May 24, 2017, marks the 50th anniversary of a united Jerusalem. In honor of this occasion, the Afikim Foundation, in cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, is launching the Jerusalem50 Global Unity Torah, a global movement that celebrates a reunited Jerusalem with acts of kindness.
“The Global Unity Torah will provide Jews worldwide an unprecedented communal platform to do good and inspire goodness in others,” said Rabbi Raphael Butler, founder of the Afikim Foundation. To purchase a letter, the currency is not in dollars but in acts of kindness.
Individuals and families from all walks of Jewish life will unite with organizations, congregations, agencies, schools and Jewish groups from all corners of the globe to “purchase” their letter(s) in the Torah with acts of chesed (kindness).
With an interactive site in five languages, jerusalem50.org, a social media campaign, pamphlets designed and published in five languages, wall hangings of the sites of Jerusalem set to display in communities around the world, and a traveling exhibition on Jerusalem, the Jerusalem50 movement is set to launch.
“As an innovative incubator, Afikim is where profound Jewish ideas take flight, and we envision Jerusalem50 having a poignant and lasting impact on the Jewish people,” said Butler. “By using kindness as an impetus for change and Jerusalem as a uniting factor, we can transform our world.”
“Let’s make it easy, not just to be Jewish, but to feel part of the community. We have to make it easy and we have to find ways of connecting,” Alex Cristall told the Jewish Independent in a recent phone interview.
Cristall is general chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual campaign this year. The fundraising effort has so far “been really, really good,” he said, noting “it looks like our numbers are ahead of where they were last year.”
Alex Cristall, general chair of Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign. (photo from Jewish Federation)
At the centre of the current campaign is the community’s 2020 Strategic Priorities. “We have some key areas that over the next few years we are trying to focus on,” explained Cristall, such as “affordability, accessibility, seniors, engagement and connectivity, and security. And, this year specifically, we have set up a matching program,” so that every new donation and every donation increase is matched, with the funds being allocated to security initiatives, to “set up a good, long-term security plan for the community.”
Bernard Pinsky is the chair of the community security advisory committee, said Cristall, and “they’ve laid out a whole framework of things to get us up to date and to get us more centralized and focused, and to continue on with things we’ve done over the years and improve on them. So, this year we have set up a match[ing program] and I think we are almost at $300,000.”
In addition to the 2020 priorities and the focus on security, donations to the campaign fund social services performed by 40 partner organization, including seniors programs, Jewish education, arts and culture, community building, and youth and young adult services.
“Federation has access to so many different things that are going on in the community and, to help those institutions every year, it takes a lot of [fundraising] pressure off them,” said Cristall. “The major selling point is the reach the Federation has … your dollar touches so many different aspects” of the Jewish community.
“In terms of the number of people who benefit, it is in the thousands,” said Becky Saegert, Federation’s director of marketing and communications, in an email interview.
“We want to make being part of our community easy for our constituents and our community members,” reiterated Cristall.
The community has valuable capital infrastructure in the Oak Street area, he said, “but engagement and accessibility … for underserved areas – that is a huge part of our future. And that has to grow more and more. We have to be very creative.”
This outreach is part of the 2020 plans, he said, “for example, supporting White Rock JCC, supporting Burquest JCC.”
“With regard to the regional communities,” added Saegert, “the campaign currently provides funding to five different regional community organizations. Our Regional Communities Task Force, which is currently exploring ways to enhance Jewish community life outside of Vancouver, will be presenting their recommendations to our board in February 2017. We anticipate that the recommendations will increase funding for a number of initiatives in the regional communities. This past year, with the increase in our overall campaign result, we were able to increase our funding to all of our regional community organizations and fund some new initiatives, including a very exciting partnership between Richmond Jewish Day School and Congregation Beth Tikvah.”
While this year’s campaign is well underway, Cristall said, “We cannot have enough canvassers.… We are probably the easiest organization to get involved in. If someone wants to come on and be a canvasser, we’ll give them training. I hosted a meeting at my house to train people and to welcome people…. It’s a very welcoming environment and we welcome all comers to join.”
In August, Canadian Young Judaea visited two of CHW’s daycares in Israel, the Sandy Martin Alberta Daycare and the Judy Mandleman Vancouver Daycare. (photo from chwblog.tumblr.com)
Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) is one of the original feminist philanthropic organizations. Founded in 1917 and on the eve of celebrating its centennial, it remains an organization unique to Canada.
