerusalem to adopt recycling to movie nights.

In the Negev Desert, another point of pride is Kibbutz Ketura, an hour north of Eilat. The kibbutz was established in 1973 by a group of Year Course graduates.

Barry Kaplan from Kansas City, Missouri, joined the second Year Course in 1957. He worked on kibbutz and moshav fields and assisted immigrants just off the plane from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

“The San Remo staff stepped forward to be our family, and everyone was always inviting you home for a meal or to sleep on the pull-out couch in the living room,” recalled Kaplan, who is compiling his letters home from Israel, which he hopes to publish one day as his Year Course memories. For Kaplan, those nine months in Israel left an indelible mark on his life.

“I’m still in touch with the men and women with whom I went on Year Course,” said Kaplan, 70. “After I got back to the U.S. and graduated from college, I had jobs in sales that required me to move eight different times. Everywhere I lived, I became active in the Jewish community and in Zionist activities.”

Last year he finally made good on his dream: He and his wife, Sybil, a former Hadassah national board member, made aliya and now live in Jerusalem.

The Year Course vision of combining college-level studies, volunteering and tourism has remained the same for five decades, but today’s participants have a wide variety of tracks and sections with which to tailor their experience. A star athlete might opt for the sports track while an aspiring physician might choose the medical track, which allows students to meet with doctors and observe surgeries. Participants in the fashion track work with local clothing designers to produce a fashion show, catwalk and all. Two specialized sections—Shalem, aimed at Orthodox youth, and Shevet, for those who want to explore religious observance—feature opportunities for those who want to enrich their Jewish knowledge. Olami, an add-on program, takes the teens to far-flung places such as Portugal, South Africa, Uganda and India.

Approximately a third of Year Course participants are graduates of Young Judaea’s club and camp network in the United States or the parallel Federation of Zionist Youth, a Zionist youth movement in Great Britain. Some, like Yoni Bender (Year Course 2007-2008), who belonged to a Young Judaea club in Puerto Rico and attended Young Judaean camps, have parents who also went on Year Course. For Bender, the experience of Year Course was a chance “to solidify my Zionism and love of Israel,” he said.

But in recent years, many high school graduates without the Young Judaea background are drawn to Year Course by its reputation. “We’ve seen a breakthrough in the thinking of parents outside of the Jewish school system who believe in the concept of a post-high school program for their children to strengthen Jewish identity and prepare them for success in university,” said Keith Berman, director of Year Course and a 1984-1985 alumnus. “Even top tier schools like Harvard University are endorsing gap-year programs like ours. We’re providing many new choices, but the underlying rule of inculcating a love of Israel and Judaism remains.”

Alexander Sebenius (Year Course 2008-2009), who went to a private high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found Year Course while seeking such a program before entering Harvard. “All my research, formal and informal, kept confirming that the Young Judaea Year Course was a great program,” he said. “It was one of the best decisions of my life.”

It’s hard to predict what kind of impact Year Course will have on someone. “Take my cousin, Zack Moliver,” said Berman. “He wasn’t a Young Judaean. I convinced him to go on Year Course in 2006. Zack decided that he couldn’t continue in university with everything that had happened in Israel [last year] in Cast Lead. He had several friends from Year Course who had made aliya immediately after the program and joined the Army. He also knew Tzofim, Israeli scouts, who join the program and other Israeli friends that he had met on Year Course who had served in the Army. So he changed his plans. He will be making aliya, going to kibbutz and then enlisting in the Army in March.”

“As Young Judaea celebrates its 100th year, Young Judaea Israel programs still reflect the same core values,” said Krakow. “Because they’ve grown so much larger, the scale makes possible greater variety and increases our impact in Israel and on the Jewish people. In Bat Yam, for example, matriculation exam scores in English have gone up as a result of the large-scale tutoring we do there.”

On a hot Tuesday night last July, Alexandra Frolkis, 24, had just returned to the Young Judaean Youth Hostel in Jerusalem from the Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall with her 39 teen charges. For five weeks, she guided their trip and added the element that makes these experiences special—her strong Young Judaea perspective. A product of the movement’s clubs, camps and Year Course, she spends her summers in Israel leading Young Judaeans on summer programs; her group last summer was a mix of members and nonmembers.

“The Young Judaeans come with an immediate feeling of ownership, and I encourage them to inject that in the other kids,” she said.

Her charges had tasted their way through Israeli ice cream flavors such as lemon mint and pomegranate, listening to Hebrew street musicians and shopping. A few of them tried out their high school French on teens from France.

Frolkis laughed with pleasure as the teens showed her their purchases. A boy from her hometown of Milwaukee unwrapped a Hebrew newspaper to display a ritual hand-washing cup. A tall blond boy handed Frolkis a Pesek Zman chocolate wafer bar, because she had mentioned it was her favorite.

“Young Judaea shaped my Jewish and Zionist identity, and [as a leader] I want to pass that on to others,” said Frolkis, a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A typical day on this program includes a desert hike to Ein Ovdat springs, a stop at David Ben-Gurion’s home in Sde Boker with a lively discussion about the first prime minister’s dream for the Negev and a Kabbalat Shabbat program on a cliff overlooking the Ramon Crater. Frolkis spoke of her own special love of the Negev, inherited from her late father, who spent a lot of time there on kibbutz.
Each day, Frolkis taught the teen travelers a new Hebrew word. That day’s word was oleh. “It’s useful in shopping as in kama zeh oleh, how much does that cost?” she said. “But it also means going up, as in immigrating to Israel or rising to a higher level. That’s what we’re trying to do in Israel with Young Judaea, ‘to go up’ a level, no matter where you start.”

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Working Trip- Day 5

2009-10-26T16:35:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that this time tomorrow we will be on our way home from Israel. I guess that you can say that time flies when you're doing strategic planning! I give so much credit to Saralyn Elkin, Jeff Miller, and Shlomo Cohen, who as chairs of our Partnership have raised the level of discourse, engaged new community members in Baltimore and Ashkelon, and have thoughtfully and passionately led us through this process. It is an honor and privelege to work with them all.

Today we focused on building one-on-one relationships and building our collective database of knowledge about the programs supported by the Partnership and THE ASSOCIATED through our various resources, the working structure of Ashkelon, and issues that the city has identified as priorities. Firs thing this morning, we went on a security tour of Ashkelon with Dr. Alan Marcus, Ashkelon's chief strategic planner. We looked at how Ashkelon has dealt with attacks from Gaza and succeed in continuing to build its economy and provide greater safety for its citizens. Next we broke into pairs focusing on different areas, including: Education, Engagement, Social and Human Services, and Economic Development. The site visits we conducted were incredible and sparked numerous exciting conversations that we think will help shape the future of our relationship.

I spent the morning with Ellen Kahan Zager, the chair of our Shinshinim Program, and an active member in the Partnership on issues surrounding creating relationships and friendships through education. Together we were with Marcelo Broderman, the Gesher Chai coordinator here in Ashkelon, who is incredibly warm, enthusiastic, and technologically savy. As we looked at all that we are doing in education and the new opportunities available in Baltimore and Ashkelon, we began to dream of a new future for this area of our Partnership. I know that every pair had a similar experience and as we shared our thoughts from the day's visits together that energy came through in everyone.

