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CAMPAIGN CHAIRS & DIRECTORS MISSION 2010/2011 Journal CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 2

Dear Friends,

Our mission to Hungary and Israel will be a rewarding experience that will enrich our understanding of both the support our campaigns provides and the needs of Jewish communities abroad. In Budapest, we will explore the contrast between past and present Jewish life in Hungary. We will mourn the past in Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park, but, more importantly, we will witness positive signs for the future of the Hungarian Jewish community as we visit Svarvas summer camp and meet with inspiring young leaders.

In Israel we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of a momentous accomplish- ment, Operation Exodus, and explore how we can continue to help Israel effectively in the future. We will learn about the most pressing issues facing Israel today, including the unique challenges the Ethiopian immigrant community faces. Visits to our partners’ programs will deepen our understanding of the issues and of the impact of our work, and make us more knowledgeable and more inspired Federation leaders.

This journal contains helpful background information on the places we will visit. Because we will see and learn so much in the coming week, it also provides room for you to record your reflections and take notes we know you’ll find useful when you return home.

Thank you so much for joining us on this mission, for serving as a leader in your community, and for being so dedicated to tzedakah and tikkun olam.

B’shalom,

Stuart Kurlander, Washington, DC Marla Weiss Egers, South Palm Beach Mission Chairs

Michael Lebovitz, National Campaign Chair Linda Adler Hurwitz, National Women’s Philanthropy Chair CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE

ITINERARY 4 JOURNAL PAGES AND WORKSHEETS 6 FAST FACTS 54 THE JEWS OF HUNGARY: A BRIEF HISTORY 56 OUR PARTNERS AT WORK IN HUNGARY JDC 58 JEWISH AGENCY 61 ORT 63

JEWISH AGENCY SITE VISITS 64

JDC SITE VISITS 77

MISSION CHAIR BIOS 104 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 4

ITINERARY

THURSDAY, JULY 8

Opening lunch in Gundel’s Queen Elizabeth Hall

Depart for tour of Jewish Quarter

Brieﬁng by our scholar in residence, Jeremy Leigh, at the Dohanyi Street Synagogue.

Visit the Carl Schurz Memorial

Visit Balint House, the Jewish community center of Budapest to see JDC programs at work

Dinner cruise on the Danube

OVERNIGHT: InterContinental Hotel, Budapest

FRIDAY, JULY 9 SATURDAY, JULY 10

Breakfast Breakfast

Visit Raoul Wallenberg Square. Optional Shabbat services

Yizkor Service at the Shoes Memorial on Walking tour of the Castle District and lunch the Danube Promenade. at the Hilton’s outdoor patio.

Travel to the Szarvas Family Camp. Discussion with Jerry Silverman; breakout sessions. Activities and lunch with campers and counselors Return to hotel to relax

Return to Budapest JAFI brieﬁng: Misha Galperin and Eran El Bar

Kabbalat Shabbat Holocaust survivors/teen program

Shabbat Dinner with young Hungarian Jews, Café Dilemma: Dialogue with Hungary’s including Szarvas counselors and Birthright young Jewish community. Israel alumni. Dinner at the Ethnographic Museum. OVERNIGHT: InterContinental Hotel, Budapest Havdallah service and local entertainment

OVERNIGHT: InterContinental Hotel, Budapest

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SUNDAY, JULY 11 MONDAY, JULY 12

Breakfast and hotel check out Breakfast

Flight to Israel Morning training session

Panel discussion at Tel Aviv University: Site visits to partners’ programs. Meet with critical issues facing Israel today. representatives of the populations being served, followed by debrieﬁngs. Dinner at Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Diaspora, with Operation Exodus Anniversary Dinner showcasing the work of the IDF in part- celebration; with Natan Sharansky, chair of the nership with JAFI, JDC, ENP, and Federations at executive of JAFI and other notable olim. a paratroopers base. Welcome by Col. Aharon Chaliva. Sing-along led by the IDF singing OVERNIGHT: David InterContinental, troupe. Tel Aviv OVERNIGHT: David InterContinental, Tel Aviv

TUESDAY, JULY 13 WEDNESDAY, JULY 14

Breakfast and panel discussion, “Our Part- Breakfast and training session: Create ners at Work,” with Alan Hoffman, Director Gen- Your Own Story eral, JAFI; and Alan Gill, Executive Director, International Relations, JDC. Depart for Kiryat Ono Academic College.

Campaign training session Small-group discussions on Jewish values— a look at how the work we do connects to our Site visits personal and communal values.

All buses meet at Ben Shemen Youth Free afternoon in Tel Aviv. Aliya Village for lunch and panel discussion on Israel Advocacy with Mark Regev and Miri Eisen Farewell dinner

ENP home hospitality visits Depart for the airport

Visit President’s private residence with welcome remarks by President Peres

Free time in Jerusalem

Return to Tel Aviv

OVERNIGHT: David InterContinental, Tel Aviv

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7.8 DAY 1 Budapest

In dreams sometimes the landscape still rises before you, the home of your poetry, where the scent of freedom wafts over the meadows, and in the morning when you wake, you carry the scent with you. —from “Monday Evening” by Miklós Radnóti

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One of Hungary’s foremost 20th- century poets, Radnóti was born in Budapest in 1909. He was deported to a labor camp in 1944, shot during a forced march, and buried in a mass grave. When the grave was exhumed 18 months later, his last poems, describing the march, were found in his trench coat pocket by his wife.

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7.8 DAY 1 Budapest

8 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 9 DAY 1 BUDAPEST DAY

The Dohanyi Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world (after Temple Emanu-El in New York City), with 2,964 seats. It was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moor- ish Revival style, based chiefly on buildings from North Africa and Spain like the Alhambra.

Theodor Herzl, father of modern Zionism, was born in Budapest in 1860 in the house next door to the Dohanyi Street Synagogue. The Jewish Museum was constructed on the site of the Herzl family’s home.

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7.8 DAY 1 Budapest If only once again I heard the quiet hum Of bees on the verandah, the jar of orchard plums Cooling with late summer, the gardens half asleep, Voluptuous fruit lolling on branches dipping deep, And she before the hedgerow stood with sunbleached hair, The lazy morning scrawling vague shadows on the air... Why not? The moon is full, her circle is complete. Don't leave me, friend, shout out, and see! I'm on my feet!

—from “Forced March” by Miklós Radnóti

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OPENING EXERCISE DAY 1 BUDAPEST 1 DAY

1. Personal Goal:

2. Professional Goal:

3. Three things I hope to take away from the mission:

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7.9 DAY 2 Szarvas There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world even though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind. —Hannah Senesh

12 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 13 DAY 2 SZARVAS DAY

Szarvas camp, a joint initiative of the JDC and the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, was opened in 1990 and became a flagship project for Jewish education and youth outreach. Approximately 2,000 young Jews, half from Hungary and half mainly from Eastern Europe, attend each summer.

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7.9 DAY 2 Szarvas

14 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 15 DAY 2 SZARVAS DAY

The Shoes on the Danube memorial honors the Jews who fell victim to fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during the last years of World War II. It de- picts the shoes they left behind on the river bank when they fell into the Danube after having been shot.

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7.9 DAY 2 Szarvas MEMORIAL SERVICE

El Malei Rachamim

El malei rachamim shokhen ba-m'romim ha-m'tzei m'nuchah n'khonah tachat kanfei ha-sh'khinah b'ma'alot k'doshim u't'horim c'zohar ha-rakiah maz'hirim l'nishmot yakireinu u'k'dosheinu she-hal'khu l'olamam. Ana ba'al ha-rachamim ha-s'tirem b'tzel k'nafekha l'olamim u-tz'ror bitz'ror ha-chayim et nishmatam. Adonai hu nachalatam v'yanuchu b'shalom al mish'kabam v'nomar amen.

