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Issue #297 – 31 January 2008 / 24 Shevat 5768
IN THIS ISSUE:
A GROWING NETZER HOLDS ITS INTERNATIONAL VE’IDA
ISRAELI MOVEMENT HELPS ENSURE WARM WINTER FOR THOSE IN NEED
SISTERHOOD-SPONSORED SCHOOL IN SOUTH AFRICA "COMES OF AGE"
A GROWING NETZER HOLDS ITS INTERNATIONAL VE’IDA
Twenty-two leaders of Netzer Olami, the World Union for Progressive Judaism's international Zionist youth movement, gathered in Jerusalem January 7-13 for its annual ve'ida olamit (international conference), the theme of which was “Challenges and Triumphs in the Reform Movement at Israel’s 60th.” Ranging in age from 18 to 27, they came from 13 countries on six continents to get acquainted, study, tour, discuss Netzer policy and programs, grow as future Progressive Jewish leaders, and help Netzer become even more of a global youth movement.
During the ve’ida, Panama was introduced as Netzer’s newest snif (branch). It sent two representatives – Fernando Katz and Esther Kierzenblat – who were warmly welcomed by their colleagues. There were also discussions about possible curriculum and programming changes to Shnat Netzer, the movement’s gap-year program for Netzer graduates from around the world.
Among the decisions made during the gathering were:
· To create a new position in each snif, a rosh chutz, who will function as a kind of foreign minister. Right now, the people who fill this position will start looking into the possibility of establishing an international
· To require all future snifim to use “Netzer” in their name, taking effect immediately.
· To create a quarterly newsletterwith reports from each snif, to be published in English, Spanish, Russian and Germanby Shnat Netzer participants.
Planning and overseeing the ve’ida were Netzer Olami executive director, Maoz Haviv, and Gabbi Sar-Shalom, along with staffers Orly Kenig, Tamara Schagas, Rita Furman, Dana Roth, Igal Entenberg and Michal Gerammi. The conference hosted numerous guests, including four participants in Shnat Netzer, Rabbi Joel Oseran, the World Union’s vice president for international development, and Shlomo Swartz, of the Hagshama Department of the World Zionist Organization, which continues to support Netzer's programming and aliya activities.
On Friday evening, the ve’ida participants attended Kabbalat Shabbat Jerusalem’s Kol Haneshama congregation, whose members provided home hospitality. Shabbat morning services were at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
“The participants found the ve’ida to be a huge success,” said Sar-Shalom, “and have now returned to their home communities with sky-high enthusiasm for the year to come, truly energized to further develop Netzer as a movement for Progressive Jewish youth everywhere around the world.”
Participants pose at the World Union’s Mercaz Shimshon-Beit Shmuel education and culture facility during Netzer’s 2008 international conference.
ISRAELI MOVEMENT HELPS ENSURE WARM WINTER FOR THOSE IN NEED
Keren B’Kavod (Dignity Fund), a joint social action project of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the Israel Religious Action Center, once again has been helping individuals and families in need to keep warm during a particularly cold winter.
With temperatures plunging in a rare, lengthy cold snap – nighttime levels have been at or below freezing in many parts of the country in recent weeks – Keren B’Kavod has been distributing blankets and heaters in Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem and the northern Arab town of Shefar'am. Many of the recipients are elderly. In addition, it has been distributing sleeping bags, warm-up suits and hot beverages to the homeless on the streets of
The heaters and blankets were packed and distributed by members of Israeli Progressive congregations; participants in the mechina, the Israeli movement’s pre-army gap year program; and visiting members of the British Reform movement’s youth group, with assistance from municipal social service bureaus.
Keren B’Kavod director, Sharona Yekutiel, says the demand for blankets has been particularly high, with many recipients saying they'd been unable to pay for the electricity required to operate a heater. She also said her group has distributed heating materials to day care centers in south
“The children crowd together on the few mattresses that are available,” she says, “leaving the rest to nap on the floor. In a couple of the kindergartens there was no lighting - not one single light bulb. On cold winter days, with no sun in the sky, the children spend their time in almost complete darkness.”
Keren B’Kavod says it will need additional funding to continue to provide assistance for those in need at shelters and preschools. To find out how you can help, contact the World Union’s Jerusalem office at wupjis@wupj.org.il.
Keren B'Kavod volunteers set out to distribute electric heaters to those in need.
SISTERHOOD-SPONSORED SCHOOL IN SOUTH AFRICA "COMES OF AGE"
The Mitzvah School, a project of Bet David’s Sisterhood and the United Sisterhood in Johannesburg, recently celebrated 21 years of helping black youth from a neighboring township go on to successful careers in such fields as medicine, law, business and the arts.
The school – actually a year-long preparatory program that helps students from the nearby black township of Alexandra pass their matriculation exams - was founded by Bet David's sisterhood in late 1986. This was at the height of the political and ethnic turmoil then roiling the country – when "liberation before education" was one of the main slogans among angry young blacks – and the school's main goal was to help these young people go on to successful careers rather than be consumed by the upheaval.
Sisterhood members Lesley Rosenberg and Molly Smith were the primary force behind the Mitzvah School’s establishment on the grounds of Bet David, a World Union-affiliated congregation, where it is now considered highly prestigious to be a student.
"With assistance from various companies and individuals, including the management and rabbi of Bet David, the school opened with 25 students, some of whom, unbeknown to us, had been political prisoners," says
Students who can afford it pay a nominal fee for tuition and transportation, with shortfalls made up by fund-raising. There is no longer access to government subsidies, and support from the business sector has been crucial. "The JD Group, a company listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, came to our rescue some five years ago, when we were on the verge of closing," says
“For the past four years, we have achieved 100% pass rates,” notes Rosenberg, “a remarkable achievement, as our students are with us for only one year. By comparison, the national average is just over 50%, and some of the schools from which our students come have pass rates as low as 12%.
"We try to expand the students' horizons in every way," she continues, "and give them a feeling of self-worth. We have many guest speakers on subjects such as AIDS awareness, drug and alcohol abuse, women and child abuse, street law and vocational guidance. An ethos of ‘putting back’ is encouraged at the school, and our scholars can be seen on a Sunday in the company of members of the sisterhood collecting food outside a Pick ’n Pay store for the needy of Alexandra.”
For more information on this and other sisterhood programs in South Africa, visit the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) Web site.
Some of the thousands of young South Africans whose lives have been touched by the
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 14-24 – North American Council’s first Learning and Leadership Seminar in Israel at the World Union's Anita Saltz International Education Center
February 21-27, 2008 – Annual conference, TaMaR Olami, various locations in Israel
March 6-16, 2008 - Second URJ Adult Study Program in Israel at the World Union's Anita Saltz International Education Center
March 13-16, 2008 – Biennial conference of the World Union’s European Region, Vienna, Austria
May 15-19, 2008 – World Union mission to St. Petersburg, Russia for the dedication of Sha’arei Shalom Synagogue-Center.
July 3-13, 2008 – World Union mission to Brazil and Argentina, culminating in the biennial conference of the World Union’s Latin America region, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
March 17-23, 2009 – CONNECTIONS 2009 – The 34th international convention of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