In the afternoon we attended a community bar and bat mitzvah reception for a dozen children from disadvantaged families. This is the second celebration I've attended like this here in Ashkelon. When I was at the first one this summer, I knew that it was something that as many people from Baltimore should experience. It was an amazing honor that we could join the families for their celebration and how much care and dignity went into the day. We were joined by Tal Bouchnik and Liron Menashe, last year’s shinshinim, who helped prepare the children. With a small gift from the Partnership, we were able to give every child a bicycle as a present. It was a wonderful sight to see them enjoy the day with their families and we were blessed by being able to join them. (I'm working on a video from the celebration and hope to be able to share it in the next day or two.)

Tonight we enjoyed home hospitality throughout the city with many of the friends we have been working with over the past few days. Tomorrow is our last day of meetings here and we will send you a wrap-up of our meetings before heading home.

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Working Trip- Day 4

2009-10-25T17:13:00.003-04:00

Its Super Sunday for the Annual Campaign (don't forget to pick up the phone and make a pledge) and for our Working Trip here in Israel.

We finished our time in Jerusalem with a morning briefing at JDC's Taub Center, one of Israel's leading public policy think tanks. As we think about the role that the American Jewish community can and should play in Israel, it was important for us to learn about the socio-economic issues that are confronting the country. There is no easy answer, but we look at struggles in unemployment, underemployment, and other issues in Israel to better inform us as to the environment that our Partnership exists in and what the we can contribute to Israel and learn through how such issues are addressed.

The rest of the day we were joined by Marc Terrill, President of THE ASSOCIATED, as we made our way down to Ashkelon to begin the real meat of our work here in Israel- crafting a new strategic plan that will define our Partnership for the next few years. Our meeting today opened with welcome remarks from Mayor Benny Vaknin and Marc Terrill, both of whom talked about the great importance of value of our Partnership in both communities. In addition, Marc presented the city with a check for $250,000 that came through a designated gift and will be matched by a foundation in Israel to build a secure kindergarten for Ashkelon.

Today’s focus was on developing a mission statement, vision statement, and the values that we wish for our Partnership to live by. As we broke into groups and then reported back together, one of the things that was great to see is that we jointly have a shared sense of our mission, vision, and values. We will have to work on the exact language, but it is clear that the spirit is there.

The other wonderful thing about the meeting today was the sheer number of people involved and how engaged in the discussions we all were. More than 30 Ashkelonians attended the opening session and a majority stayed for the breakout discussions. Among them were many volunteer community members, which has always been something that we hoped would happen as the Partnership matured.

This evening, the city hosted us for a wonderful welcome dinner with great company and entertainment. Tomorrow we will break into pairs with our Ashkelonian friends. We will visit programs that are supported by THE ASSOCIATED, JDC, JAFI, and the municipality to learn about what is happening here and think creatively about how we can strengthen the ties between our two communities. While you wait for a report on tomorrow, enjoy a lively video featuring our Barbara Gradet talking about the impact of our Partnership on her life.

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Working Trip- Days 2 & 3

2009-10-25T01:21:00.001-04:00

For the past two days we’ve been focused on the identity and spirituality of Israel. They are extricable from the people and together shape the values and characteristics of the Baltimore – Ashkelon Partnership.

Friday we spent walking through Jerusalem as the city and the country prepared for Shabbat. While not everyone in Israel celebrates Shabbat, the entire country takes on a different atmosphere for twenty-four hours. It is a time for reflection, rest, and spiritual rejuvenation. As we studied Jewish texts by the Western Wall, we talked about how we each connect to this time and since we are in Israel how the space around us impacts our relationship with Shabbat. There isn’t a single answer, but just as the diversity that we saw in the city during our walk there is diversity in who we are as a people.

Over Shabbat dinner, we shared some of the pivotal moments that brought us to where we are today- here in Israel to continue growing our Baltimore – Ashkelon Partnership. There was a lot of laughter and tears shed over the dinner table as our group joined by two Baltimore MASA participants and a wonderful Ethiopian-born Israeli entrepreneur as we shared our experiences and memories. While I do not feel comfortable sharing peoples stories, the concept that mattered most was that we all had an experience or a series of experiences that changed how we look at the world around us, relate to our Judaism, and to Israel, too. As we look at our Partnership, we hope to create more pivotal moments for Baltimoreans and Ashkelonians that will define their Jewish identity and shape the rest of their lives. We each celebrated Shabbat in our own way, some walking through Jerusalem, others going to synagogue and seeing friends, and altogether relaxing and being recharged by this beautiful environment, we looked forward to our arrival in Ashkelon.

As we said goodbye to Shabbat over Havdallah, Jeff Miller, our co-chair, gave us the charge that in the coming days the real work of this trip will begin. The group here is a wonderful segment of our Partnership committee, but there are so many more who have been a part of this strategic planning process in Baltimore and the discussions that we are embarking on not only involve and effect the people in the room, but our entire committee and even more importantly the entirety of Baltimore and Ashkelon.

In the next few days I will be updating you on these discussions and look forward to any comments you want to leave on the blog or send to me directly!

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Working Trip- Day 1

2009-10-22T17:18:00.002-04:00

Today, fourteen of us arrived in Israel to start our Partnership working trip, which will focus on strategic planning. I will endeavour to post everyday, so you can keep on top of what's going on.

"We built the land and now the land builds us." A few simple words that I think sums up the role that Israel plays in the life of global Jewry. We are all stakeholders in Israel, whether it is the people who live here, people who visit, or the philanthropists from around the world that give tzedakah with Israel in their heart, every Jew can call Israel home and every Jews can grow through a relationship with Israel. This concept sets out what we seek in our Partnership with Ashkelon and gives a context to the start of the trip.

As soon as we got off the airplane, we went to the Hava v'Adam Eco Farm outside of Modi'in on our way to Jerusalem. The farm, which has similarities to our own Kayam Farm at Pearlstone, is built on a model of sustainability and ecological responsibility, but it is so much more than that. It is about Jews working the land of eretz yisrael, literally growing the future. The Farm is also home to a MASA program (MASA is a collection of long-term programs in Israel for twenty-somethings). Meeting the participants who come from a variety of backgrounds, it was clear to our entire group that the land of Israel enriches each and everyone of us in deeply personal and profound ways. We heard stories of participants who had no connection to their Judaism until they tilled the soil and worked together. Each and every one of them is building the future of Israel, the Jewish people, and their own identity through their work and experience.

It's late here now, so I will write about our dinner tomorrow morning, so in the meantime I bid you a fond afternoon.

Not Losing the "Lost Decade"

2009-10-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the Dow topped 10,000 points for the first time in a year. Economists are calling it yet another sign that we are coming out of the recession, which is something we can all appreciate. Even with this milepost, there are some are still real worries. To me, one of those concerns is the idea that have just gone through a "lost decade", but while I'm worried about the economy- I am more concerned that our accomplishments over the past decade are not lost.

What has happened in the past decade?