God filled with mercy, dwelling in the heavens' heights, bring proper rest beneath the wings of your Shehinah, amid the ranks of the holy and the pure, illuminating like the brilliance of the skies the souls of our beloved and our blameless who went to their eternal place of rest. May you who are the source of mercy shelter them beneath your wings eternally, and bind their souls among the living, that they may rest in peace. And let us say: Amen

16 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 16/30/102:54PMPage17 the prayer ofman. the crash oftheheavens, the rushofwaters, The sandandthesea, things shallnever end. O Lord, myGod,Ipray thatthese t'filat ha-adam B'rak hashamyim rishrush shel hamayim, Hachol v'hayam Shelo yigameirl'olam, Eili Eili —Hannah Senesh

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7.9 DAY 2 Szarvas Kaddish

Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei raba d'kud'sha, b'rich hu, b'alma di-v'ra l'eila min-kol-birchata v'shirata, chirutei, v'yamlich malchutei b'chaye- tushb'chata ichon v'nechemata da'amiran b'alma, uvyomeichon uvchayei d'chol beit yis- v'im'ru: "amen." rael, ba'agala Y'hei shlama raba min-sh'maya uvizman kariv, v'im'ru: "amen." v'chayim aleinu Y'hei sh'mei raba m'varach l'alam v'al-kol-yisrael, v'im'ru: "amen." ul'almei almaya. Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh Yitbarach v'yishtabach, v'yitpa'ar v'y- shalom aleinu itromam v'al kol-yisrael, v'imru: "amen." v'yitnaseh, v'yithadar v'yit'aleh v'y- it'halal sh'mei

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7.9 DAY 2 Szarvas

Their fiddles they have beat into plowshares, their harps into sickles, and from the parchment scrolls of the prophets they made themselves shoes. —Zvi Yair (Rabbi Zvi Meir Steinmetz)

SZARVAS CAMP VISIT PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS

We hope you had an exhilarating and memorable visit to Szarvas. To help you capture those memories, here are a few questions to guide you in synthesizing your feelings and experiences and planning future actions.

1. Who at Szarvas impressed you the most?

What about them impressed you?

2. What did you find inspiring and why?

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3. Compared to North American summer camp experiences (yours, your kids’ or others) 2 SZARVAS DAY what did you find similar?

What did you find unique?

4. How does Szarvas Camp demonstrate the power of the collective community?

5. What messages will you take home related to this visit?

6. With whom (groups or individuals) in particular will you want to speak about Szarvas?

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7.10 DAY 3 Shabbat Light a candle! Drink wine! Slowly the Sabbath descends and in her hand the flower, and in her hand the sinking sun. — Zelda

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Before World War II, nearly 200,000 Jews lived in Budapest, and the city had 125 synagogues. Today, there are just 25. The first Jewish house of wor- ship in Hungary might have been the Medieval Synagogue (Kozép- kori Zsidó Imaház), a two-room Sephardic synagogue from 1364 that was discovered in the 1960s during general excavation work in the Castle District.

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7.10 DAY 3 Shabbat We have welcomed the Shabbat with song and prayer, Let us return home our hearts full of joy. There, the table is set, the lights are lit, Every corner of the house is shining with a divine spark. A good and blessed Shabbat. A good and blessed Shabbat. Come in peace, O Angels of Peace. —Haim Nachman Bialik

24 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 25 DAY 3 SHABBAT DAY

Shabbat brings every creature back to its roots which is the will of God. (Sefat Emet, aka Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter)

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7.11 DAY 4 Israel It is true that we aspire to our ancient land. But what we want in that ancient land is a new blossoming of the Jewish spirit. —Theodor Herzl

26 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 27 DAY 4 ISRAEL DAY

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7.11 DAY 4 Israel

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One in five Israelis traces their roots to Operation Exodus. In one year alone, more than 180,000 Jews left the Soviet Union, most of them bound for Israel.

The Federation movement’s Operation Exodus Campaign raised a total of $1.1 billion dollars to rescue and resettle Soviet Jewry.

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7.11 DAY 4 Israel "In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles." — David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister.

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7.12 DAY 5 North & South

“I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively.” —Golda Meir

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The Dohanyi Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in the Eu- rope and the second largest in the world (after Temple Emanu- El in New York City), with 2,964 seats. It was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival style, based chiefly on buildings from North Africa and Spain like the Alhambra.

Theodor Herzl, father of modern Zionism, was born in Budapest in 1860 in the house next door to the Dohanyi Street Synagogue. The Jewish Museum was constructed on the site of the Herzl family’s home.

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7.12 DAY 5 North & South

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7.12 DAY 5 North & South

Perhaps only migrating birds know - suspended between earth and sky— the heartache of two homelands.

With you I was transplanted twice, with you, pine trees, I grew— roots in two disparate landscapes.

—Leah Goldberg

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7.13 DAY 6 to Jerusalem Does the pleasure of a red sunset come from the mortal element in me? And the pleasure of earth’s perfumes, and the moment when the sea bursts into spray, and the moment of return to the stern gaze of Jerusalem’s sky, to the Supreme One – is all this from the mortal element? —Zelda

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7.13 DAY 6 to Jerusalem

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7.13 DAY 6 to Jerusalem

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7.14 DAY 7 Values into Action

There's a tinkling in the pasture and a whistling And the field lies in gold till evening. A hush of green wells, My wide open spaces and a road.

The trees risen from the dew Gleam like glass and metal. I shall never stop looking, I shall never stop breathing And I shall die and will keep going.

—Nathan Alterman

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7.14 DAY 7 Values into Action

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7.14 DAY 7 Values into Action

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CREATING YOUR OWN STORY

The facts are important, but nothing is as important as the story of one. It is much more effective to tell about Anna, for example, who after participating in both Birthright and MASA made aliyah and is now serving as a lone soldier and finding her way into Israeli society, than to talk about nameless, faceless people.

THE EXPERIENCE Find an experience that resonates with you

• The experience can relate to anything that is meaningful to you. It need not be limited to your own experience but can be in response to person you met or a story they shared with you. So long as it is real and meaningful to you, you will have the passion to make it compelling to others.

Weave it into all aspects of the case

• For example, your story may include your own summer camp experience, your child’s summer camp experience and a summer camp you visited overseas. Whatever element you choose, carry it throughout the entire presenta- tion.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Use examples that will bring your story to life and make it real for your audience.

EXAMPLES:

Youth-at-Risk – Children and young adults who might otherwise fall through the cracks, whether they live in Israel, Budapest or your home community.

Ethiopian Jews – Fulfilling the promise. We have not finished the job.

Hunger and the Elderly – Largest domestic need in the U.S. is the elderly.

Jewish Education – For the young and the old, from day schools to synagogues.

Caring for the Vulnerable – domestic violence, people with special needs, vocational counseling, and Jewish family services.

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THE SENSES AFFECTED

• Use the five senses when telling your stories. Share what the pre-school program looked like, how the rooms were decorated, what the children’s faces looked like, how the songs sounded and how the clay smelled.

• Share details, colors, and adjectives

THE FEELINGS EVOKED

• Describe how the experience affected you. What feelings did it evoke? Memo- ries? Parallels in your own life?

• Convey the drama – show how you feel, and use your emotions.

• Add a fact or two to support your story.

• And most importantly, connect how these feelings translate into the work of the campaign.

DON’T FORGET TO MAKE THE ASK

• Now it is time to make the call to action – solicit the gift, recruit for a mission…

• Let the ask flow from the drama of the moment. Let the themes of the stories lead you to the ask, rather than the other way around. CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:54 PM Page 52

CREATING YOUR OWN STORY

EXAMPLES:

• “I would like to ask you to join me in feeling a sense of happiness and fulfillment by increasing your gift by X percent”

• “We all have a choice. Today you can exercise your choice by increasing your gift by X dollars”

• “And now, I would like you to write yourself into history by making a gift of X dollars to the Annual Campaign.

