"Completing the journey" was the name of the last campaign by the Jewish people to bring to Israel the last members of the Ethiopian Jewish community. Indeed, most of this wonderful community is now in the Jewish State but the saga is not yet over. We have to make sure that their absorption and integration into the Israeli community will be as successful. The State of Israel, together with Diaspora Jewish communities, are doing a lot. Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ is known for initiating and supporting Project Atzmaut in Rishon LeZion.

However, the financial and moral support from afar is not enough. We always believe that there is nothing like hands-on volunteering opportunities and the building of living bridge connections. We also know that many young adults in our community are eager to participate in tikkun olam (repairing the world) projects but don't think that it’s affordable and can be done in Israel.

So we have now developed the ultimate combination: a nine-month Masa Israel opportunity, heavily subsidized for a select group of North American young adults, in our partnered community of Rishon LeZion, where participants live, breathe, volunteer, and build connections with the Ethiopian Israeli community.

Here is how Dana Talmi, Yahel director, and current participants describe this unique program:

“Every time a student I am tutoring learns and internalizes a new word in English, every time a new connection is made between Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian Israelis at school, every time an older adult finds meaning and purpose in the urban agriculture project, and each time a teenager learns about their heritage and finds pride in themselves, I see social change in action.” This is how Harris Engelmann, a Yahel Social Change Program participant, described his experience.

For the past four years, Yahel has been working on grassroots community building and empowerment in an Ethiopian-Israeli community in the small Israeli town of Gedera. For the last two years we have wanted to expand our program to the Greater MetroWest partnered community of Ramat Eliyahu in Rishon LeZion. This fall it is finally happening! 

The Yahel Social Change Program is unique in terms of the reach that the volunteers have in the community. They work with young children, teenagers, college students, and older adults in a variety of projects, including teaching English, informal youth education, one-on-one tutoring and urban agriculture.
 
So when we have decided to expand the program, we knew that the Ramat Eliyahu neighborhood is where we wanted to be next because we knew that this level of immersion would be possible there. I came to know the uniqueness of the neighborhood and the warmth of its residents. I was introduced and developed great cooperation with Project Atzmaut, with Menachem Sanbato and his team. With the Matnas (community center), the municipality, and with the GMW Israel office staff. 

In addition to the service and immersion aspects, another key aspect of the program is the learning component. The participants meet weekly to discuss pertinent, sometimes difficult, social issues that are happening in Israel. They meet with various organizations and activists and travel the country. There are several trips to visit different communities and create dialogue with members of different groups in Israel. The Yahel Social Change Program creates a safe space for participants to explore challenging issues and to ask questions about the Israel of today.

The program also provides an opportunity to connect young adults with Judaism and the global Jewish community. The group looks at texts from Torah and Midrash and asks how it applies to the work they’re doing and to the Jewish community today. Darya Watnick, a current Yahel participant, said, “Discovering that this community has such an unwavering faith in their religion and relationship to Israel has helped me feel more connected to Judaism and Israel. Living and working with the Ethiopian Israelis is one way I have shown my commitment to my faith by coming to understand and appreciate how they express their Jewish identity.”

With the support of Masa–Israel Journey, the Rishon LeZion municipality, the Greater MetroWest federation and private funding, the opening of the program in Rishon LeZion will enable more volunteers to have these life-changing experiences while contributing many hours of service to Ramat Eliyahu. We are working hard with Project Atzamut, our local partner in Rishon LeZion, to build the program and look forward to welcoming a new group in October 2014. We hope you will come and visit us in Rishon LeZion!

Are you a young adult ages 21-27 interested in being a part of the social justice movement in Israel? Then apply to the Yahel Social Change Program today! More information and applications can be found on our website here or by calling (919) 416-3333. Program costs are as low as $1,000 for those eligible for a Masa grant. Applications are due June 30.

Amir