More than 350,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and around the world found their way home to Israel through the work of the Jewish Agency, and 2009 continues to see an upsurge in the number of people making aliyah. We haven't just seen and helped people make the journey to Israel, but we have been instrumental in helping individuals, families, and elderly couples make the transition to life in Israel. This include such important things as teaching Hebrew, developing job skills, helping families coming from third-world countries learn how to live in fast-paced Israel, and more.

We launched our tremendously successful Baltimore - Ashkelon Partnership almost six years ago, which continues to flourish. We have helped strengthen volunteerism in Baltimore and transform the community culture in Ashkelon so that more than 5,000 teens are now volunteering every year. The Partnership is creating a sense of global Jewish peoplehood, which is strengthening Jewish identities and bringing people from Baltimore closer to Israel.

As Israel went through the second intifada, Second Lebanon War, and Gaza War most recently, we were there in our support. We showed solidarity through travel, the messages of care that we sent, and the ability we had to provide emergency relief. JDC and JAFI played instrumental these services, which were critical.

In the former Soviet Union, JDC continues to deliver more than 1 million food packages to isolated and impoverished elderly every year; in the past decade more than half a million elderly have been served by this critical lifeline service. And now, we are serving nearly 25,000 children a year with food and medical supplies who would otherwise go hungry and end up on the streets.

And then there is perhaps the greatest accomplishments in the past ten years, birthright Israel. In less than a decade, more than 200,000 young adults have traveled to Israel for the first time. Within the next few years, more than half of all young adults in North America who have been eligible for birthright will have been to Israel on one of these trips and when coupled with those going on other peer trips, this number is even more powerful. Birthright is exposing youth to Israel, Jewish heritage, and Jewish pride- in short, it is transforming Jewish identity.

Next month, UJC will host the annual General Assembly. Bruce Sholk, Linda Hurwitz, and Matt Freedman will be leading a workshop called 'Our Mission is Not in Recession.' It will focus on the fact that despite difficult economic times, our work does not stop and we must find innovative ways to provide and fund critical services in our community as well as to Jews around the world. I look forward to sharing notes from that discussion with you.

Who Else Will Care If Not Us?

2009-10-12T13:06:00.001-04:00

Jewish Times- October 9, 2009

by Linda A. Hurwitz

Through my involvement with the Associated, I have visited Jewish communities around the world and witnessed the impact made by the Baltimore Jewish community. As the chair for the Commission on Israel and Overseas, I am proud of our efforts throughout the global Jewish community. Our work is saving lives and reviving Jewish life around the world, as well as enriching our own, here in Baltimore.

I have been asked on occasion why we allocate community resources overseas. Certainly local needs are compelling and have grown in the past year and a half. Yet, supporting Jews around the world is rooted in our Jewish tradition, history and values. Hillel said: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
I believe our responsibilities start at home, but also stretch to every Jewish community around the world. As Jews, we are given the gift of a covenant, a homeland and an entire people to whom we feel connected. Jewish people all over the world feel as if they are a family.
In the former Soviet Union, working with our overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, we are providing hunger and medical relief to more than 166,000 elderly Jewish adults who would otherwise be left to fend for themselves. Additionally, we are helping 24,000 children who might otherwise be forced to live on the streets without food. Who else will care for our brothers and sisters if not us?
Sadly, we have seen anti-Semitism rear its ugly head in countries around the world. Partnering with the Jewish Agency for Israel, we are rescuing Jews from places of danger; whether it is Iran, Yemen or Ethiopia, we are ensuring that every Jew can live safely.
Our partnerships with Ashkelon, Israel and Odessa, Ukraine not only add value to those communities, but also strengthen our community. Through the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, we are building new generations of volunteers and leaders for both communities. We are enabling teens to connect with Israel and their Jewish identity through friendships, exchanges and educational programs.
The Odessa Partnership has exposed us to our sister city’s beautiful culture and it is now enabling us to turn college students and young professionals in Odessa into leaders in their community. We continue to look for new ways to invest our resources locally to strengthen Jewish identity by connecting with Israel and other Jewish communities. On Nov. 16, the Associated will hold its first community summit on Israel education and engagement. We look forward to bringing together organizations, synagogues, leaders and volunteers, as we discuss how we can provide more opportunities for teens, college students and young professionals to visit Israel.
Although we are burdened with challenging times, our opportunity to share in meeting the needs of world Jewry is one of the highest forms of tzedakah.
Linda A. Hurwitz is chair of the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore’s Commission on Israel and Overseas.

Friday Round-Up: The Week that Was

2009-10-09T14:07:00.004-04:00

And what a week it indeed was! Its been such a busy week that this might be one of my longest blogs yet!

First things first, you can now register for the Israel Education & Engagement Summit! Simply click on the image below to be taken to the registration page (more information about the Summit below).

In my last blog post I told you that Dr. Rick Hodes and Ambassador Michael Oren were speaking at THE ASSOCIATED. Without spending too much time on their talks, these guys are not only great and brilliant speakers, but they filled the room with inspiration and excitement. Dr. Hodes reminds us that how quickly we can make a difference in somebody's life that can save them and Ambassador Oren reminded us of the special link that the Jewish people have with Israel.

Israel Education & Engagement Summit

Speaking of the special link between Jewish people around the world in Israel, we are just five weeks away from the Summit. Chaired by Jennifer Meyerhoff and Michael Elman, and working with a fantastic committee, we are looking forward to bringing together a diverse audience of community members to discuss what are the tactics, tools, and collaborations we can utilize to ensure that the next generations of our community have a meaningful connection with Israel. We are inviting all members of the Baltimore Jewish community to participate, because we want to hear everyones voice in how we plan for the future.

Some of the roundtable strategic discussions will include: Creating Engagement through Volunteerism & Leadership Development, Connecting to Israel through Arts, Sports, and Culture, Engagement through Advocacy, Connecting to Israel through Technology, Israel and the Environment, and Travel to Israel. Please join us on Monday, November 16th at 4pm for the summit!

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Strategic Planning

Very soon a leadership group from our Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, headed by Saralyn Elkin and Jeffrey Miller, will be headed to Israel to discuss the future of our Partnership. Yesterday, we had a small group meet to continue work on drafting a document that will reflect the aspirations of the Partnership from Baltimore's perspective. I'm happy to say that we are making tremendous progress. We have a great sense of our goals, which include greater engagement in people-to-people connections between our two communities, jointly improving and increasing our ability to address community issues and needs in Baltimore and Ashkelon, and strengthening both of our economies. Moving forward we will start identifying the tactics and programs that we think will help us achieve our goals and define what we think success will be.

In Baltimore and Ashkelon the Partnership has added so much value to our communities. We are fortunate that we have leaders who have the foresight and enthusiasm to engage in such a rigorous planning process. Across the country and around the world we have seen the implications of having to plan during a crisis, but for our Partnership we are planning from a place of strength and we are able to look forward to the future with great optimism and ask what do we want to do next rather than asking any negative questions.