Only in Canada are Hadassah International, which supports medical centres in Israel, and Women’s International Zionist Organization, which has women in the Diaspora working for the welfare of women and children in Israel, combined. They were brought together by CHW founder, philanthropist and activist Lillian Freiman.
While the history is important, CHW continues to evolve, due in part to leaders like Vancouver’s Claudia Goldman and, on Nov. 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver CHW is hosting the national organization’s gala in honor of Goldman, who is the outgoing national president.
CHW leadership from across Canada will gather to celebrate Goldman’s achievements. In addition, World WIZO president Esther Mor will be here as part of her trip to Canada, and other special guests will include Zev Twito, director of the CHW-supported Hadassim Children and Youth Village, which is located east of Netanya and north of Tel Aviv. Twito will share information about some of the initiatives being undertaken at Hadassim.
“In 1947, CHW built Hadassim to provide housing for orphan children who were arriving in Israel after WWII,” explained Goldman. “In 2017, when CHW is celebrating its centennial, Hadassim will be celebrating its 70th birthday. For 70 years, CHW has been continuously saving children.
Claudia Goldman, outgoing national president of CHW, will be honored on Nov. 5. (photo from CHW)
“For, me personally, Hadassim has been like a second home. The relatives I am very close with in Israel sent all six of their children to Hadassim and our younger daughter volunteered at Hadassim. When you are at Hadassim, you really feel the impact that CHW has had on the school.”
While Hadassim has developed into an educational centre for all children living in the region, there are also dormitories for children in foster care, a special home for teenaged mothers and their babies, and group homes run by an Israeli family for younger foster children. Recently, there has been an influx of French teenagers, moving to Israel to escape antisemitism in France. Proceeds of the November gala will support Hadassim’s work.
Other visitors from Israel coming to Vancouver for the gala are connected directly to the village. Award-winning musicians Guy and Yahel are graduates of Hadassim, and they will provide the entertainment for the evening with their brand of rock-pop. These young performers, who were Voice of Israel finalists, have received numerous accolades, including a nomination by MTV Europe as the best Israeli act.
“I heard them play in Tel Aviv and I can promise you, they are really something special,” said Goldman. “As the lead volunteer for CHW, I feel that Guy and Yahel coming to Vancouver all the way from Israel to perform pro bono is a great message for CHW members and friends. Our Hadassim graduates are giving back to CHW for the loving support they received during their time at Hadassim.”
The gala will also focus on Goldman’s successes as president.
“I believe that so much more can be accomplished when people reach out and pull together as a team,” explained Goldman, whose presidency’s theme was “partnership.”
She has worked to strengthen the organization based on what she said CHW already does well. “CHW offers the magical mixture of camaraderie, while at the same time offering the opportunity to make positive change in the world,” she said. “It is empowering to help the most vulnerable citizens in our Jewish homeland. Sometimes, the world seems to be coming apart, but when you are able to fight back by helping strengthen Israel, while at the same time making friends with Jewish women and men from around the world, it feels incredibly empowering.”
Goldman has strong feelings about her work with CHW.
“I feel very proud that, over the last two years, I have been able to spread the enthusiasm and commitment I have for CHW,” she said. “With all of the problems in the world today, I am absolutely certain that the work we do is essential and that we are on the right track. CHW is strengthening the health services of Israel, supporting Israeli women and families, and rescuing Jewish children who are living under terrible antisemitism. We are making a huge difference, improving thousands of lives. Being CHW’s national president has been a very powerful experience.”
To attend the CHW gala, call the local CHW office at 604-257-5160, email [email protected] or visit chw.ca.
Michelle Dodekis a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
Left to right are shinshiniot Yael Miller, Dana Salmon, Shahaf Shama and Danielle Favel. (photo by Michelle Dodek)
For the second year in a row, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is providing our community with a burst of ahavat Yisrael, love for Israel. The shinshiniot – who are doing sh’nat sherut, community service, locally – are back. While there were three young women participating last year, this year’s enthusiastic group numbers four.
The shinshiniot program is part of Gesher Chai (Living Bridge), which Jewish federations across North America use to form person-to-person relationships between young Israelis and Diaspora youth. Based on the first run, Lissa Weinberger, manager of Jewish education and identity initiatives and the woman dealing primarily with this program, said, “We have changed a number of things this year based on our observations and experiences. It seems like putting the girls in pairs in their volunteer assignments is a really good idea.”