• “Jewish education is important for every child. These are all our children, and an increase of X percent would mean we could provide X more scholarships.”

• On behalf of all the single mothers in Budapest and those we support right here in our community, I’d like you to join me in becoming a Lion of Judah.

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CREATE YOUR OWN STORY WORKSHEET

1. The Experience: CREATE YOUR OWN STORY OWN YOUR CREATE

2. Brief Background Info:

3. The Senses Affected:

4. The Feelings Evoked:

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FAST FACTS

COUNTRY’S FULL NAME: The Republic of Hungary

CAPITAL: Budapest

POPULATION: 10 million

GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary Republic

PRIME MINISTER: Viktor Orban

PRESIDENT: Laszlo Solyom

CURRENCY: Forint

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Hungarian

ETHNIC GROUPS: 95% Magyar, 2% Roma, 3% other minority groups

BORDERED BY: Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia

CLIMATE: Continental limate – hot summers, cold and snowy winters

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INTERESTING FACTS:

Hungary is one of the oldest countries in Europe, founded in the year 396.

The Hungarian language, also known as Magyar, is the direct descendent of the language spoken by the Huns, who gave the country its name.

Hungary has won the sixth highest number of Summer Olympic gold medals.

The noiseless match, Rubik's cube, holography, ballpoint pen, theory of the hydrogen bomb, BASIC programming language and the krypton electric bulb were invented by Hungarians.

There are more than 1,500 spas in the country, adorned with Roman, Greek and Turkish archi- tecture.

Hungary was the birthplace of many famous composes, including Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and Franz Liszt,

Of every 100 visitors to Hungary, between 75 and 80 visit Budapest.

A Naïve Painting A world is created in the shape Of a backyard in the South of Tel Aviv A tired eucalyptus represents the third day, a hungry cat, the ﬁfth. —Meir Wieseltier CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:55 PM Page 56

JEWISH LIFE IN HUNGARY

Jews have lived in Hungary since at least the 11th century and probably since the Roman empire. They settled in the towns of Buda, Old Buda (Obuda), and Pest, which eventually united to form the city of Budapest. The Jewish community has experienced much upheaval: They were expelled and then later welcomed back; periods of toleration alternated with periods of repression.

The first synagoge was established in Buda in 1307. Records reveal that Jews lived in Pest throughout the 16th century. By 1783, Jews were welcome in the city and began to establish a stable Jewish community, with schools and synagogues.

The Jewish community in Hungary thrived in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The main religious stream was the Neologic stream, a practice of Judaism similar to the reform and conservative movements of North America. A separate Orthodox community was later established, with yeshivot and rabbinical seminaries soon founded. A Jewish hospital and other welfare institutions were opened in 1841 and an Orthodox Jewish hospital was built in 1920. During this period many institutions were founded including the Hungarian Jewish Crafts and Agricultural Union, Pest Jewish Women's club, two orphanages, and an institute for the blind.

In the early 20th century, the Jewish community represented 5 percent of Hungary's population and 23 percent of the population of Budapest. Jews were prominent in science, art and business.

By 1930, there were 725,000 Jews living in Hungary, 204,371 of them in Budapest, which had 125 synagogues. Although restrictions on Jewish life were introduced in 1938 and thousands of Hungarian Jews were killed in labor camps and deportations before the German occupation, Budapest’s Jews were relatively protected until 1944, when Hitler invaded. Then, The Nazis rapidly began to round up, deport, and extermi- nate the Hungarian Jewish population. Raoul Wallenberg and other foreign diplomats helped saved tens of thounsands by organizing safe houses and false papers. How- ever, 565,000 of the country's Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, most of them in Auschwitz.

After the war, the remnants of the Jewish community of Budapest were able to organize themselves in order to pick up the pieces. With support from JDC, they established hostels and public kitchens. The various relief and welfare organizations were unified to form the National Jewish Aid Committee. The National Committee for the Care of Deportees was in charge of aiding the return of deportees and recording their personal accounts.

The surviving Jews regained their legal rights under the terms of the Armistice Agreement of January 20, 1945. Between 80,000 and 90,000 Jews stayed in Budapest

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after the war. By 1967, about 70,000 Jews lived in Budapest.

Today, Budapest’s Jewish population numbers about 80,000 people, with 80 percent identifying as Neolog (Reform and Conservative) and the rest Orthodox. There are 26 active synagogues in Budapest including the largest synagogue in Europe, located on Dohanyi Street. Three new Jewish schools, of varying religious outlooks that have been established, along with two small yeshivot. The Rabbinical Seminary of Bu- dapest (under the auspices of the Neolog community) has been expanded into a Jewish university, training teachers and social workers. Four youth movements are active in Hun- gary: Hashomer Hatza'ir, Habanim Dror, Hano'ar Hazioni and Bnei Akiva.

The Jewish community maintains a Jewish hospital, which has Jewish doctors and serves kosher food. There are kosher restaurants, slaughtering houses, and matzo factories; both meat and matzo are exported to other communities. Social services are provided and a summer camp is operated by JDC and the Lauder Foundation. Several hundred Israeli students study at Hungarian universities. Budapest’s Jewish community also has a bi-weekly publi- cation, Ul Elet, and hosts a Jewish summer cultural festival.

On April 16, 2005 Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany inaugurated a new memorial to Holocaust victims in Budapest. Sculptor Gyula Pauer’s work consists of 60 pairs of shoes cast in iron, a reference to the shoes of The Collection some of the thousands of victims who fell into I bring everything I ﬁnd. the Danube when they were shot on its banks Not everything that glitters is gold. by the Arrow Cross, a pro-Nazi Hungarian party, But I pick up in 1944-45. everything that glitters —Avoth Yeshurun CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:55 PM Page 58

OUR PARTNERS AT WORK IN HUNGARY

AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

The entry of Hungary into the European Union in 2004, coupled with the more recent global financial crisis, has sharply increased the cost of food and other basic needs. This has intensified the hardship of poor Jewish elderly who were already struggling to make ends meet on meager pensions. JDC’s response to this reality includes:

• In partnership with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Ger- many and other restitution sources, JDC, working through the Hungarian Jewish Social Support Foundation (HJSSF), provides welfare services such as food, home care, and medical assistance for some 5,300 of the country’s neediest Holocaust survivors. • In 2009, HJSSF provided more than 3,500 elderly with medical care and subsidies for medications and medical equipment; over 2,200 clients benefited from winter relief assistance; more than 1,300 needy Jews got food support; and 115 needy elderly received monthly cash assistance. Additionally, JDC continues to sponsor home care and medical visits by nurses for thousands of needy elderly Jews. • Some 150 volunteers regularly visit infirm elderly in their homes, in Bu- dapest’s Jewish old age home, and in the Jewish Charity Hospital. The volunteers help the pensioners get some fresh air and provide much needed companionship. Some also participate in a related program that operates a telephone “help line” for elderly who require information or simply a com- passionate ear. During its annual Mitzvah Days, JDC sponsors a day of recreation for these volunteers, thereby helping instill the Jewish values of hesed (loving kindness) and veneration of elders in the community.

Nurturing Young Children As the global financial crisis elevated prices in Hungary and increased unemployment, many families were thrust into near poverty, and the distress of those who were already poor has intensified. Inevitably, increasing numbers of parents have been struggling to ensure their children’s welfare. • The region’s first Jewish Family Services (JFS) was established in Hungary through a grant from the Bernard Jaffe Trust. Inaugurated in November 2008, Jaffe JFS provides coordinated and comprehensive social support and referrals for 900 children in need from some 500 families in Budapest and the provinces (an increase of 700 children since 2007). Individual case management and emergency support, along with other services, are helping parents cope with crisis, and ensuring that children’s physical, emotional and developmental needs are addressed.