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

The end of the holiday season is upon us this weekend. Rather than recounting the end and beginning of the Torah, I'll take a minute to explore Shemini Atzeret- probably the least known holiday on the calendar. The origins of the holiday are rooted in two some what cryptic references in the Torah, and the rabbis interpreted it as being part of the end of Sukkot. The word atzeret has origins that are a bit mysterious. One idea is that it comes from the root atzer, which means 'to stop.' Part of the 'stop' is a cessation of work, but that is no different than Shabbat. Instead, we are stopping not just to rest but also reflect upon the festivities and joy we experienced during Sukkot and the new year. It is a last chance to intentionally stop for a moment in appreciate all that we have and think about ways to carry that joy forward.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

Should there be Jewish Nobel Prizes?

2009-10-06T14:57:00.003-04:00

It's been a few days since I blogged last, but as I've been following the news I got the idea idea in my head that maybe there should be the Jewish equivalent of Nobel Prizes. To be fair, Israel does have the Israel Prize and a variety of organizations and institutions have their own set of recognitions, but maybe we could have something for the Jewish people as a whole? We could have prizes for the advancement of Judaism/Jewish life in the fields of: Humanitarian Works, Arts & Letters, History, Biblical Scholarship, Education, and maybe a few more things.

Tomorrow, THE ASSOCIATED is hosting two remarkable individuals. Rick Hodes, who many of you may have seen on the CNN Heroes special, is an American-born doctor who now lives in Ethiopia and is the JDC Medical Director there. Dr. Hodes has adopted more than a dozen children and now lives with them in Addis Ababa. Without going into his full biography, Rick Hodes is a rare individual who has given so much to the world and the global Jewish community. Our other guest tomorrow is Michael Oren, ambassador to the United States from Israel. Prior to becoming ambassador, Oren wrote two seminal works on the history of Israel: Six Days of War and Power, Peace, and Politics. His scholarship and now diplomatic leadership have added greatly to the strength of Israel, its people, and Jews around the world.

Tomorrow or Thursday, I'll write my thoughts about both of their visits here. In the meantime, I throw the question open to you. Who would you nominate and why?

Friday Round-Up: The Week that Was

2009-10-02T13:27:00.003-04:00

If you've been reading the blog this week (and I hope sharing with your friends), you can see just how busy it has been since Yom Kippur. As we begin the festival of Sukkot tonight along with Shabbat, I'm going to take this post to reflect on leadership. If there was an overarching thing in every meeting or conversation I had, the development of leadership came shining through.

Two years ago, Katie Applefeld, Allison Caplis, and Harel Turkel all participated in an ASSOCIATED Mission to Odessa. They were the three young adults selected to participate with a delegation of veteran community leadership. We had multiple goals for the trip, including exposing Katie, Allison, and Harel to Odessa and the issues of global Jewry. Equally as important was our investment in their growth as future leaders of our community. Where are they now? Katie is now co-chairs our Odessa Committee and is involved in national young leadership initiatives, Allison is co-chairing the IMPACT Israel and Overseas Roundtable (see the post from earlier in the week), and Harel is the chair of IMPACT. The informal mentoring the occurred with the veteran leaders helped each of them grow into the passionate and committed community leaders that they are now. As we begin planning our next Odessa Mission for March 2010 it will be interesting and exciting to see who will emerge as new leaders.

In taking stock of the community members that I work with, I am truly blessed with the working partnerships and relationships I have developed over the years. My chairs are not just my partners, but they inspire me to work harder. They invest their time, energy, and resources into strengthening Jewish life here and around the world.

A Bit of Sukkot Learning

As we begin the festival of Sukkot, we are instructed in the Torah,

You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter...the stranger, the fatherless and the widow in your communities. (Deuteronomy 16:14)

In the coming week many of us will have a sukkah and/or be invited to another's. While we celebrate, we should also appreciate the blessings that we have for the permanent shelters the we enjoy. This year there will be Jews around the world who won't be able to share in the mitzvot of the festival, whether it is for a lack of funds or the fear of practicing Judaism in their country. Let us all pray that next year they may be able to fully rejoice in each and every festival.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

THE ASSOCIATED & JDC in Ashkelon: Pact Field Update

2009-10-01T12:33:00.003-04:00

One of the programs that THE ASSOCIATED supports through the Annual Campaign, and which we leverage outside funding for, is PACT (Parents and Children Together) in Ashkelon. PACT seeks to help children of Ethiopian origin and their families. Below are excerpts from a field update that I received recently. When I am in Ashkelon later this month, I look forward to sharing my personal impressions of PACT with you.

PACT 2008-2009 End of Year Report

The Chance for a Better Start

At the conclusion of its second year, Parents and Children Together (PACT) continues to help Ashkelon's Ethiopian-Israeli children begin their lives on a more successful path. This past year PACT increasingly diversified the types of interventions Ashkelon has to offer its Ethiopian-Israeli community. JDC and its partners in Ashkelon thank The ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community of Baltimore for making this second year of vital assistance possible.

350 Ethiopian-Israeli families and 578 children participated in the program, increasing the number of children helped by 5% from the previous school year. This year PACT Ashkelon developed programs for individuals, families, communities, and organizations that helped to:

Close the developmental and educational gaps of Ethiopian-Israeli children, birth to age 6
Ensure that those who have the greatest difficulty affording daycare could still access it.
Provide training and support for the parents of participating children.
Offer programs to help Ethiopian-Israeli families integrate more effectively as a community in Ashkelon.
Conduct all of its work while building the professional support and cooperation from Ashkelon's Municipality and other partners in the city.

Highlights in PACT Programmatic Areas

1. Integration Program
This year a new program was added within kindergartens, aimed at assisting children experiencing difficulties integrating into the education system for a variety of reasons, including behavioral problems and attention deficit disorders. The program used animal assisted therapy to work with the child on strengthening their emotional and cognitive abilities. Individual sessions took place once a week with an additional session once a month for the entire kindergarten where the child being treated was placed at the center of the activities.
A total of 69 children in 34 kindergartens were treated. The feedback received from both the therapists and the kindergarten teachers has been extremely positive, and as a result, the program will be continued next year.
2. Educational Liaisons
Four educational liaisons were employed as part of the enrichment program to work in 34 kindergartens and 6 day care centers. The liaisons work with the parents to encourage them to participate in the joint parent-child activities in the kindergartens and to help improve their children’s educational achievements. In total they encompass around 400 children.

Over the year the liaisons carried out cultural programs in each of the kindergartens centered around festivals and Ethiopian culture.
3. Psychological Accompaniment
Through the use of questionnaires prepared by Psychological Services, 8 children were identified as in need of psychological assistance. These children underwent a thorough diagnosis including conversations with the child and parents and observations from the kindergarten and PACT staff. An individual treatment plan was built for each child which included direction for the parents and kindergarten staff. The psychologists worked with the children in increasing their sense of self, building appropriate boundaries, reducing anxieties and encouraging their personal growth.
4. Enrichment at Well-Baby Clinics
This year this program was expanded to include 4 well-baby clinics. Two liaisons from the Ethiopian-Israeli community work within the clinics, providing a link between the medical staff and the parents. A speech therapist also attends the clinics offering both diagnoses and treatments as necessary.

A large variety of workshops and lectures took place over the year looking at subjects such as correct nutrition, dental health, parenting skills, development and stimulation, accident prevention and baby massage. The medical staff, PACT staff, and some of the parents also attended a study day which examined the effect of culture on medical needs. A total of over 280 people participated in the workshops.