After a period of adjustment and integration into the community, the shinshiniot were paired off in mid-September. Danielle (Dani) Favel and Shahaf Shama work together during the weekdays in three community organizations: the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, King David High School and Richmond Jewish Day School. Vancouver Talmud Torah takes up most of the time of the other two shinshiniot, Dana Salmon and Yael Miller.
On weekends, Beth Tikvah Congregation will have Shama, Salmon will help at Congregation Beth Israel and Miller and Favel will team up at Temple Sholom. Last summer, the shinshiniot divided between the region’s summer camps and the JCC’s Camp Shalom. Where they will be placed this summer has not yet been determined.
The shinshiniot bring with them experiences from their diverse family backgrounds and the different parts of Israel in which they live.
Salmon is from Ma’ale Adumim, a suburb of Jerusalem and has a family from Iran, Syria and Iraq. Shama’s family is also Mizrahi, with a little North African added; she grew up with her three siblings on Kibbutz HaZore’a near Haifa.
Miller and Favel are both of Ashkenazi descent, but with very different roots. Miller, who hails from Modi’in – the historical base of the Maccabees in the Chanukah story – was raised attending a Reform synagogue, a rarity in Israel. Favel’s parents both made aliyah because of their devotion to the Habonim Dror youth movement, one parent from Scotland and the other from Australia; she grew up on a small kibbutz called Kadarim with a view of the Kinneret.
The creativity and energy this group brings to their tasks are palpable. Although they are stationed in certain locations for the bulk of their volunteer work here, there will be community-wide events on which they will collaborate. Most notably, events around Lag b’Omer, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut. They also have individual passions they hope to be able to share with young people here.
“I would like to start some musical bands,” said Salmon. “I play the guitar and sing and would love to share Israeli music with people in Vancouver.”
Favel has musical aspirations as well. “I’ve been singing in a choir since I was 9,” she said. “I’d love to start a choir here that would sing Israeli songs.”
Miller has hopes of starting a teen pen-pal program, replacing the pens with computers, of course, while Shama hopes to marry her love of cooking and dressing up with her North African roots. “I want to bring [my experience of] the tradition of Mimuna to Vancouver,” said Shama. “The food, the traditional dress, the incredible celebration is something I would like to share.”
Not only do the shinshiniot share with the students and young people with whom they are volunteering, but also with the host families who welcome them into their homes. Shama started sharing her enthusiasm and talent for cooking immediately, said her “host mother,” Jennifer Shecter-Balin.
“This is our second time hosting a shinshinit and we really like it,” said Jackson Balin, 10. “You get a nice fun person from Israel living with you for three months. I like the culture and they teach you, you teach them.”
Balin said Shama makes Israeli salad for the family every evening and has made other delicious Israeli dishes as well.
Other ways in which the shinshiniot are contributing to our community are by providing Israeli dancing and cooking classes, and conversational Hebrew for youths who usually only get to speak Hebrew at home with their parents. The fact that they are recent high school graduates is a bonus for their ability to connect with local teens.
“Shinshiniot coming here enhances our experience, builds relationships and understanding for our kids, and it has an impact in our community and theirs back in Israel when they return,” said Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken.
Federation is still looking to fill some of the host family spots: if interested, contact Weinberger at [email protected] or 604-257-5104. For more information on the program or to contribute to Federation’s annual campaign, visit jewishvancouver.com.
Michelle Dodekis a Vancouver-based freelance writer whose 10-year-old son Max helped interview the shinshiniot. Having hosted one last year, he very much looks forward to hosting one soon.
During the afternoon of Character Day, King David High School hosted a fair at which students could learn about – and sign up for – volunteer positions in the Jewish community and around the city. (photo from KDHS)
On Sept. 22, King David High School students celebrated Character Day. It was a day for both quiet introspection and animated group discussions about what makes human beings tick, and how we can reach our full potential, individually and as members of society.
KDHS is “committed to integrating tikkun olam into all students’ experiences, both during the school day and beyond,” said visual arts teacher Wendy Oberlander. And Character Day dovetails neatly with the school vision for students’ social-emotional learning.
Character Day began 10 years ago as the brainchild of San Francisco filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, whose work in film and technology has been recognized with numerous nominations and awards. Her new mission is Let It Ripple, which uses film as the medium to educate and inspire children to become activists pushing for positive social change. The program is massive, reaching 24 countries as far-flung as Mexico, India and Australia. Approximately 75,000 events were hosted, worldwide.
“Character Day presented us with a frame within which to launch this year’s service program,” said Oberlander.
At KDHS, the day started with three of Let It Ripple’s videos, which were seen by every student.