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Boosting Identiﬁcation with Jewish Life While an estimated 120,000 Jews live in Hun- gary, only some 15 percent of the population participates in some form of Jewish community programming. To expand this percentage and strengthen Jewish identification, JDC has launched numerous programs that are attracting thousands of Jews of all ages. These programs offer affiliated and unaffiliated Jews the opportunity to connect to their Jewish heritage and to their fellow Jews. • The JDC-supported Balint JCC in Budapest—the sole JCC in all of Hungary—offers educational, cultural, recreational, and Jewish content programs for community members of all ages, from toddlers to the elderly. • JDC provides professional guidance and technical support to Jewish schools and kindergartens in Bu- dapest, which collectively reach more than 1,000 children. • The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/JDC International Summer Camp at Szarvas opens the minds of campers from Jew- ish communities worldwide to the rich- ness of their heritage. The Szarvas campgrounds also host a range of community-building programs, including an annual Israeli folk dance seminar, training seminars for youth leaders, retreats for young Jewish families, a seminar for Jewish teachers, and programs for children and adults with disabilities. • The Szarvas Empowerment Initiative – an intensive series of training seminars – is currently equipping and inspiring 30 committed young adults to hold engaging Jewish renewal programs in their own communities, both inside and outside Hungary. • JDC supports student and youth organizations such as HaShomer Hatzair, I have no part in the inﬁnite Bnei Akiva, and Hanoar, which together of light years and dark years but the darkness is mine offer activities for approximately 2,000 and the light is mine and time is mine young people, and it helps arrange —Yehuda Amichai events geared to promoting inter-organizational cooperation and exchange. • JDC is now collaborating with the Hun- CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:55 PM Page 60

garian Hillel Foundation to run the Bereshit-Melton Academic Jewish Studies Program. The program’s pluralistic approach to the study of Jewish texts, philosophy, and history resonates with many young adults in the Hungarian Jewish community. • The JDC-supported annual Hungarian Limmud Conference attracts about 160 participants—many of whom are not involved in Jewish community programming—for an enriching weekend of Jewish learning and culture in an informal atmosphere. • Held three times a year, JDC’s daylong JUDAFEST outdoor festival—a OUR PARTNERS “JCC Without Walls“ Initiative—brings Judaism to the streets of Bu- dapest in an effort to make Jewish life more accessible to the city’s siz- able Jewish population. In recent years, JUDAFEST’s colorful and novel events have collectively attracted more than 5,000 people of all ages and affiliations. • The JDC Outreach Network Initiative provides professional consultation, training, and mentoring to Jewish grassroots organizations—among them the Marom Conservative Jewish Students Organization, Maccabi Hungary, and Hillel Hungary—and programs that each month are reaching approximately 4,000 of Budapest’s many unaffiliated Jews. • Launched with the support of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Founda- tion, the “Danube Weinberg Initiative” is a creative Jewish framework that seeks to empower young people to participate and experience their Jewish identity in a regional context. The program helps students, young adults, and active Jewish leaders to develop and realize their potential through a wide-ranging exposure to a diversity of Jewish life and professional training. The program strengthens connections among different communities, including Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, and Germany, and provides unaffiliated Jews with an opportunity to connect to Jewish life.

International Development Program (IDP) The rising incidence of breast cancer in Central and Eastern Europe, and the distress of children from an impoverished and nomadic community in Hungary, are the focus of JDC’s tikkun olam efforts in Hungary. • In partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, JDC’s Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) arranges health and breast cancer awareness days in Hungary, and brings screening programs (using a mobile mammogram unit) to remote rural locations where there is little access to public health services. The newly published guide on Breast Self Examination (BSE) and small group discussions on the topic educate and encourage women of all backgrounds and socioeconomic levels to further their own health through BSE. • WHEP and Komen, along with the Open Society Institute, place particular emphasis on reaching Hungarian ethnic groups that are poor and socially marginalized. The “Equal Chance against Breast Cancer” program targets these groups, though not exclusively, thereby increasing the number of women attending official breast cancer screenings, raising

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awareness among women of all age groups, and providing information on early detection and other healthful habits. • Also in collaboration with Komen, WHEP promotes healthful lifestyles and disease prevention, encourages early detection of developmental delays in children, and provides information about public health care services available in the community. • JDC helps support the operation of the after school center in the Dzsum- buj, a neighborhood in Budapest that is home to a socially excluded and financially deprived community. The center provides educational mentor- OUR PARTNERS ing, social support, and hot meals to children, as well as camping experiences for their families.

JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

1. Strengthening Jewish Identity and Connection to Israel Sixty-five years after the Holocaust and in the midst of rising anti-Semitism and spiraling intermarriage rates, Jewish life in Hungary is miraculously beginning to flourish, especially among the younger generation. In a groundbreaking move, the Jewish Agency has brought together Jewish Hungarian and Israeli businesspeople as well as Jewish philanthropists to create Europe's first Israeli Cultural Institute (ICI) in Budapest. The newly established ICI (to be officially launched in the fall of 2010) aims to: • Increase Israel-centered activities as a means to strengthen Jewish identity among the next generation. • Connect Israelis and Hungarians by organizing and promoting cultural, educational and academic programs. • Create a venue for pre and post Israel experience activities. • Develop a strong Jewish community involved in ongoing programs, clubs, workshops and cultural activities. • Support creative initiatives with local partners. • Provide quality services including a bookstore, information center and cafe. • Create a transparent and sustainable institute to serve Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.

The Institute's unique programs include: • Pre-Taglit/Birthright Israel Activities – prepare young people, 18-30, for participation in a transformative 10-day educational peer trip to Israel. Some 1,400 young people from Central and Eastern Europe have experienced a Birthright Israel trip. • MASA – highly subsidized long-term Israel programs that enhance and deepen the connection of young adults to Israel and to the Jewish people. Since MASA began, over 120 MASA graduates have returned to Hun- gary, inspired to serve as Jewish community leaders and Israel advocates in their home communities. • Tikkun-Olam – an educational and social justice program for Taglit Birthright Israel and/or Masa graduates that involves these young leaders in vital community volunteer work in Hungary's Jewish community

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and in Israel, and serves as a springboard for their future involvement in Jewish life. • Intergenerational Program - an incredible cross-generational program that brings together Holocaust survivors and Birthright Israel graduates in Hungary for workshops as well as a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Israel. • CEE Seminars – Seminars that bring together Birthright Israel graduates and Jewish students from Central and Eastern Europe. Held every three months, they include Jewish identity workshops, Shabbat weekends, Is- raeli guest lecturers and activities focusing on Israel and Jewish-based OUR PARTNERS themes. • Ulpan – Hebrew classes that incorporate language, Israeli culture and Jewish heritage learning. There are some 250 students currently learning Hebrew. • Cultural events – following ICI's official launch in the fall, a broad range of Israeli cultural events, from theater to art exhibitions to master classes and movie screenings, will be open to the public.

Key activities to date: • Open Week – for one week in February 2010, the ICI ran an extraordinary range of Israeli cultural programs including music, literature, theatre, children's activities, photography exhibitions and an exhibition introducing the new image and design of ICI. • Chanukah and Purim community-wide activities • Independence Day Celebrations for students • Website that provides information on Jewish and Israeli cultural activities.

2. Aliyah Encouragement

The Jewish Agency aliyah shaliach (emissary) for Hungary and the local aliyah staff connect Hungarian Jewry to Israel. They are an important resource in the community, providing pertinent information on aliyah issues, streamlining the aliyah process, absorption programs and aliyah rights. Aliyah activities, part of the Israel Cultural Institute (ICI), target graduates of Israel programs such as MASA and Birthright Israel.

Aliyah representatives work intensively on an individual basis with single people as well as families who decide to make aliyah. Their activities include: • Explaining and promoting the broad range of tailored absorption programs • A special pre-aliyah Hebrew language ulpan • Assisting new immigrants in aliyah preparation • Building ongoing connections with the Hungarian community in Israel to assist new immigrants make Israel their home.