A library of books and games are available at the clinics for parents to borrow and use to play with their children at home. Children are delighted with the range and variety of resources available and the mothers have reported very positive outcomes.
5. Enrichment Centers
Joint parent-child activities are held out of 2 community centers in the hub of the areas populated by the Ethiopian-Israeli community. The activities aim to enhance parental involvement in their children’s lives, to increase their general knowledge and expose them to the many options available as leisure activities. Activities this year included art, music, and stories to develop creativity and play. One new program exposed the children to a variety of animals with creative activities based around each species. This program also included outings into the heart of nature.
6. ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ Program
Many Ethiopian-Israeli families are in situations of distress and find it hard to cope with both their social and economic circumstances. This program aims to enable the families to progress from a status of total dependence to one of personal growth. The program measures the abilities of the family in four areas: standard of living, managing day to day life, education and employment. This year ten families were accompanied through this process. PACT aims to continue working with these families over the coming school year and to add another ten families.
7. Preparation for First Grade
This program aims to provide children entering into first grade and their parents with support and direction. The families receive individual guidance which focuses on increasing self confidence amongst the children thus ensuring that they are open to learning new skills. The families are located through the local Kindergartens where teachers identify the children most in need of support. The outstanding success of this program has led to an increased demand for the upcoming year.

This year a group was formed of children entering the first grade who were identified as having leadership skills. Together with their parents, the children took part in leadership workshops imparting leadership values and tools. The parents also received explanations on the importance of increasing their involvement in their children’s education.
8. Summer Program
Activities don’t stop with the school year. Summer camps were run throughout the summer for which 97 children received subsidies. The summer camps included a literacy enrichment program as well as activities such as a magic performance, computer courses and music activities that were all used to promote emotional development.

Several other summer activities included trips to water parks, a trip to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, nature trips, and a wide range of enrichment activities.

From Ashkelon: Netzach Yisrael & Otzma

2009-09-30T15:08:00.004-04:00

I didn't think that I was going to post anything today, and then I received some wonderful e-mails from Project Otzma and Terri Davis at Kehillat Netzach Yisrael (the Conservative synagogue in Ashkelon).

On Tuesday September 29^th, Kehilah Netzach Israel Ashkelon hosted a group of Otzma students who have come to

Israel

on a year program & will be in Ashkelon for 3 months. There are 40 participants from representing many Federations. The group is currently volunteering in many formal & informal educational frameworks around the city, of which our Kehillah Netzach Israel Ashkelon Afternoon Day Care Center for pre-schoolers is one. The Baltimore Associated who is partnered with Ashkelon has taken this year’s group under their wings to make sure each participant has a great experience in Ashkelon.

Together with Kehilah members & chanichim from our Noam Youth Movement Ashkelon Branch, we finished building our traditional succah & then enjoyed an origami & decoration-making workshop run by Kehilah member, Michal Wartman. After hanging the newly-made decorations, we all enjoyed a light meal & ended the successful evening singing songs together in the succah.

Engaging A New Generation of Leadership

2009-09-29T13:35:00.004-04:00

I hope that you had a meaningful Yom Kippur yesterday. So now its back to work and blogging...

This morning we had the first meeting of the IMPACT Israel & Overseas Roundtable (IMPACT is THE ASSOCIATED's young professional division). Around the room were twenty young professionals who came to THE ASSOCIATED for an 8:30am discussion with some of our veteran overseas leaders to learn about and discuss what it means to be a part of the global Jewish community. These are busy men and women who took time off of work to learn and become more engaged in our community. They come from a variety of backgrounds, but they do share a few things in common: they are our future committee chairs and community leaders, they believe in the idea of kol Yisrael arevim ze l'zeh (every Jew is responsible for one another), and they have all been to Israel (which surprised and awed me, even though I shouldn't have been so surprised with this group).

Bruce Sholk and Louis Thalheimer, exceptional Baltimore lay leaders and members of the JAFI and JDC boards respectively, talked about the roles that their organizations play helping address global Jewish concerns on behalf of THE ASSOCIATED and other Jewish federations across North America. They described the history, the missions that they have in Israel and around the world, their ability to respond to crisis, and also the impact of the recession on each organization. I won't go into those details, because you've seen them in many of my previous blog posts, but every time I hear the stories of their origin and what they do today I am inspired and proud of our community. It is a pride that I was excited to see shared this morning with a new generation of leaders.

Last week, Jerry Silverman, the new President/CEO of UJC, published an op-ed in the JTA (click here to read).

He detailed the importance of engaging a new generation of leadership in our communities and federations. He challenged us to go beyond the traditional models that have been used for decades and offer a wider diversity of opportunities for young professionals to connect with their (and our) community. I think that this Roundtable is an example of just one such opportunity that we are creating to strengthen our leaders and our community.

Jewish Agency: Mounting Impact of the Economic Crisis

2009-09-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

Normally I use this space on Fridays to review the events of the past week, but today I'm going to do something a little bit different. Earlier in the week, I focused on the challenges that JDC is facing so today I'll focus on what's happening at the Jewish Agency.

The past few years, even before the current economic crisis, have been very difficult for the Jewish Agency, because of budgetary matters. Jewish communities from North America have cut their allocations, currency fluctuations in Israel, Russia and elsewhere have weakened the purchasing power of the dollar (which is how most JAFI funds come in), and two wars in Israel and the war in Georgia last year have forced the sudden redeployment of human and financial resources that were not necessarily planned for. While JAFI has drastically reduced its overhead and administrative expenses ($31 million), but there has been an impact directly on the services that JAFI is able to provide.

Israel

Six aliyah (immigration) centers have been closed this year.

While most of the families (many of whom came from Ethiopia) have found permanent housing, they no longer have the support services provided by the aliyah centers. Looking to the future though, with aliyah centers closed if there is need for an emergency rescue operation to bring Jews to Israel, there will not be the same capacity to accommodate these rescued Jews.

The potential elimination of Youth Aliyah Villages.

Youth Aliyah Villages are literally the home of last resort for a segment of children in Israel. The children who come to live here come from homes where there is sexual or drug abuse, absent parents, poverty, or other factors that are dangerous to the lives of children. Just as their parents struggle to integrate into Israeli society, their children need even great support to escape the troubles of their home life and find their way in their new homeland.

Reduced ability to respond to crisis.

In 2006 during the Second Lebanon War, it was JAFI that responded more effectively than the government to the emergency needs of communities in northern Israel. As resources have been depleted, the ability of JAFI to provide emergency relief has been strained.

Former Soviet Union

The number of youth attending summer camps has dropped in half over two years.

In 2007, 10,000 youth throughout the FSU were able to attend summer camps that helped them build their Jewish identity. This past summer, only 5,000 youth were able to go to camp. These camps are critical in exposing youth to Jewish life and identity. For many this is the first exposure that they have to their Jewish roots. It is a transformational experience that has been critical to the revitalization of Jewish life throughout the FSU.

The number of educational shlichim (emissaries) has been cut in half.