Lu Winters is the school’s social-emotional counselor. She is leading the school in a year-long project based on middot (character traits).
According to Winters, the Let It Ripple videos – The Science of Character, The Adaptable Mind and The Making of a Mensch – nurture self-knowledge, encouraging students to take what she calls “an inventory of themselves.” The films ask, “What are your strengths and which do you want to develop?” exploring qualities like creativity, humility, self-control and gratitude.
According to KDHS’s e-newsletter, “The central idea of character traits that is described in the film The Making of a Mensch will form the basis for TAG [teacher advisory groups] this year.”
Character Day is now an established fixture for the students of KDHS. It has grown and evolved over the six years that Winters has taught at the school. Since joining the staff, she has seen a move toward a richer and more inclusive and varied program of offerings. She described an array of sporting, spiritual and drama activities, as well as support groups for LGBTQ students.
Inbar ben Moshe (photo from KDHS)
This Character Day, Winters sat in with two classes to see how the activities were being received by the students. “They were really engaged,” she said.
“They said it is always easy to dismiss buzz words, but instead of brushing off words like honesty and generosity, they talked about being self-aware, about being a better person; they responded sincerely and thoughtfully,” said Winters.
During the afternoon, the school hosted a volunteer fair organized by Ellia Belson, director of Jewish life and events. At the fair, students could learn about – and sign up for – positions in the Jewish community and around the city. Booths were hosted by the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Ronald McDonald House, Louis Brier Home and Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee and the Walking School Bus.
The impact of the program came across loud and clear, in conversation with the kids themselves. They expressed their enthusiasm and drive for positive change. Inbar ben Moshe, in Grade 11, said the day was “inspiring!”
“It opened our minds to how we can improve our lives and the lives of others,” she said, and spoke of a determination to “really work on myself, to embrace the different aspects of myself.” She wants to volunteer by mentoring children, helping them to resist peer pressure and make good decisions.
Sappir Gini (photo from KDHS)
A Grade 10 student, who chose to remain anonymous, spoke about his own struggle with stress and the importance of learning to regulate one’s emotions. “It was interesting and it really influenced me,” he said. “It encourages people to think beyond what they already know; to get rid of stress by focusing on what you are good at.”
Sappir Gini (Grade 10) already reads to her nine-year-old brother and spoke of her ambitions in forensic science. She found the videos “inspiring, they made me want to learn more…. We saw how a bunch of people can come together and change things, people who are so eager, so curious – they can really make a difference.”
Sappir’s goals have crystalized as a result of participating in Character Day. She talked about her love of reading history books, and how she aims to be a reading mentor in inner city schools. Summing up the spirit of Character Day, she said, “Your imagination can take you anywhere – once you can read, you can do anything.”
Shula Klingeris an author, illustrator and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at niftyscissors.com.
The Hon. Stockwell Day, right, and International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada senior vice-president Rabbi Yael Eckstein with a Ukrainian Jewish family who were among the 220 that the Fellowship brought to Israel on Sept. 29. (photo from the Fellowship)
The Hon. Stockwell Day, chair of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews’ board of directors in Canada, and his wife Valorie gathered with the immigrants as they boarded two flights from Kiev bound for Tel Aviv to begin their new lives in Israel, thanks to support from the Fellowship’s donors in Canada. The flights are the latest in the Fellowship’s ongoing campaign to help Jews in need living in Ukraine and other communities around the world facing economic challenges and antisemitism. Not counting these latest flights, the Fellowship’s global partners have brought 3,532 Jews on 29 flights from Ukraine to Israel.
Matthew Boroditsky with some of the children he met at Project Somos. (photo Matthew Boroditsky)
In life, we all face hurdles – and how we react to these trials can come to define us. This story exemplifies that.
Three years ago, Matthew Boroditsky was told he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a relatively rare form of cancer, accounting for about 0.5% of all cancers and 15% of all lymphoma cancers diagnosed. Approximately 900 people are diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Canada each year, and it is more frequently found in males than in females, and in people between the ages of 15-39 and older than 55.
Boroditsky was born in Chicago, moving to Vancouver with his family at four months old. At age 17 – on Oct. 13, 2013 – he was diagnosed. After completing high school at St. George’s and once the disease was under control, he moved to Hamilton, Ont., to study at McMaster toward a bachelor of health sciences degree.
