NCJW Israel Program Report October 2011
| I hope you enjoy this special New Year’s edition of the NCJW Israel Program Report prepared by Shari Eshet, director of our Israel office. NCJW continues to advocate for a vibrant Jewish democratic state as you will see from this report. Not only will you read about updates and highlights from NCJW’s programs in Israel, you will get a sense of the enormity of the change taking place within Israel with young Israeli women leading the growing grassroots social justice movement. Since before the founding of the State of Israel, NCJW has spoken out on behalf of people on the margins of Israeli society and supported organizations committed to social change. In this new year of 5772, we look forward to continuing our commitment to the empowerment of women in Israel and to bringing their news to you.  |
NCJW Israel Program Report October 2011
- Message from Shari Eshet
- Get the Latest News and Information About NCJW’s Work in Israel
- Updates from the Israel Granting Program
- Kol Ha-Isha
- We Power
- For More…
Dear Friends,
So much has happened since I last wrote you, and Israel has made great strides in the pursuit of social justice. By early September 450,000 Israelis had taken to the streets to protest the widening gap between rich and poor and the inability of the middle class to maintain a decent standard of living. In response to the protests, the government of Israel has established a committee to re-examine the national budget and hopefully implement reforms to reflect true social justice. We at NCJW have watched the activists with pride, recognizing that they stand on the shoulders of the grassroots organizations that we have supported and helped nurture. We will continue to follow their progress, encourage them and celebrate their victories. This is a historical point in time. On August 4, I wrote on the subject and how inspiring it is to be a part of it. I invite you to read my post on the Forward’s The Sisterhood blog. I also write about the cause that brought these Israelis from all walks of life to participate in peaceful demonstrations in the NCJW Insider.
NCJW members, supporters, and friends will embark on the 2011 NCJW Women’s Mission to Israel in early November. Add your voice to their dialogues with elected officials by signing this petition supporting Israel’s new generation of grassroots activists:
In the month of September, another event took center stage — this time at the United Nations in New York as the Palestinians made their official bid for statehood. Read more about the move by the Palestinians to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the statement issued on September 23 by CEO Nancy K. Kaufman and President Linda Slucker.
The next few months will be critical for peace in our region.
With the beginning of the Jewish New Year upon us, I want to wish you all a happy, peaceful, and pleasant year! To quote from Rabbis Bennett Miller and Eric Lankin:
“As we dip our apples in honey, we pray for an additional measure of sweetness. May we continue to grow in our commitment to our faith, our people and community. May all Jews experience blessings in the year ahead, and may the world become a better place for all of us.”
Sincerely,
Shari Eshet
Director, NCJW Israel Office
Get the Latest News and Information About NCJW’s Work in Israel
We have received many requests for information about NCJW’s Israel Programs and have put together a list of ways you can stay informed:
- Visit NCJW’s website at www.ncjw.org for regular updates
- Follow us on Twitter at @NCJW and @NCJWCEO
- Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ncjwinc
- Sign up for Israel Alerts, the Israel Program Report, and information on study tours in Israel through the NCJW Action Center at http://action.ncjw.org/signup
- If you are planning a trip to Israel and want to see NCJW’s work in action, contact the NCJW Israel Office at ncjwisrael@gmail.com to arrange tours of Israel Granting Program sites.
- Ask your section president, bulletin editor, public policy chair, or SPA to share information about our Israel programs
- Request to be appointed chair of Israel advocacy and/or programs through your section. If such a program doesn’t yet exist — start one!
Updates about Israel Granting Program projects:
Kol Ha-Isha
NCJW supports Kol Ha-Isha’s Comprehensive Program for the Economic Empowerment of Women to help marginalized and disempowered women of all backgrounds, races, ages and religions in Jerusalem. They include single mothers, women on welfare, ultra-orthodox women with large families, older women who face age discrimination, and women who spent many years out of the salaried job market while raising a family.
In 2010 Alona (not her real name), a married Sephardic Ultra-Orthodox woman with three children, joined the “Women Entering the Workforce” program at the age of 45. Before becoming religious, Alona had been working toward a degree in criminology. Initially, Alona’s husband did not want her to work. Soon, however, she and her husband found themselves living in poverty and suffering emotional stress. She came to the program very bitter and depressed — Alona felt that she had “woken up” too late and was now too old for the workforce. The odds were, in fact, against her. She is discriminated against because she is female, middle-aged, married with children, Sephardic, and lacks experience. While it was a very difficult time for her, Alona looks back on it positively because she had finally made the decision to take control of her life. This past summer, after completing the program, Alona found a job with a religious website as a full-time secretary/graphics assistant. Recently, Alona reported on her progress, “I wanted to thank you for everything, and especially for the emotional support — to me you’ve been the light at the end of a dark tunnel!“
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The NCJW grant to We Power: The Organization for the Advancement of Women’s Leadership in Israel: Peripheral Women’s Network and Educational Series impacts a target population of 900 women — with 250 of the women living in the Negev and Galilee. Their ages range from early 30s to 60s, and while they represent diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, these women share the same vision: equal gender representation in key leadership positions in the public arena. We Power helps them to achieve this vision by creating local leadership and networking opportunities. Tamar Eliyahu, a 30-year-old mother of three girls, lives in the Negev. From her early years, Tamar has been a public activist, raised to be involved, to act, and to take responsibility. As the fourth child after three boys, she always considered herself as equal to her older brothers. As she was growing up, Tamar realized that to create a better place to live, work and raise children, she must take responsibility and become part of the political arena, where decisions are made and resources are allocated. Tamar feels that We Power is her opportunity to run for elected office and take part of the decision-making process, striving to impact the quality of life in her community and be part of the local leadership. She decided to join We Power’s prestigious “I Want to Be an MK” training program and ultimately decided to run for a seat on her local municipal council in the coming January 2014 elections. Tamar concludes: “We Power embraced me and removed my fears. I gained something at each session and realized the things I am still missing. It takes courage to run for elections, but if women will not do it and not become part of the public arena, we will continue to feel sorry for ourselves in many years to come. I have three charming girls at home and they deserve more.”
I, along with others, often have the opportunity to record more personal reports of our work and experiences in Israel for the NCJW Insider blog on our website. Visit www.ncjw.org/Insider for recent posts on Israel by me and others.