In 2009-2010, there will only be 5 shlichim for the entire FSU (all 11 time zones). The impact is that only those who live in major cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, etc.) will benefit from regular educational seminars, Hebrew language ulpans, and other forms of formal and informal Jewish education. Jews who live in peripheral communities, may receive occasional visits or none at all, leaving them without the opportunity to learn from well trained Jewish educators.

While we are faced with mounting local needs, we are also seeing growing global needs through our partners. Through both the Jewish Agency and Joint Distribution Committee, we are literally saving lives and investing in the future of the Jewish people around the world. This is our work, this is our purpose.

Next Week: Be on the look out for posts about the upcoming Israel Engagement Summit, Parents and Children Together (PACT) in Ashkelon, and I'm sure much more!

Shabbat Shalom and Gmar Chatima Tov (May you be inscribed in the Book of Life).

Baltimore-Ashkelon Strategic Planning Update

2009-09-24T18:00:00.000-04:00

Here we go with blog 2 of 3! Tomorrow be on the look out for an update on things from the Jewish Agency.

Yesterday we had the first meeting of the Baltimore group that is bringing together all of the discussions on the past, present, and future together into a coherent document for our strategic plan with our partners in Ashkelon. We can't wait to be in Ashkelon in less than a month to discuss the future of the Partnership.

We opened yesterday with a fairly simple question being asked, but got at the core of things. Why are we creating a new strategic plan? There are many answers to this question, all of which are equally important and interconnect.

First, I can say with absolute certainty that after five and a half years the Partnership is stronger than ever. As we have seen in the past year from organizations and businesses, it is always better to plan for the future from a position of strength. We are doing this, because we know that there is even more potential for what we can achieve and we have the tools to make it happen.

Second, we have new leadership in both communities. We have new chairs and over the years we have had new community members in Baltimore and Ashkelon join in leading our Partnership. As we renew our mission and goals, we can tap into their energy and ideas to help us move forward.

Third, the process of planning generates energy and engages people deeper in the Partnership. The conversations that we have already had in Baltimore and Ashkelon have generated new ideas, enthusiasm, and passion for strengthening the ties between our communities.

Where do we go from here? We had a spirited discussion about developing a mission statement to start with. It is surprisingly difficult to capture the why of our Partnership in one sentence. Forget the "elevator speech" we want this to fit onto the back of a business card in 12 point font! I think that we're getting there, but the mission statement sets the tone for everything else. It guides the goals, which leads the programs and measures of impact (sorry for getting so detailed). So as we continue to move through this strategic plan, we may spend the most amount of time on the shortest of sentences.

Moving ahead, we have another planning discussion and then we plan to share it with our committee here in Baltimore and then our partners in Ashkelon. Ashkelon will be doing the exact same thing so that way as we go into the working trip and our in person strategic planning discussions we work smoothly together in developing a well articulated shared vision for the future of the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership.

Tragedy & Triumph: JDC in the FSU

2009-09-23T19:46:00.002-04:00

Today through Friday you will see a new post here each day. Am I crazy for blogging this much? Maybe. Is there that much to tell you about on the Israel and Overseas front? Absolutely yes!

Today, the Commission on Israel and Overseas had its first meeting of the year. To give you a bit of context, here in Baltimore we have our Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, our Odessa Partnership, the Israel Engagement Task Force, and the ongoing relationships with JDC and JAFI, all of which come under the purview of the Commission. The members of the commission are dedicated to Baltimore being an active part of the global Jewish community and bringing those values and opportunities for engagement back home to Baltimore.

The highlight of today’s meeting had to be the presentation by Asher Ostrin, Executive Director for JDC Programs in the FSU. It is very rare that Asher comes to the United States to meet with a community, so it was a great honor that we were able to host Asher for 24 hours. While I cannot do justice to the stories and the needs that Asher shared with the commission, I will do my best here.

The story of contemporary Jewish life in the Former Soviet Union is one of tragedy and triumph. There are more than 1.5 million Jews who still live in the FSU living in more than 3,000 communities, which are spread across 11 time zones- and JDC is providing some levels of service in virtually every place. And they are doing so nobly even in the face of an ongoing economic crisis and diminishing resources.

To begin with, the economy in Russia, Ukraine, and throughout the FSU is in dismal condition. Inflation is rampant, unemployment is continuing to increase unabated, there has been no investment in infrastructure or a medical system, and in Ukraine the government doesn’t function. The impact of these factors is staggering. Without a social safety net and because governments have not adjusted pensions to inflation, life expectancy for a man living in Russia is 58.6 years. There are third world countries that have a higher life expectancy.

This is where JDC comes into the story. Today, 168,000 seniors are receiving hunger relief, medical supplies, and home care throughout the FSU via the Hesed system. The result is that Jewish adults are living on average at least 10 years longer than their peers; not only is life expectancy increasing, but so is the quality of life. Sadly, only a few years ago 246,000 seniors were receiving support through Heseds. The decrease is a result of the fact that North American communities are giving less, the increasing cost of materials, and the fact that as people live longer they need greater care. As a result, those who are in marginal need (not the sickest or the oldest) are not receiving the support that they need.

For a long time, JDC only provided welfare to the elderly in the FSU, but in the past four years that has changed. What is emerging now as FSU economies collapsed is a growing number of children living in peril. The realization of this need came about when social workers in Heseds witnessed seniors sneaking food out to bring home to their grandchildren and in more dramatic instances sneaking their grandchildren into soup kitchens and hiding them as they gave them food. More than 30,000 children are in need of support, but JDC is only able to provide relief to 24,000 children.

Seeing these numbers and hearing the stories, might lead one to think that all there is to tell about the FSU are stories of tragedy, but that is far from the truth. In every community are triumphs as Jewish life emerges and flourishes.

In Odessa, a new JCC has opened. Two weeks ago the JCC help an open house and earlier in the summer was a Jewish culture week that took place in the city’s center. Both of these are small examples of the revitalization of Jewish life. When the Soviet Union collapsed, many people wrote off the reemergence of Jewish life in the communities that remained. After centuries of anti-Semitic policies, migrations to Israel and the West, and an absence of Jewish institutions, who would have imagined that in communities throughout the FSU would have Jewish festivals that would attract thousands, including non-Jews. And now, as communities continue to grow they are working to become self-sufficient. Middle class families are taking leadership roles in the communities, they are becoming volunteers and donors, and they are paving a way for a vibrant Jewish future.

When I went to Odessa in 2005 I couldn’t tell my bubbe (grandmother). Her family, like many of yours, fled the pogroms of Russia and I don’t think that she could have imagined people being able to freely express their Judaism in Ukraine. What was once something to hide is now something to embrace, cherish, and celebrate.

Tragedy and triumph. We are preventing the tragedies of seniors aging without dignity, children going hungry and worse. At the same time, we are renewing and reviving Jewish life in communities where Jewish life almost disappeared. We are doing these things, because we believe that as Jews we are responsible for each other and that as it says in Pirke Avot, “To save one life is as if we’ve saved the entire world.” The coming years will not be easy for Jews in the FSU as the world economy is still struggling to recover, but they can rest assured that not only do they have our care but our support as well.