Thinking back, Boroditsky recalled, “I had just returned to school for my Grade 12 year after playing in a hockey tournament over the summer months, when things quickly changed for me. All of a sudden, my life was put on hold, as the only focus became on fighting this disease over the next eight months of my life. During this time, I never truly understood the magnitude of influence this experience would have on my life.”
The importance of health and how much we take our good health for granted was something that especially struck Boroditsky during this time. Just as he and his family began settling into the treatment schedule, they were approached with the opportunity to be granted a wish by the Children’s Wish Foundation.
“This was a unique and intriguing opportunity, one that I did not take lightly,” said Boroditsky. “It was quite overwhelming when I first fully realized the vast possibilities associated with this wish. After several days of thought, I felt sure I wanted this wish to be one I could look back upon many years later. I wanted to make a wish that could serve as a constant reminder to not only me, but to the greater community, about the importance of gratitude, hopefully sharing a small bit of what I learned through my experience. Thus, I came to the conclusion that I would like my wish to be a giving wish.”
Before his diagnosis, in March 2013, Boroditsky and several classmates visited Project Somos, which is located in a southern Guatemalan community as part of a service-learning experience. An eco-sustainable alternative community for at-risk mothers and children, it arose, among many other factors, because of rising poverty and poor access to education and medical care in the region.
A plan for the clinic designed by Project Somos. (image from Matthew Boroditsky)
In line with Project Somos’ commitment to environmental sustainability, a 960-square-foot medical clinic is in the planning stages. It is to be built with earthquake resistance in mind and will feature solar hot water and electrical power.
“The people in rural areas, such as Chivarabal – where Project Somos is located – often don’t have the money to cover transportation to a medical clinic,” said Boroditsky. “If they do manage to get to a free clinic, they might not be able to afford the medication prescribed…. Even generic drugs are prohibitively expensive. There aren’t many systems in place for long-term health conditions and preventative care is completely lacking.
“Realizing the limitations and the precarious situations people find themselves in, the tragic lack of what we, at home, would consider basic simple care, sparked the idea of constructing a medical clinic on site.”
When the idea was first conceived, Boroditsky was not fully aware of how this could be done. But, when he went to Children’s Wish and started discussing with them how he wanted to use his wish, they helped translate his dream into a reality.
“I wanted my wish to make a difference in this world and to continue to help the people of Guatemala for many years to come, trying to parallel the philosophy of Project Somos in its recognition of the importance of sustainability,” said Boroditsky. “The people at Children’s Wish have been, from the very beginning, extremely supportive surrounding the initiative and did everything they could to help make it become a reality. Children’s Wish is truly a remarkable organization that I’m proud to have been able to work with.”
And so, nearing the end of his treatment, in partnership with Children’s Wish, Boroditsky has directed the initial funds into the medical clinic for Project Somos.
But, the planning of a medical clinic and neighborhood house at the Project Somos site has been challenging and Boroditsky, friends and family are continuing to fundraise. In that vein, they will be holding an event next month – on Oct. 13 at St. George’s School.
“We are planning to celebrate the continued progress and success of the project that we hope will make a big difference in the lives of others who are less fortunate,” said Boroditsky. “The event will be centred on learning more about how this project came to be and hearing from a few inspirational speakers who have personally moved me into action.
“Life has a funny way of evolving,” he added. “I never would have even imagined I’d be involved in a project like this so far from home. I feel we have an obligation as a global community to help each other, and I know that many of you reading this feel the same way.
“I feel optimistic and excited to make a difference in the lives of so many. With the help of Children’s Wish and many supporters … we’re getting closer to seeing this wish become a reality.
“Never underestimate the power you hold in helping to make good things happen,” he said. “Please help us by donating directly to the medical clinic project or by coming to our event to help make this giving wish come true.”
To read more about Boroditsky’s story, see “Letter from Matthew Boroditsky: A Giving Wish” at projectsomos.org. For more information on the project and fundraiser, visit facebook.com/helpingadreamcometrue. (A tax receipt for donations will be issued by the Compassionate Fruit Society, a nonprofit for Project Somos.) To buy tickets to the Oct. 13 event, which takes place 7-8:30 p.m., at St. George’s School, 4175 West 29th Ave., visit matthews-wish.eventbrite.ca.
Young community members in Harlem participate in the painting of a shipping container inside of which fresh produce is grown. (photo by Nick Smith)
Seed Street, a hydroponic farming venture and food-justice initiative that grows fresh produce inside shipping containers, arrived in Harlem in the summer of 2015. It was brought there by Leigh Ofer and Hannah Bronfman.
