NCJW Israel Program Report, December 2007
In this edition:
A message from Shari Eshet, Director of NCJW's Israel Office, including:
- Mission to Israel 2007
- The 2008 Israel Granting Program
- Education Crisis in Israel Today
Mission to Israel 2007
Dear Friends,
The scope of NCJW's Israel Granting Program is breathtaking, as 43 women and men from across the US can tell you. As members of NCJW's 2007 mission to Israel this past October, they joined me on a fact-finding journey throughout the length and breadth of Israel, focusing on the pressing issues in Israel that mirror NCJW's social justice concerns in the US. The delegation visited NCJW-funded sites, met with our coalition partners, prayed at the "alternative site" for the Women of the Wall, toured the border with Lebanon, and heard updates from top-level Israelis such as the Prime Minister's Advisor on the Status of Women.
The delegation presented a petition of more than 1,500 names to the Prime Minister's office, calling on Israel to include women's voices in the peace process as mandated by Israeli legislation implementing United Nations Resolution 1325. That resolution called on member nations to ensure the representation of women in all conflict-resolution discussions. The delegation also presented awards to three very special deserving women:
Dr. Adriana Kemp, of the NCJW Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University, received the NCJW/DeRoy Testamentary Award for Excellence in Education for her dedication and for her excellence as faculty advisor to the TAU Campus Hotline for Sexual Harassment.
Dana Mrytenbaum received the 2007 Jewel Bellush Israeli Feminist Award in honor of her leadership for social and political advancement of women from all sectors of Israeli society. Through her work with Itach -- Women Lawyers for Social Justice and at Isha L'Isha -- Haifa Feminist Center, Mrytenbaum helps provide Israel's most vulnerable women with access to Israel's legal system.
The Jewel Bellush Israeli Feminist Award for 2008 went to Sabah Abu-Ganem, a Bedouin activist and mother of nine, who serves as the Mayor's Advisor on Women's Affairs in Rahat, the largest Bedouin community in Israel. Founder of the Rahat Women's Association, Abu-Ganem was recognized for her pioneering leadership in the promotion of women in Bedouin society. With these awards, NCJW continues to express its commitment to the women of Israel and our belief in their ability to make social change.
An emotional highlight of the 2007 mission was a visit to Neve Yaacov Early Childhood Program, an NCJW Israel Granting Program site underwritten by the NCJW Peninsula Section in memory of Lenore Feldman Fischler, an NCJW past president. The Neve Yaacov Early Childhood Program teaches ultra-Orthodox mothers from Jerusalem the skills to help foster the educational and emotional development of their pre-school youngster, as well as empowering the mothers themselves. The early-childhood programs, supervised by the NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education, have been landmarks in the NCJW Israel program for 40 years.
The 2008 Israel Granting Program
This fiscal year NCJW launched an additional new funding stream -- Women to Women: NCJW's Empowerment Initiative. Yad B' Yad: NCJW's Initiative to Nurture Knowledge will continue to provide grants to at-risk families and children in Israel. At its recent meeting, NCJW's Israel Granting Committee allocated $130,000 in accordance with the guidelines implemented through NCJW's partnership with US/Israel Women to Women. Approximately 60 percent went to the women's empowerment funding stream and 40 percent to Yad B' Yad. To find out how you can underwrite a project, please contact Alzenia DeVerteuil. Beginning with gifts of $2,500, donors can be recognized through the NCJW Israel Granting Program. The 2008 recipients are listed on the NCJW website.
Education Crisis in Israel Today
Recently an international competition in mathematics was held for 90 countries. Iran came in 12th; Israel came in 50th. Israeli high school teachers and some of the university teachers have been on strike now for over a month, insisting on higher salaries and smaller classes, among other issues. With starting salaries for teachers averaging $700 a month and 35-42 kids in most classes, it is not surprising that Israel's "oil" -- its brainpower -- is dwindling. As Derek Bok, past president of Harvard University once said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."
Last month, I attended two distinct conferences that touched on the issues of children and youth as well as the Israeli Arab populations. Both conferences proclaimed that going forward, the Israeli government's major thrust would be on children at-risk generally and children and youth at-risk within the Israel Arab community. NCJW has been funding and supporting programs for at-risk children and youth since 1947. We are proud to be helping Israel and its most needy populations through education.
Sincerely,
Shari Eshet
Director of NCJW's Israel Office