With the recent change in the political climate in Hungary, there has been an increase in aliyah inquiries. In 2009, 90 Hungarian Jews made aliyah - a 90 percent increase from 2008.

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WORLD ORT

ORT launched a Computer Center at the Bálint Jewish Community Center in Budapest, in full cooperation with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The centre offers a range of ICT activities, community development programs and Jewish education programs. Some 200 people use the center’s state-of-the-art equipment for training and studying while a further 2,000 local people participate in other activities there. OUR PARTNERS

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SITE VISITS

PROGRAM NAME: ISRAEL CULTURAL INSTITUTE IN BUDAPEST ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Youth and students aged 12-35 years

Number of People Helped: Over 10,000 young Jewish people and the general public

The Challenge: There has been a major revival of Jewish life in Hungary since the fall of Com- munism in 1989. Approximately 100,000 Jews live in Hungary, the largest number in East-Cen- tral Europe. Ninety percent of the Jewish population lives in Budapest, although only about one in ten is active in the Jewish organizations. As most young Jews in the region have little or no Jewish identity, assimilation is now the major threat to Jewish survival.

The Response: In a groundbreaking move, the Jewish Agency has brought together Jewish Hungarian and Israeli businesspeople as well as Jewish philanthropists to create Europe's first Israeli Cultural Institute (ICI) in Budapest. The ICI heralds a new era of vibrant Jewish cultural activity in Eastern and Central Europe. It brings together educational activities, identity projects, cultural programs and Israel-centered learning to create an exciting environment for connection to Jewish identity and Israel.

Before the Institute's opening, the ICI ran an extraordinary range of Israeli cultural programs that was received with enthusiasm by the Jewish community. It included music, literature, theatre, children's activities, photography exhibitions and an exhibition introducing the new image and design of ICI. As of September 2010, all of the Jew- ish Agency's diverse educational and cultural activities will be located at the Institute.

Partner Organizations: The L.A Pincus Fund for Jewish Education in the Diaspora; Teva Phar- maceutical Industries Ltd.

Unmet Need: $150,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $500,000

PROGRAM NAME: ABSORPTION CENTERS ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: New Immigrants from various countries including Ethiopia, Latin America, United States, England, France, the former Soviet Union and South Africa.

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Number of People Helped: 7,500 living in absorption centers as of May 2010, including 5,500 Ethiopian immigrants, with over 3 million helped since the establishment of the State of Israel

The Challenge: For thousands of Jews living around the world, moving to Israel is the dream of a lifetime. But building a life in their ancestral homeland presents several real and critical challenges. Immigrants must learn a new language, integrate into a new cultural surrounding, and secure profitable employment. Without proper care and assistance, these immigrants are at-risk of falling through the cracks, of losing their footing as they take their place in Israeli society.

The Response: To respond to immigrants’ needs, we are focusing our efforts on lev- eling the playing field for all immigrants and giving them the skills and provisions necessary. By offering them living accommodations in Jewish Agency Absorption Centers throughout the country, we are providing a safe and comfortable first home upon arrival in Israel. The centers are customized to meet the varying needs of different immigrant populations. For young student newcomers, absorption facilities focus on scholastic acclimation; for Ethiopian immigrants the Absorption Centers are designed to provide professional training and cultural resources; immigrants arriving with professional and academic degrees can reside in absorption facilities that help them retrain and gain Israeli certification in their fields. In all Absorption Centers, the immigrants paricipate in Hebrew language ulpanim, cultural programs, and enrichment activities.

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Partner Organizations: Ministry of Absorption

Unmet Need: $1,000,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $31,254,000

SITE VISITS SITE Supplemental Giving Opportunities: Foundations/Yesodot including the following component parts: • Preparation for First Grade, Matzupim–(Excellence and bridging gaps),Summer Camps, Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program, Playroom & Game- room Equipment, Afternoon Clubs Sports Programs (Tennis, Soccer, Karate, Basketball); Back to school equipment, and “My first Library” • Foundations/Yesodot Parental Empowerment • Violence Prevention Program • Vocational courses • Spousal Relations Guidance • Passover Seder

PROGRAM NAME: AT HOME TOGETHER (BABAYIT BEYACHAD): NETWORK FOR COMMUNITY ABSORPTION ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: New immigrant families and singles students and lone soldiers from 20 countries around the world including the FSU, Ethiopia, Latin America, Europe and North America.

Number of People Helped: Nearly 4,000 immigrants

The Challenge: Successful absorption is a primary factor in helping new immigrants as they adjust to life in their new homeland. Finding a way to ease hardships, smooth absorption, and facilitate successful integration, is a great challenge.

The Response: The new format of assistance from volunteer absorption/employment mentors in the absorption process began only last year and has proven to be a huge success. At Home Together volunteers offer targeted assistance to help immigrants from all countries of origin in all aspects of absorption: employment, housing, education and social integration. From Hebrew tutoring to looking for permanent housing, to assistance in actualizing their rights and becoming involved in community activities, the volunteers speak the language of the new im-

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migrant and are a personal and accessible address. Strong relationships are nurtured as they spend holidays together, go out socially and become involved in each other's lives. An innovative new aspect of At Home Together is its five employment centers, strategically located throughout Israel. These centers are instrumental in providing critical assistance and guidance for new immigrants to find jobs. The program also boasts a customized on-line Aliyah Job Center for recent new immigrants. People who have declared their intention to make aliyah can also access it before they arrive in Israel. The Center provides an extensive job search SITE VISITS SITE database, e-mail and telephone helpdesk, mentoring support and links to relevant job search information (www.aliyahjobcenter.org). At Home Together powerfully touches and changes the lives of both new immigrants and veteran Israeli volunteers.

Between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2010, 1,323 families and/or singles have ar- rived in Israel on direct absorption. 1,059 families and singles have been paired with mentors.

The program has a total of 436 mentors. 312 are absorption mentors and 124 employment mentors. 21 of the mentors are for young adults and many of the volunteers are also young adults, living in the Tel Aviv area, many of them native Israelis. In the first five months of 2010, with the help of these mentors, 403 olim have found employment and are already working.

Partner Organizations: The Council of Immigrant Associations in Israel

Unmet Need: $500,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $132,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • Joint activities for olim and veteran Israelis • Workshops for occupational orientation • Lectures and professional assistance

PROGRAM NAME: FIRST HOME IN THE HOMELAND ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: New immigrants from countries around the world including the United States, Canada, FSU, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

Number of People Helped: To date, more than 30,000 immigrants have made aliyah through this program—taking their first steps as Israeli citizens in the supportive and positive environment of a kibbutz.

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The Challenge: While immigration to Israel is often the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, the process and re-acclimation are not easy. Language barriers, securing employment, and adjusting to new environs and social norms make the relocation a challenging experience. Communal and social support is essential to removing these obstacles and enabling the immigrants to feel comfortable and secure in Israel.

The Response: The First Home in the Homeland program brings together Israel’s SITE VISITS SITE newest citizens with native Israelis. The program aims to ease the transition for newcomers, allowing them to actualize their dream, accelerate their contribution and stimulate continued aliyah in Israel’s fast-developing priority regions of the Negev and Galilee.

And while the kibbutz offers quality living conditions at a reduced cost to new immigrants, the benefits and profit from this arrangement are nearly invaluable. The larger kibbutz family, comprised of veteran immigrants and native Israelis, helps the new residents get acquainted, encouraging them to participate in all of the kibbutz’s recreational and social activities. Young immigrant children are en- rolled in the kibbutz’s school system, further enhancing their interaction and relationships with Israeli children. Families with young children see the kibbutz environment, with its warm and caring daycare facilities, as the ideal venue to raise their children and get acclimated to Israeli life.

The First Home in the Homeland kibbutz frameworks are located in Israel’s northern and southern regions. This provides a much needed boost to the demo- graphics of these national areas of priority in Israel, but also allows the new immigrants to adjust to life in Israel in a more rural and pastoral environment—away from the often overwhelming scene of the city.