The idea came from an environmental justice class Ofer took in college, as well as Bronfman’s deep ties to the Harlem community and her advocacy for healthy living and positive body image.
“Even with time and less financial stress than a family, it was still expensive and challenging to eat and live healthy with so much misinformation out there … I was confused and searching for sustainable ways to live and eat healthfully while living in a big city,” said Ofer. “Women, in particular, in our modern-day society, can be so disconnected from our bodies. I felt a tremendous sense of disillusionment with the current food system and anger at how deep-seated interests have infused our system with toxic Franken-foods.”
Ofer believes this issue is at the heart of America’s health crisis. “It’s really impossible to eat well, to feed your mind, body and soul,” she told the Independent. “Growing up in Israel, in an agricultural society, eating healthy was a by-product of living. You don’t think about it. But, in the U.S., it takes jumping through hoops just to eat healthy – a total polar opposite on the spectrum.
“This was having a profound effect on me. I felt it in everything – my skin, my well-being, my energy, but I count myself as one of the lucky ones. If I was having a hard time eating and living well, how was a young family managing? I felt a deep sense of obligation to do something about this.”
When Ofer was searching for solutions, she came across a new development in agriculture. Cutting-edge farmers and technology geeks were building hydroponic farms inside shipping containers. The idea immediately resonated with Ofer, partially because of her family background in shipping.
Leigh Ofer checks out the Seed Street hydroponic farm in Harlem. (photo from Seed Street)
“It was a no-brainer to transform freight containers into highly productive urban farms using the latest technologies and minimal resources to reconnect urban communities to fresh food,” she said. “It made perfect sense, harnessing the power of new technology to revitalize urban neighborhoods, introduce farming jobs and reeducate a community about where food comes from.”
When Ofer met Bronfman a couple of years after having come across this idea, the two decided to take a leap of faith together and go for it. With limited resources, they kicked things off with one container. It landed at their community partner’s yard – the Children’s Aid Society – in July 2015, and they have been growing tomatoes, leafy greens, herbs, peas and cucumbers ever since.
“We are retrofitting freight containers with hydroponic growing technology and bringing the farm back to the city,” said Ofer. “You can put these farms almost anywhere. Each farm container has a very high yield, equal to about an acre of traditional farming and using 90% less water and 75% less fertilizer. All you need is an electrical outlet to hook up to and a water supply. We had a plethora of tasty, healthy veggies in our last harvest.
“We got started by partnering with the Children’s Aid Society at their central Harlem location,” she explained. “We piloted our grow farm in their backyard playground a little over a year ago. In January, we launched the volunteer-run youth development urban farming program, serving 60 youth from central and east Harlem. Our proprietary Grow, Move and Create program engaged the youth three days a week in healthy activities, such as yoga, hydroponic farming and entrepreneurship.”
The program was successful and involved the community and especially kids, who learned by doing how foods grow and the different ways food can be eaten and enjoyed. Community members participated in planting, harvesting, managing the farm stand and creating recipes for the fresh produce they brought home, not to mention yoga. At the end of the modules, the kids shared a presentation with the parents – a business plan, a recipe book or yoga stretches, depending on their group’s focus.
Heading into 2016, Ofer said there were three pillars she and her team wanted to address with the program: accessibility of fresh, healthy food; sustainability; and the sharing of knowledge and information.
“Most importantly, in order for us to be successful, we needed to address the issue of economic security,” she said. “We believe you can fill lettuce bags all day long, but if people don’t have access to good food, a base sense of financial security and practical knowledge about food and health, it’s going to be useless.”
For the second phase of the Seed Street urban farming initiative, the focus was shifted to economic development as a more effective way of empowering community members and improving food justice, by providing food education and nutrition information.
“Basically, what we’re doing is increasing opportunity for a community to have economic independence and helping them to take ownership of their health and nutrition,” said Ofer. “We want to ensure our model is not just another organization out there that does community gardening. We want it to be one that addresses the inequities and is also functional, taking needs of the community into account and including community stakeholders in the planning, growing and harvesting of foods and ideas.”
Seed Street is currently evaluating technology suppliers and sites for the commercialization of five to six container farms in Harlem. They are strengthening their partnerships and learning, through collaboration, the best ways to partner with other local youth development, food-justice, employment, and health and wellness advocacy programs.
The container farms operate year-round, allowing continuity in education and providing ongoing employment for the operator, unlike an outdoor garden that closes for winter.
