Fostering Art in Ofakim, Israel
by Lori Klinghoffer
About 17 years ago, Lori Klinghoffer was moved to provide the initial funding for The Igloo Art Center in our Israeli partnership community of Ofakim, a development city of about 28,000 in the northern Negev. Today, the Klinghoffer family continues to support The Igloo, a distinctively-painted, dome-shaped building that’s hard to miss. Our Federation provides ongoing funding for its arts programs through the Ofakim/Merchavim Partnership2Gether (P2G) Steering Committee, part of the Global Connections Department.
Lori Klinghoffer has been involved with Jewish Federation and its partner agencies on the local, national, and international level for many years. She is a past president of National Women’s Philanthropy, a past president of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ and a past president of Women’s Philanthropy of Greater MetroWest. She has held numerous other leadership roles in our local Federation, including Women’s Campaign Chair, General Campaign Chair, and Israel & Overseas Chair. She is also a member of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) Board of Governors, chairing the Partnerships Committee and the Partnerships Global Council. She is a member of the United Israel Appeal Board and Executive Committee, and a member of the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA) Board of Trustees.
She has traveled extensively on national and community missions to Israel, Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere. These journeys have helped shape her family’s philanthropy.
An igloo surely seems to be an unlikely birthday gift, especially for my husband Steve’s 50th – but at the end of the day, that’s what he got! It all came about thanks to his and my deep connection to Israel and our strong connection with our Partnership community, Ofakim, in the Northern Negev. We also had special feelings for the arts, having two creative daughters, one of whom is now a working studio artist who has exhibited her work in several shows around the country. So my quest for the perfect gift began back in 2000. Of course, my personal shopper and dear friend, our very own Amir Shacham, made the match. Amir has been part of Greater MetroWest for almost 20 years – he completed his second shlichut (emissary program) with us just last year and continues to lead our Israel operations as Associate Executive Vice President in the GMW office there.
At the time, Amir connected me with the Israeli Artist, David Wachstein, who had developed Art Stations in a few municipalities around Israel, bringing students from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design together with kids in vulnerable communities. Art was the medium bringing these young adult artists as mentors to kids at risk, but the mentorship went far beyond teaching art. It was a means to build the kids’ self-esteem — empowering them to know that there was someone who took a personal interest in them and that they had a chance to succeed.
David was already running the program in Ofakim but with no permanent location. Rather, from year to year, different spaces were either leased or provided by the municipality. So here was our opportunity — let’s find a permanent structure to house the program! Sounds simple, right? Not so much. Suffice it to say that after a few years of shopping around, more than one false start, and a bit of frustration along the way, a structure was finally agreed upon. At the time it was an unused building in great need of repair, a dome-shaped structure already known as The Igloo. The deal was made, work began, and by the time Steve turned 55, The Igloo Art Station was up and running with David’s incredible program.
As time went on, we began to realize that the original program was not reaching enough of the Ofakim community beyond the few kids who were part of the project, and that The Igloo was not becoming the driving force bringing the arts and high-level recognition to Ofakim that we had envisioned. It was time for a shift in direction.
Today, The Igloo is operated by the Matnas (community center) and run by the amazing Aliza Danino, who heads the municipality’s culture department (and happens to be the mayor’s wife), along with Sarit Timsit, who is The Igloo coordinator. Thanks to their leadership and vision, and with ongoing support from our Federation, our beloved Igloo has become a beehive of activities for all segments of the Ofakim community. It warms my heart to see the excitement in the space every time I get to visit — kids’ happy faces and adults enriching themselves through the arts, as well as through yoga classes held there.
The list of programs is overwhelming — including practical arts, ceramics and sculpture for special needs kids, photography, drawing, yoga and art — providing classes for kids of all ages, as well as for adults. The programs focus on bringing the community together, meeting social and educational needs, and most of all, promoting a love of the arts for everyone.
Perhaps one of the most noticeable enhancements to The Igloo is what we originally referred to as The Kippah Project — a dream for The Igloo to be transformed in honor of Ofakim’s 60th birthday celebration last year. The painting project was led by Eyal Asulin, who is originally from Ofakim and is one of David Wachstein’s original student mentors who remains involved with our programs there. The plain white dome and the surrounding area became an artistic expression of the community, fulfilled by its residents and by those of us who were lucky enough to visit and participate in the process.
Steve and I are beyond proud to be part of our incredible Greater MetroWest family that brought us to Ofakim, where we continue to schepp naches, or take pleasure, from our family there and from all the beautiful things that happen day after day.