The kibbutz setting for this program gives the participants the added advantage of learning to speak and use their Hebrew immediately. Because the First Home program includes immigrants from all countries of origin and takes place in a natu- rally Hebrew-speaking environment, the language-learning process is hastened.

Partner Organizations: The Ministry of Education’s branch for adult continuing education is responsible for the operation of the Hebrew language ulpans. Regional councils and kibbutzim are an essential component of this program; while the kibbutzim host the new immigrants and offer subsidized living arrangements, the regional councils provide a coordinator for all immigration efforts in the region including this program, field trips, and holiday celebrations. The Jewish Federa- tion of Palm Springs and Desert Area is a pioneering partner in this program.

Unmet Need: $500,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $75,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities:

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• Infrastructure and living space: The host-kibbutzim have invested in the physical infrastructures necessary to accommodate the immigrants. The recent trend toward privatization has led to a reduction in the funds available for these purposes, thus making it difficult to continue the programs increased activity. Moreover, in 2006, due to budgetary re- straints, the program’s activities were temporarily suspended, and the immigrant apartments were rented out; with renewed activity, it is necessary to find appropriate and comfortable kibbutz housing for the new immigrants. SITE VISITS SITE • Full-time coordination: As more potential immigrants hear about the First Home in the Homeland program, there is a heightened need for coordination and cooperation between the local emissaries in communities abroad and Israeli aliyah workers. Additionally, the marketing and promotion of the program must be coordinated by an individual who can conduct and maintain ongoing communications with the potential immigrants. This person also coordinates between the host-kibbutzim and the immigrants ensuring that each individual is placed in the most appropriate setting. • Pre-aliyah seminars: Before coming on aliyah and before integrating into the kibbutz environment, it is essential that potential immigrants attend preparatory seminars. These sessions include personal meet- ings with representatives from their host-kibbutz and workshops on cultural transition. The preparatory seminars allow immigrants to manage their expectations of the aliyah process as well as enabling them to address any concerns or apprehensions.

PROGRAM NAME: SAN DIEGO IBIM STUDENT VILLAGE ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: New immigrants from various countries including Ethiopia, Latin America, United States, England, France, the former Soviet Union and South Africa.

Number of People Helped: 374 in 2009; close to 10,000 since its inception.

The Challenge: Immigration is an exciting and overwhelming experience. Each year, hundreds of young students immigrate to Israel on their own, leaving their families and loved ones behind to build a life in their ancestral homeland.

But the challenges that face these young people are not simple. They must un- dertake all the same tasks that other immigrants do, but without a network of familial and social support.

The Response: To ensure that these young immigrants do not fall through the cracks, to cultivate a familial environment for them, and to give them the educational and personal tools they need to thrive in Israel, the Jewish Agency operates the Ibim Student Village. On the campus, young student immigrants learn

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Hebrew, gain professional training, complete any scholastic requirements necessary so they can pursue higher education, and benefit from a professional staff of teachers, social workers, and counselors. NITZANIM – FSU Family Project at Ibim In 2009, 34 young immigrant families from the FSU (61 adults and 26 children) chose Ibim as their first place of residence, taken with the aesthetically beautiful setting, the vibrant atmosphere at the village and its specialty in addressing the needs of new immigrants from the FSU. Offering them a beautiful and affordable place of residence for a full year, Ibim serves as an ideal absorption site for these newcomers. SITE VISITS SITE

Ibim is located in close proximity to Sderot, a city that has suffered nine years of Kassam missile attacks. During 2009’s Operation Cast Lead in the Wester Negev, all the citizens had to contend with the realities of life on the frontlines. At Ibim, the staff worked around the clock to provide relief and assistance for the new immigrant residents. With special crisis managament counseling, ongoing intervention, and therapy, students perservered through the emergency and continue on their way to being productive and successful members of Israeli society.

Partner Organizations: The Jewish Federation of San Diego County

Unmet Need: $100,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $959,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • Scholarships • programs for soldiers (alumni) • vocational courses including Kedma B • vocational training for young adults from the FSU

PROGRAM NAME: MASA/ ISRAEL JOURNEY ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Young Jewish adults from around the world, ages 18-30

Number of People Helped: 9,400 in 2009-10; over 45,000 since its inception in 2004.

The Challenge: Around the world, thousands of young Jews are at risk of discon- necting from their heritage, their Jewish identity, and their Jewish homeland. The realities are serious: an intermarriage rate as high as 80% in some countries, combined with a declining birthrate, an aging population, limited Jewish resources in outlying communities, and growing anti-Semitism on college cam- puses. All this results in alienation and disconnect among the younger generation—the very individuals who we are entrusting with our future, the people who we need to lead our communities.

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The Response: The key to forging a strong, sustainable Jewish identity among youth and young adults in North America and around the world is through an ex- tended period in Israel. Despite the popularity of overseas programs, the vast majority of young Jews either do not consider Israel as a possible venue for this type of experience or simply cannot afford it. Six years ago, MASA was launched to reverse these trends. A joint initiative of the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency, MASA's goal is to significantly increase the number of young Jews spending a semester or year in Israel, connecting to their Jewish heritage and identity. MASA graduates go on to take an active role in Jewish life in their SITE VISITS SITE home communities and become leaders and role models for their peers.

Before the inception of MASA, Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union sent very few youngsters to Israel on long-term educational programs. MASA has created a framework in which young people from these communities can participate; today hundreds of participants from these vulnerable countries arrive on MASA programs and serve as a new basis for Jewish leadership upon their return.

All MASA accredited programs include: Hebrew language instruction, volunteering, learning about Jewish and Zionist history, familiarization with Israeli society and culture, meaningful encounters with Israeli peers, field trips and cultural activities as well as opportunities for leadership development and Israel advocacy. MASA is now developing programming for alumni that will enable them to stay connected to other MASA graduates, Israel and the Jewish people once they return to their home communities as well as to build upon their experience.

There are nearly 200 MASA-affiliated semester and yearlong programs that target gap year, academic and post-college participants based on areas of interest. Pro- grams range from university programs, government and political affairs, environ- mental studies, Jewish and religious studies to arts and culture and much more.

Partner Organizations: There is a historic 1:1 match between the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Unmet Need: $4 million

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $16 million

Supplemental Giving Opportunities 2010-11: The highest priority funding needs are: FSU Participants: up to $10,000 in scholarship support per person depending on the length of the program.

Post-College Internship programs: up to $7,500 in scholarship support per person depending on the length of the program and need.

MAP: Masa activities for participants (Shabbat weekends, Building Fu- ture Leaders Seminar Series, concerts and more): $1 million

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MASA regional representatives: $325,000 needed for 7 reps

MASA campus recruitment interns: $250,000 for 50 interns PROGRAM NAME: PARTNERSHIP 2000 (P2K) ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Jewish communities around the world

Number of People Helped: Today there are 45 active partnerships connecting Is- SITE VISITS SITE raeli cities, towns and regional councils with some 550 communities around the world. During a working year, the partnerships implement hundreds of programs, in which more than 300,000 participants from Israel and abroad take part.

The Challenge: A significant interest exists among world Jewry to connect with and be a part of Israel despite the geographic distances. Jewish communities around the world are seeking meaningful ways to attract active members, engage youth in Israel, and make Israeli society, culture, Jewish identity, and tradition a part of their lives. Particularly among the younger generation, increased alienation and distance from Jewish identity and Israeli connections means that more and more of our Jewish future is being lost.

The Response: Through the Partnership Division, the Israel Department is promoting significant connections between Diaspora Jewry and Israeli society by developing mutual ties around communal activities aimed at strengthening the Jewish people.

The heart of the partnership is the direct connection between a Diaspora community and an Israeli community, which creates relationships on communal, organizational, and personal levels.