Reflections on Rosh Hashanah

2009-09-21T13:43:00.002-04:00

Like many of you, I spent my weekend in Rosh Hashanah services. I find this time of year interesting and personally challenging. We are instructed to take account of our lives, who we are, what we've done over the past year, and also what we didn't do. But what do we count?

In his sermon, my rabbi brought up this point. This past year we've seen economies turned upside down, and despite how certain Ponzi artists might count, we can fairly easily calculate our financial worth. The worth and value that we have is not limited to material assets though, there is the value of who we are, the people around us, and what we do together- in short the value of human capital. This worth is much harder to calculate, but in the end more rewarding. There is the old adage that "money can't buy you happiness," it is the intangible that give us a sense of purpose, value, and happiness.

My rabbi also reminded us between the differences of needs and wants. For most of us our needs are met- home, shelter, health, food, and family- and for those who are in need of any of these things, this is what they work towards and this is where we can help. What else do we need? A sense of purpose. Do I need a new laptop? No, but do I want one? Yes. But after I get that laptop, will I be any happier in the long run? Probably not, because there will be something else that I want, but cannot have. My rabbi wasn't saying that we shouldn't want things, but rather we shouldn't let our wants drive our lives.

In the Torah portion read on the first day of Rosh Hasnahah, Abraham welcomed the strangers (angles) into his tent and tended well to them. Did Abraham need to do this? Yes. Would he have wanted to do more? I think that the answer is yes. It's the same way with giving- be it time or tzedakah (charity). I need to give tzedakah and I want to give more than I am able to right now. Working together though, what we collectively give can help meet our collective need and want to do good and G-d's work.

I know that this post is a bit on the rambling and esoteric side, but we are amid the Days of Awe (and reflection), so I beg your forgiveness. So my wish for us all is that when we finish our accounting, we take account for all the we have and all the we do as individuals and together.

Friday Round-Up:Shana Tova!

2009-09-18T11:58:00.003-04:00

Rosh Hashanah is here (or will be in a few hours)! As we enter the holiday season, we will spend time with our family and friends, eating festive meals, going to synagogue, and more. There will be times for introspection, retrospection, and projections for the year to come. We are lucky to have the freedom to celebrate our Judaism and live without want for the most basic needs.

This week we had our first Odessa Committee meeting of the year. We were fortunate to be joined by Itamar Albek, JDC's Kolker Fellow and Special Projects Manager for the FSU. He shared with the committee and other members of the community throughout the week the triumphs and remaining struggles of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union. Twenty years ago when the Iron Curtain fell, where Jewish life had withered under Communist rule it now thrives.

In Odessa, a new community center stands as a testament to the renaissance of Jewish life. Two weeks ago an outdoor festival was held that attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of community members. Still, there are needs to be met. More than 200,000 elderly Jews in the FSU live in or on the verge of poverty. Working with JDC we provide many of them with food packages and other forms of material relief to help them survive and not have to make the difficult choice between home, medicine, and food. As we take account for our actions, we can count this as one of the many

On another brief note, the young adults participating in Project Otzma are preparing to celebrate the holidays in Ashkelon. One of the participants has a blog and posted this:

I have never felt so welcomed to a new place in my life. Since our arrival in Ashkelon last week, we have been greeted by lots of organizations and important people in the city, including the mayor. Every day, a new organization, be it a place for us to volunteer or the community of English speakers in Ashkelon has come to talk with us.
Read more

I wish you, your families, our friends in Odessa, Ashkelon, and around the world a sweet, happy, and healthy New Year!

Shabbat Shalom and Shana tova

Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Highlighted on UJC Website, Again!

2009-09-16T10:47:00.001-04:00

Down Ashkelon Memory Lane

By Lee Perlman, Director Program and Planning, UJC Israel and Overseas

Some powerful sense memories took hold of me this week while driving down to Ashkelon. I was traveling there to be a part of the opening session of the re-visioning process of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore – Ashkelon Partnership.

My mind returned to the first week of January this past year when I accompanied a group of Israel-based federation colleagues on a fact-finding visit at the beginning of the Southern Crisis. I recalled vividly the security briefing we received from our guard Doron at the entrance to Ashkelon as well as our jarring visit to the Barnea Absorption Center bomb shelter, where we met several Ethiopian Israeli children and a handful of enthusiastic young volunteers.

Shinshinim 2.0: Welcoming Some New Friends to the Blogosphere

2009-09-15T09:02:00.001-04:00

I am very excited to share this with you and hope that you share it with your friends and colleagues!

What is Shinshinim 2.0?

Take two shinshinim (young emissaries) from Ashkelon who are now living in Baltimore (Hadar and Natan) and combine them with web 2.0 technology (stuff like Facebook, blogs, Twitter, etc.), and you get Shinshinim 2.0.

So what does this mean?

Hadar and Natan have officially launched their blog! You can read it at http://baltimore-ashkelonshinshinim.blogspot.com. They will be posting updates during the coming year about their masa (journey) in Baltimore. We are excited to introduce this new platform for the community to be able to connect with these wonderful Israelis who have already become invaluable assets to our community in their first few weeks. So bookmark their blog and check it often!

Friday Round-Up: The Week that Was

2009-09-11T12:50:00.002-04:00

Last night, THE ASSOCIATED had its Annual Campaign Kickoff Even, which I was happy to attend with our shinshinim. Normally, I wouldn't write about a Campaign event, but last night got me thinking. The speaker last night was Morris Offit, who besides being the past chair of UJA Federation of New York is also a Baltimore native. As he talked about his personal development as a leader and the impact that THE ASSOCIATED had on him in those formative years, Mr. Offit also took time to note all of the remarkable leaders of national and international organizations who have emerged from Baltimore over the years. It is something that we can be proud of as a community. While it is wonderful to reflect on what our community has accomplished, we look to build to the future on the foundation that those before us came.

This year, our overseas committees have new leadership across the board, and as we live in financially turbulent times we are forced to think about not just what we do overseas, but why we are doing those things. We have built tremendous legacies already in Odessa and Ashkelon, but we constantly strive to make bigger impacts and be more innovative. This year will see us having many conversations that look to move us to new and exciting places.

Parshat Vayelech

We are now to the point in the Torah where Moses is preparing to handover leadership of the Jewish people to Joshua. Moses led the epic event of the Jews walking out of Egypt, and now it is Joshua to write the next epic chapter that brings the Jewish people home to Israel.

There is always fear in the unknown, fear in handing over leadership, but we should also be excited, because only when more people take responsibility and leadership can we ensure that there will be a future for what we have already done.

Odessa Field Update

2009-09-10T10:33:00.002-04:00

The past few months have been quite exciting in Odessa, and as we prepare for a new year of work that will include a trip to Odessa in March, I am happy to share this report from our friends at JDC.

Open Door Days at Beit Grand Campus of Odessa

The two Sundays of August 16 and 30 were days full of happy noise and productive turmoil that filled in the walls of Beit Grand Campus of Odessa. The Campus surpassed its expectations in the numbers of guests that it welcomed during those two days called “Days of the Open Doors”. To offer a more comprehensive and overwhelming understanding of the kinds of activities that Jewish community members and Odessans can find under the roof of the Campus, the activities were structured based on age and interest.

