Repairing the World With Women's Philanthropy
by Jane Gomez
Our Greater MetroWest community extends far beyond New Jersey. With seven partnerships in Israel and two in Ukraine, the Israel and Overseas Committee is constantly working to forge global connections. Moreover, our Federation provides funds to our national partners: the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Money raised by our Federation directly helps to support, strengthen, and enhance Jewish life around the globe. This article highlights some of the exciting experiences of women who recently have visited Israel and other overseas communities.
Robin Buchalter participated in a Peoplehood Mission to Greece last summer, where she spent meaningful time with the welcoming but dwindling Jewish community in Athens. She noted that her trip was an “awakening experience” and that she was deeply moved by the Jewish community’s ability to sustain itself despite anti-Semitism, devastating economic hardship, and intermarriage. While there, she visited a 65-year-old Jewish day school in which the teachers are trained in Israel and the sixth graders travel to Israel every year. She also visited two synagogues that endure despite shrinking regular attendance and a Jewish home for the aged that is undergoing great financial hardship but provides a beautiful space for the population it serves. Robin was inspired by the people she met – all of whom were motivated to continue their efforts to sustain Jewish life in Athens.
In the summer of 2013, Caroline Goldstein spent three days at the Jewish Heritage Family Camp in Cherkassy, Ukraine, that our Federation sponsors. (See Youth Programs Span the Globe for details on the Cherkassy camp.) While there, she celebrated Shabbat and 14 B’nei Mitzvah. She was struck by how young people in Ukraine are embracing their Jewish identities and are seeking to learn more about Judaism. She was also moved by the older people’s stories of what it was like to grow up having to hide their Jewish identities, but to now be able to openly pass traditions on to their children and grandchildren. She was greatly inspired by the passion, energy, and pride of this emerging Jewish community.
In June, Phyllis Bernstein traveled to Israel as the Federation’s representative of the Ness Foundation, a fund that, in partnership with JAFI, provides loans to farmers and other small business owners in the Negev region. In operation for the past 15 years, the Ness Foundation, founded with a donation of $15 million by Mack Ness to the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, has helped to transform the lives of people in the Negev. This past year, the Foundation granted loans to 15 farmers to help them switch their crops from peppers to dates, tomatoes, and other organic produce that would be more in line with market demand. Phyllis describes how these young farmers were all but devastated by the collapse of the shrinking demand for peppers, but she was amazed at their resilience and was inspired by the regrowth that Federation is helping to spur.
Finally, I spoke to Lisa Naturman, who is actively involved in the Arad Renewal Process. One of Federation’s sister cities, Arad, also in the Negev, is home to a diverse population of 26,000 people and has suffered economic depression due to factory closings in the region. The Renewal Process, through a partnership with Federation of Greater MetroWest and JAFI, is seeking to build meaningful connections between the two communities and to identify areas of need. One project which excites Lisa, that will greatly benefit Arad, is the Israel Tennis Center’s English Language Fluency Program. This program will provide opportunities for immigrants and impoverished young people to develop language skills while playing tennis and will help them achieve higher levels of academic success. In working with the Arad team, Lisa and her husband have developed strong bonds with the people and the region and are enthusiastic about creating a brighter future for the young people of Israel.
From the nascent community in Ukraine, to the struggling community in Athens, to the vitality and resiliency of Israel, our Peoplehood connections strengthen and enrich us all. For more information about future Peoplehood programs contact Randi Brokman at rbrokman@jfedgmw.org.