These connections enable the Diaspora community to become involved in social and communal issues in the partner community through the support and promotion of programs in the fields of people-to-people connections, education, community development and civic leadership. This hands-on involvement has proven to be an excellent venue for the creation of personal social ties between both partners' members – a unique added value of Partnership 2000.

The partnerships are led by steering committees made up of volunteer members from the partnered communities. The partnership also sends young volunteer emissaries to the partner communities, who operate as facilitators of Israel-fo- cused activity in schools, JCCs and other community institutions. In addition, through scores of incoming missions from the partner communities to the Part- nership 2000 regions annually, more than 10,000 mission participants benefit from a direct and personal exposure to Israeli society.

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Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $3,421,000

PROGRAM NAME: YOUTH ALIYAH VILLAGES ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Israeli youth at-risk, including new immigrants and native Is- raelis from disadvantaged homes. SITE VISITS SITE Number of People Helped: Close to 1,000 residential and external students in 4 Youth Villages in the 2009-2010 academic year, with thousands of alumni.

The Challenge: The harsh economic and social realities of Israel today have left too many of the country’s youth behind. For young new immigrants, the transformative and intense event yields numerous cultural, educational, and interper- sonal hardships as they navigate their new lives. Many native Israeli youth are hindered by unstable home environments, abuse, and poverty.

All too often, these young people find themselves living lives of unfulfilled potential. They don’t meet their scholastic or social goals; they don’t receive the care and concern they need to thrive; they don’t have access to the resources and remedies to reverse these trends.

The Response: Committed to fashioning an Israel of equal opportunity, the Jewish Agency, with partners from around the world, operates four Youth Aliyah Villages, addressing the needs of Israel's vulnerable youth population: Ben Yakir, Ramat Hadassah Szold, Kiryat Ye'arim and Hadassah Neurim. The Youth Villages are residential educational facilities that are often the most appropriate setting for these youth at-risk. They are caring academic establishments designed to provide for these vulnerable young people and give them the physical and emotional support, skills, and services they need to become stable and contributing Israeli citizens.

For the students, the Village is a place of safety and stability, a campus where they are cared for and protected from the cycle of disadvantage. At the same time, life at the Village actively accords them the tools to reverse the destructive patterns of poverty and underachievement that have marked their lives. The Vil- lages provides a protective, therapeutic, and normative environment for Israel’s children at-risk—a place where the welfare and development of these youngsters is the first priority; a nurturing haven where they receive the intervention they need to survive and flourish. The majority of the Village’s students come from broken and/or disadvantaged homes—families where poverty, violence, dysfunc- tion, and despair are constant. For these vulnerable young people, the Youth Vil- lage is the only place they will be able to live and grow, physically, socially, and scholastically.

Hadassah Neurim, perched on a cliff high above the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Netanya, provides a warm home and school environment for 321 residen-

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tial and external students, ages 14-20 and is renowned for its exceptional sports program which cultivates champion Israeli athletes.

Kiryat Yearim, nestled in the hills of Jerusalem, offers a fresh start for Israeli youth at risk and new immigrants having trouble adjusting to their new homeland. Immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union comprise 75 percent of the student body.

Ben Yakir, located near the northern city of Hadera, provides a warm, religiously- SITE VISITS SITE oriented home and school environment for over 120 young men—the majority Ethiopian immigrants—ages 12-18.

Ramat Hadassah Szold, located in a natural oak forest near Haifa, specializes in remedial education and intervention for 320 severely disadvantaged children at- risk, ages 12 through 18. A multi-disciplinary program is tailored to the academic and social needs of each student.

Tikkun Olam Project: A group of Birthright and MASA graduates from Budapest were so inspired by their experiences in Israel that they wanted to give back by volunteering in Israel. The Partnership 2000 Western Galilee-Central Area Con- sortium provided them the opportunity to connect with Israeli children living in Akko, Tel Aviv and the Ben Yakir Youth Village, designing educational and fun in- teractive camp activities for them. This project enriches the lives of the participants, future camp counselors and leaders in the local Hungarian Jewish community, and the lives of the Israeli children in the Youth Village.

Partner Organizations: Ministry of Education, Hadassah Zionist Women's Organi- zation, Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, The Swiss Friends of Kiryat Yearim, Oran Foundation, Morningstar Foundation, Paamei Tikva, ,John Hagee Ministries and our many partners from JFNA and Keren Hayesod

Unmet Need: Average annual cost of $24,000 per student ($5,000 matched by the Ministry of Education). Total unmet need: $2,950,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $6,500,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities:

• Bar Mitzvah projects • Dental and orthodontic care for students • Empowerment programs • Smart classrooms • Awards for exemplary students • Challenge sports activities • Therapeutic programs

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• Afternoon enrichment clubs

PROGRAM NAME: YOUTH FUTURES ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Israeli youth at-risk, including new immigrants and native Is- raelis from disadvantaged homes. SITE VISITS SITE Number of People Helped: nearly 10,000 children, youth and families paired with 350 mentors (“trustees”) in 2009-2010.

The Challenge: More than 400,000 of Israel’s children are at risk of not having the life and learning opportunities to become independent, constructive members of society. In Israel today, one in every three children lives at or below the poverty line. These astounding figures highlight the cycle of despair and depravity that cripples a disturbingly high portion of Israel's children, physically and psycholog- ically. These youth don’t get to the programs and activities they need to develop their educational and personal abilities. Their families can not afford extra-cur- ricular programs; too often the parents themselves are incapable of functioning as positive role models.

The Response: Youth Futures is an unprecedented program of national scope that provides youth at risk with comprehensive, tailored intervention that helps them take their place as independent, constructive members of Israeli society. Through the program, the Jewish Agency is returning both hope and excellence to Israel's peripheral regions.

At the heart of the program are professionally trained trustees who are dedicated to social action and change. These trustees work with school-age children, youth and their families for three years, developing personalized approaches for each child to bridge critical gaps—educational, social and extracurricular. The trustees work to ensure that children at risk and their families have access to the existing community resources that are available for them.

Through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Youth Futures, a select group of Jewish communities around the world, together with Israeli partners, are infusing Is- rael’s disadvantaged regions with real hope for transformative change and excellence.

Partner Organizations: In each location, Youth Futures is funded by a coalition between the Jewish Agency for Israel, an overseas donor(s) and Israeli donors/businesses.

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Unmet Need: $7,200,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $4,224,000 Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • higher education scholarships for Trustees • summer camps • personal enrichment activities • bar/bat mitzvah celebrations • trustees training SITE VISITS SITE

PROGRAM NAME: YOUNG COMMUNITIES ORGANIZATION: JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Population Served: Peripheral communities in the Negev and Galilee.

Number of People Helped: 31 communities with over 1,700 young adult residents, impacting the lives of 30,000 underprivileged children, youth and adults each year and serving thousands of citizens.

The Challenge: There is tremendous demographic and developmental potential hidden in Israel’s Negev and Galilee. These isolated regions are suffering because of their geographic location, their distance from the central “hubs” of Is- rael’s thriving financial and scholastic districts. But the Jewish Agency is committed to transforming these places into thriving centers of growth and advancement and giving these vulnerable populations the social assistance they need to advance.

The Response: Harnessing the spirit of young, motivated college-aged pioneers, we are creating young communities in places where there was once a population decline. These young communities are fueled by the spirit and actions of a growing number of socially committed students. They are closing social gaps and building an Israeli society of equal opportunity and potential.

In 31 young communities, the young residents are making an impact by working with all parts of the community's population from school-aged children to the elderly. Similarly, the young community residents are involved in repairing communal infrastructures and parks that have been neglected. In many cases, the residents encourage the young children they mentor to take part in these projects, which helps build a true sense of community and civic pride.

An indirect benefit of the young communities is the financial impact they have on the vulnerable regions in which they live. Each member spends money every week at local businesses and thus stimulates economic development and sus- tainability.