“When I started the project, my dream was to build farms in Israel and Palestine, because I could visually see that it would be a beautiful way to bridge two sides and actually grow produce together and work on a shared initiative together,” said Ofer. “My dream continues to evolve, but I clearly envision us creating a model for collaboration and conflict resolution.”
Beit Vancouver is a centre for youth at risk in Kiryat Shmona. (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
The Etzbah HaGalil, or Galilee Panhandle, is the northernmost part of Israel, a “finger” of land extending into Syria and Lebanon, with its southeastern border also touching on Jordan. Militarily and geopolitically vulnerable, Etzbah HaGalil is also far removed from any urban centres, rendering it somewhat cut off from Israel’s economic and cultural heartlands, as well as its government infrastructures. For all of these reasons, young people growing up in Kiryat Shmona, one of the Etzbah’s major towns, face particular challenges.
Add to the above the fact that many immigrants are drawn to the Etzbah by cheaper housing. As in any other country, newcomers to Israel have a particular need for social services and community institutions to help them integrate into society and flourish. Yet those are the very things that have been hard to find in the Etzbah. Enter Beit Vancouver, a centre for youth at risk in Kiryat Shmona.
Originally built by the British Jewish community campaign (United Jewish Israel Appeal) in the early 1980s and held by the Israeli Housing Ministry, the youth centre that would eventually become Beit Vancouver was built near a major public high school in Kiryat Shmona. Inadequate operating support left it deserted for many years and the centre was in need of rescue in 2004 when the Partnership2Gether Coast-to-Coast steering committee identified it as a high-priority project in the region. P2G is a partnership between Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and five other Jewish communities across Canada, and the steering committee includes representatives from the Canadian and Israeli communities in the partnership.
In 2005, three Vancouver-based families (the Diamond, Heller and Libin families) visited the region and donated funds for the renovation and renewal of operations at the centre. Beit Vancouver was scheduled to open July 11, 2006, but that day turned out to be the first day of the Second Lebanon War, which delayed the centre’s opening until September 2006.
The initial operating years of Beit Vancouver were strong, with rapid growth. An infusion of funds from the Israel Emergency Campaign beyond the initial commitments from the core funders helped.
Juvenile delinquency dropped dramatically in the region and, in 2008, the centre was singled out for national recognition for excellence in providing services to youth.
Unfortunately, 2009 saw both a reduction in funding and changes in staff that led to a decline in the centre’s effectiveness. A visit by Vancouver Federation staff in 2009 inspired a strong intervention with the city administration to force attention to the state of the program and building. Three core partners – Vancouver Jewish Federation, Kiryat Shmona and the Rashi Foundation – each committed to a revitalization of Beit Vancouver, with ongoing operating funding at a sufficient level.
At the launch of the Friends of Beit Vancouver recognition wall on a mission led by Anita and Arnold Silber, Arnold Silber addresses the audience. He is joined by, left to right, Nissim Malka, mayor of Kiryat Shmona, and Eran David from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s Israel office. (photo from Federation)
The centre reopened in March 2010 and the level and quality of programming has grown steadily. When a financial crisis in Kiryat Shmona caused the closure of all other community centres in the city, Beit Vancouver stayed open, providing full-scale services to hundreds of youth on a daily basis.
“This centre is really essential for the youth of Kiryat Shmona,” said Ezra Shanken, Vancouver Jewish Federation chief executive officer. “The community is lacking many things we take for granted. There is no movie theatre in Kiryat Shmona. It is incredibly important that the youth there have somewhere to go.”
And, not only that, but the Beit Vancouver building has been used for emergency housing and relief for Israeli children in communities under attack. For example, when under fire from Gaza, children from Sderot were bused to Beit Vancouver.
Federation currently funds three programs at Beit Vancouver: Net@, Merkaz Ma’ase and Youth Futures. Krembo’s Wings is under review to be funded for 2017.
Net@ is an education program that helps high school students achieve high-level computer skills. The program has produced 5,000 graduates and is the only one of its kind in the region that integrates Muslim, Jewish and Christian youth in joint activities.
Merkaz Ma’ase is a leadership program for young adults designed to deliver equal opportunities and social mobility. It engages at-risk youth in a year of volunteer service after they graduate high school and before they begin their army service.
Youth Futures is a community-based intervention that aims to help children in junior high who are notably at risk for failure or withdrawal. Children are referred to Youth Futures by teachers, social workers and others who observe their need for help, shown by poor attendance, failing grades and behavioral problems. The child is paired with a trustee who acts as a bridge between the child, the family, the school and the public system.