On August 16, the morning was generously given to the little ones: children from 18 months to 6 years old (accompanied by their parents and grandparents) visited Beit Grand to participate in the trial classes on “Learning English in Play”, ceramic, arts and crafts studios. The meeting with Director of Anavim Children’s Center provided ample information about the work and peculiarities of the children’s facility, its general development and Jewish components.

The hall of the Campus lavishly decorated with balloons and toys, the various contests and games run by invited professional clowns, the numerous prizes and sweet refreshments contributed to the success of the day.

Both afternoon part of August 16 and entire day of August 30 offered the following activities for all interest groups aged from 6 up to … years old throughout the Campus:

a) “Black and White Graphics of Jewish Odessa” – an intellectual event within the walls of Beit Grand library with presentations of books, Judaica and historical exhibitions, meetings with Odessa artists and historians, Jewish movie Club session;

b) Demonstration lessons and sessions of such Campus programs as

· Drama studio

· Dance studio

· Quick Spins break dance school

· Salsa studio

· Tecktonik

· Youth theatre

· School of vocal art

· Toca Tango dancing school

· Ceramic and Pottery studio

In addition to those activities that were run for several groups at different times, the gym of the Campus stayed open and welcomed all sports fans, the Anavim Center kept on demonstrating its facility and informing about its work.

In the lobby of Beit Grand there were interactive chocolatieur and sweets mini-makers, where, together with Beit Grand staff, the kids and parents could be involved in production (and further – in eating) of chocolates and other sweet refreshments.

Migdal JCC Summer retreat “Halom-13”

Complacency, benevolence, bliss…nirvana. Not particularly Migdal JCC style, but somehow precisely such atmosphere settled down in a new for Halom camp-sight. However, the faces were familiar and the atmosphere still wonderfully warm… Halom-13 – annual summer family retreat organized by Migdal JCC took place on August 19-26 and included 135 participants among whom just as every year were both new members of the community and those who had taken part in Migdal camps every year. One of the main specialties this year, besides tranquility and total peacefulness was a beautiful pond which was right in the center of the camp-site and attracted everyone’s attention immediately, becoming the central location for most of the activities.

Halom’s annual tradition is to give a special name to every camp. This year’s name was “Wandering Stars” and the whole theme and activities of camp interwove with the word “Stars”. Brilliant daily talent shows, amazing sketches, fun intellectual casino, various sports competitions – all this demonstrated how many real stars took part in Halom-13. Very soon it became truly obvious to everyone why this year’s theme was “Stars”. However, the word “stars” did not only apply to great personalities among Halom’s participants, but also to the Star of Sholom Aleihem, whose 150^th anniversary everyone celebrated all together in the course of the retreat.

Constellation of Migdal’s Club of Jewish Students this year shined brighter than ever. Young people worked as madrichim, tutors, facilitators, designers and loaders. They were photo reporters as well. One of the chief highlights of this Halom were photo exhibitions that took place every single evening and everyone could see and reflect upon what was going on in the camp during the day. There were also just funny and lyrical pictures, that couldn’t leave anyone indifferent.

Sure enough, the Club of Jewish Students simply stupefied the audience with its final sketch show. The idea was nothing but new – they simply demonstrated some of the aspects of Halom’s everyday life…and it just turned out to have become the funniest performance. Moreover, there was another original exhibition that the students had prepared very thoroughly, putting pictures of various animals in different poses together with Halom’s participants in similar poses. It was absolutely hilarious and the audience exploded with every new pair on the screen.

However, Halom-13, above all, can be called truly spiritual as Torah scroll was on the premises of the camp and anyone eager was able to touch it, to look at it, to read it together with the other participants.

This camp just as always had everything – sports and intellectual games, among which was well-known “Monopoly”, special events celebrating Jewish traditions, various performances prepared for Havdallah and Kabbalat Shabbat. Every group had their own special activities: babies went in for choreography and dancing being coached by a professional dancer, teenagers and parents organized a real theatrical studio and created absolutely fantastic plays. One more “know-how” of Halom-13 was fire-show set by Danya Spector. It added to all bright colors of the retreat.

Project Otzma & Mom's on a Mission- Together at Last

2009-09-09T11:19:00.002-04:00

Project Otzma has arrived in Ashkelon! We are excited to work with our sister city to help host the first 3 months that the Otzmanicks will spend in Israel. Sigal Ariely and Maia Hoffman have been working tirelessly to make the time in Ashkelon a huge success and they are being joined in that endeavour by the women who participated in Mom's on a Mission this summer and the members of Kehillat Netzach Yisrael, Ashkelon's Conservative synagogue. Below is an e-mail I received that I am excited to share with you from Maia Hoffman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On September 7th forty-five Otzma students from across the United States and Canada arrived in Ashkelon to volunteer and study Hebrew. They will be staying at the Calanit Absorption Center for the first 3 months of their 10 month Otzma experience. OTZMA is a 10-month program that offers Jewish adults ages 20-26 an opportunity to live and volunteer in Israel in a variety of settings. We have been told that there is only one Baltimorean on the trip, but we saw the opportunity to host the group in Ashkelon as a wonderful way for us to showcase how incredible our partnership between Ashkelon and The ASSOCIATED is, how welcoming we are, and to create a meaningful engagement opportunity throughout the city!

Shlomo Cohen, deputy mayor and Chair of the Partnership, has said that this is an exciting opportunity for us all to work together to ensure that these students first steps in Israel are warm and welcoming – he wants to be sure that they feel welcome and as much a part of the Ashkelon community as possible.

Suzi Eigenstein, Chair of the Ashkelon Women’s Forum of the Partnership and Ashkelon Moms on a Mission participant, Lorna Szefler, attended the first meeting as more than 30 City representatives and community members came together to discuss how to ensure these students a fabulous volunteer and “home away from home” experience so they feel happy and welcome in Ashkelon.

As a result of that meeting Dafna Biton, AMEN Coordinator, in conjunction with Sigal, developed an Orientation Tour for the OTZMANIKS that Dotan (Chair of the Youth Council) and Liron Menashe (one of our immediate past Shinshin) led. It was great and a great continuation of Liron’s involvement, as she, just returning from volunteering in Baltimore for a year, welcomes the newest young adult volunteers to Ashkelon!

David Wolfson, Director of Community Services invited them to be a part of a Rosh Hashana “l’chayim” on September 13th that will honor all volunteers in Ashkelon.

Lorna Szefler and Terri Davis from Netzach Yisrael, the Conservative Congregation in Ashkelon have offered to organize a pre-Sukkot pot luck dinner for the Otzmaniks. Netzach Yisrael is a warm and welcoming kehillah (community) that includes a number of people who are currently very involved in the partnership and this is a wonderful engagement opportunity for our Moms on a Mission alumni to get more familiar with the Partnership!

At the September 9 meeting we updated the Moms on this exciting opportunity to help these students feel welcome and we also gave them a heads up about our new and exciting MASA Encounters program this year that will give them an opportunity to reach out to the over 100 students from Baltimore who are studying in long term programs in Israel this year – more to come on that next time!