Lastly, Krembo’s Wings provides weekly social activities for young people living with any type of motor, cognitive or sensory disability. The program helps these children become part of community life.
Shanken encourages Vancouver Jews to make Beit Vancouver part of their Israel trip. “Having a place that bears our name creates a bridge that can connect our communities,” he said.
Vancouverites can designate donations for Beit Vancouver through the Federation’s annual campaign, which was launched last week. For more information, visit jewishvancouver.com.
Matthew Gindinis a Vancouver freelance writer and journalist. He blogs on spirituality and social justice at seeking her voice (hashkata.com) and has been published in the Forward, Tikkun, Elephant Journal and elsewhere.
Gidi Grinstein (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
When Gidi Grinstein finished his army service in Israel in 1995, he wanted to “make a contribution to the most dramatic issues of our time.” And it wasn’t long before he began making tracks in that quest, about which he will talk at Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual campaign launch on Sept. 22.
Grinstein, now 44, coordinated Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinians, serving as secretary for the Israeli delegation at the Camp David Summit at the tender age of 29, while serving in the office of prime minister Ehud Barak from 1999 to2001. “They called me on Friday afternoon,” Grinstein recalled. “And they said, ‘The first meeting is tomorrow night. If you come, you have the job.’ It took me about three seconds to think about it.”
Grinstein had a close-up view of the strengths and weaknesses of the inner workings of the government. After the conclusion of the negotiations, he received a Wexner fellowship and spent a year at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, thinking about how to move Israel forward through the many challenges that it faces. As he told Israel21c, “There is a systemic problem deriving from the gap between the complexity of the emerging challenges facing the country and the weakness of the tools of governance to meet those challenges.”
Grinstein concluded that tackling this problem “would have to come from the outside” and, after his year at Harvard, he set out to create a nongovernmental body to address Israel’s most pressing problems.
“Governments in general are weak when it comes to innovation,” Grinstein told the Independent, “so NGOs experiment and explore, try new methods; when there is rightness, the government takes them on.”
Grinstein said Reut (meaning “clear vision”), the organization he founded with two others, aims “to help communities drive their own long-term development and create a vision for the next 10 years.”
Reut does this by mobilizing economic potential, key institutions, the municipal and central government and entrepreneurs. “Reut is a platform for social innovation that aims at what I call ‘inclusive prosperity,’” said Grinstein, “prosperity that includes Jews and Arabs, the wealthy and the poor, everyone. Only inclusive prosperity will bring Israel forward into its future as what it is meant to be.”
Grinstein said Reut exists “to create integrative models to tackle big problems, problems with no market or government solutions, problems where solutions don’t exist or cannot be afforded.”
He pointed out that “the state of Israel does not have a specific unit of people dedicated to long-term well-being of its people, as if that will just take care of itself!”
Grinstein said, in Israel’s early years, it led the world in societal innovation but, in recent decades, it has focused on technological innovation without a corresponding degree of societal innovation, leading to an imbalance. He told Haaretz last year that technological innovation benefits far fewer people than societal innovation. “It creates social gaps,” he said, adding that “Israel has gone from being one of the most egalitarian countries in the world to one of the least.”
Grinstein laid out his vision for Israel in his 2015 book Flexigidity: The Secret of Jewish Adaptability and the Challenge and Opportunity Facing Israel. He views Israel’s role as both a light unto the nations and a key agent of the historical vision and special role of the Jewish people, with concerns that need to transcend a narrow focus on economic and security concerns, as important as those issues are.
Reut’s projects include Firewall Israel, a web platform designed to support every Jewish and pro-Israel community in the world in their local fight against boycott, divestment and sanction challenges; TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers), which addresses neglected societal problems faced by people with disabilities, the elderly and underprivileged, by creating affordable options for them; and the Leapfrog Centre, which offers consulting and training to municipalities, based on knowledge developed through Reut’s efforts in the city of Tzfat (since 2011) and in the Western Galilee (since 2010).
Grinstein will be joined at the Sept. 22 campaign launch, FEDtalks, by Randi Zuckerberg, author, radio host and founder of Zuckerberg Media; Alison Lebovitz, One Clip at a Time co-founder; and journalist Terry Glavin. For tickets and more information, visit jewishvancouver.com/fedtalks2016.
Matthew Gindinis a Vancouver freelance writer and journalist. He blogs on spirituality and social justice at seeking her voice (hashkata.com) and has been published in the Forward, Tikkun, Elephant Journal and elsewhere.