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After the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and again in 2009 after Operation Cast Lead in southern Israel, these young communities played, and continue to play, a vital role in rehabilitating the war-torn communities. They encourage the citizens in their communities to take pride in where they live; they infuse a sense of hope and optimism to areas that once felt abandoned and disadvantaged.

Each young community houses approximately 30 people and is given an opera- tional budget of $10,000. An implementation plan and budget must be submitted SITE VISITS SITE to account for these funds, but the community is empowered to allocate these funds as they determine necessary for their activity. Examples of programs im- plemented include opening a youth café for the teenagers in the community, hosting Israeli and tourist families visiting in these regions, established by a youth learning center, establishing support groups for young and single mothers, programming for building community ties, employing a project manager to help residents with small business development, and running neighborhood cleanup initiatives and painting of local parks.

In addition to the 31 existing communities, a growing number of educational pioneers continue to fulfill the Zionist dream and are in the process of establishing new vibrant Young Communities in the social and geographic periphery of Israel. Every new community receives a $20,000 grant, thus encouraging their motiva- tion and enabling further involvement and professional guidance.

Partner Organizations: Oran Foundation, Gandyr Foundation, JDC, UIA Canada, GOI and smaller foundations; Ministry of Development of the Negev and Galilee, Ministry of Construction and Housing, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environ- mental Protection

Unmet Need: $500,000

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: $477,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: Assisting existing communities in the scope of $10,000 – 20,000 each to maintain communal life Creating new communities - $20,000 for first year Supporting network of communities - $35,000 annually Promoting business/social entrepreneurship in young communities - $50,000

PROGRAM NAME: BALINT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER (JCC) ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

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Population Served: Hungarian Jews of all ages

Number of People Helped: Approximately 4,000 people (children and adults) participate in Balint JCC's ongoing programs each month. This number swells to 5,000 at special events and festivals.

The Challenge: The trauma of the Holocaust and the years of communist rule scarred Hungarian Jewry and left its members averse to religious and cultural SITE VISITS SITE affiliation. As a result, only 10-15% of today's 130,000 Hungarian Jews identify themselves as Jewish. Many are not even aware that they are Jewish. Thus, although Hungary is home to the fourth largest Jewish community in Europe, the risk of assimilation is particularly high.

The Response: Since its inception in 1994, the JDC-supported Balint JCC has become an anchor of Jewish life in Budapest. It offers a complete roster of engaging and educational activities, courses, and cultural programs for all age groups and segments of the community. The JCC's secular and Jewish programming and pluralistic environment are attracting a growing number of Hungarian Jews to its doors, and it is now the primary address for many Jews seeking to discover and express their Jewish identity.

Community-wide programs: The JCC's ongoing cultural, educational and social activities tap into the interests of Budapest's Jewish population. The wide selec- tion of programming includes Israeli dance classes, language lessons, art lessons, a kosher food expo, and weekly Shabbat services and holiday celebrations.

Welcoming young families: As part of an effort to bring young families into the community circle, the JCC offers professional day care services and extracurricular enrichment for children. Additionally, the JCC's Eden Children's Center offers a wealth of parent-child activities, designed to cultivate family bonding and strengthen appreciation of Jewish life.

Reaching the middle generation: The Balint JCC seeks to attract professional Hungarian Jews, aged 35-60, whose busy schedules would otherwise keep them from attending communal programming. Programs that are tailor-made for this group include the newly launched Jews on Journeys, which combines both "arm- chair" and actual traveling in an exploration of Jewish-Hungarian history. Other activities include a cinema club, dance festivals, lectures, and panel discussions on current events.

Engaging the elderly: For Holocaust survivors and other pensioners, the JCC is a second home. Many elderly Jews, who would otherwise stay isolated in their homes, gather at the JCC for Jewish holiday celebrations and to socialize with friends in a relaxed environment. They also enjoy a variety of programs geared to their needs, such as fitness classes and computer lessons.

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Partner Organizations: The Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas and the Federa- tion of Hungarian Jewish Communities

Unmet Need: $50,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $495,000. Of this, JDC $180,000; partners $315,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: SITE VISITS SITE • A gift of $30,000 will fund additional programming for youth and young adults. • A gift of of $25,000 will permit the expansion of existing family programs. • A gift of $25,000 will fund additional "JCC Without Walls" programs. • A gift of $30,000 will allow replication of community development programs to peripheral areas with minimal Jewish renewal programming.

PROGRAM NAME: HADRACHA COLLEGE FOR EMERGING YOUNG LEADERS ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Youth aged 15-17 years

Number of People Helped: Approximately 60 young Jewish students from Hungary graduate from the program annually. To date, hundreds of young adults have graduated from Hadracha College and have assumed leadership roles in their home communities.

The Challenge: All Jewish communities require nurtured and committed leadership in order to develop and continue as vibrant and independent entities. They need leaders who understand their community's unique characteristics and care deeply about its future. Ideally, this innate understanding and passion for communal continuity stems from the fact that leaders have grown up within the community.

However, in Hungary—as in other post-communist countries— the Holocaust, followed by four decades of communist rule, severed Jewish young adults from their identity, and created a gap in the crucial leadership development process. In fact, in Hungary, the second generation of Holocaust survivors is often referred to as the “missing generation,” expressing the discontinuation of Jewish life and fis- sure in Jewish identity that dominated their coming of age and adulthood. Due to this disruption of Jewish communal activity in Hungary, many Jews are growing up with little or no understanding of their Jewish background and are thirsty to reclaim their heritage. However, there are few young leaders who are equipped to answer this need.

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The Response: JDC instills leadership values and cultivates local talent as part of its mission to support emerging Jewish communities on their road to a sustainable Jewish future. Hadracha College, which JDC has established in Hungary and in other former Communist bloc countries, prepares Jewish 15-17 year olds to serve as counselors, informal Jewish educators and effective role models for Jewish children within their home communities. Over the course of two years, the participants attend ongoing sessions (totaling eight hours per month) that focus on leadership training and Jewish identity. Programs emphasize the importance of Jewish communal responsibility and convey a pluralistic Jewish perspective. SITE VISITS SITE This reflects JDC's aim to produce graduates that are both qualified and strongly motivated to give to their Jewish community.

Partner Organizations: The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

Unmet Need: $0

Program cost including JDC and partner funding: Program cost in 2010 is $ 18,550. Of this JDC $8,000; partners $10,550.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: A gift of $20,000 will expand the reach of the program to include an additional group of young leaders, as well as introduce enhancements to the program, such as team-building weekend retreats, professional lecturers, and individual mentoring.

PROGRAM NAME: JAFFE JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Needy Jewish children and their families in Hungary

Number of People Helped: In 2009, Jaffe JFS served a total of 806 children from 426 families. In 2010, the number of children reached has grown to 900.

The Challenge: The global economic crisis has devastated the Hungarian Jewish community, particularly its young families. Those who have held on to their jobs are finding their salaries strained by the escalating cost of living, and as the government reduces fuel subsidies, the problem is becoming even more acute. For single parent families and/or those who have lost their jobs due to deepening unemployment, making ends meet has become an impossible struggle. Moreover, young families who took out foreign currency loans when the crisis hit—due to the lack of savings to cushion them—are in deep financial distress. With the value of the Hungarian Forint plummeting, they are spending huge sums of money to avoid defaulting on these loans. Similarly, homeowners that are carrying foreign currency mortgages and making monthly payments with the weak Forint are des- perately trying to cut back on spending in order to hold on to their homes.

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Due to these combined factors, many Hungarian Jews are unable to provide for their children's basic needs.

The Response: Modeled on Jewish Family Service organizations in North America, Jaffe Jewish Family Services provides a community-based approach that is unique to Eastern Europe. It mobilizes and utilizes all of the Jewish community's resources—such as the JCC, food services, summer camps and child-care programs—along with state services, to provide comprehensive aid to families in need. This includes individual case management, financial support in times of SITE VISITS SITE emergency, mentoring programs, after-school activities, sponsored participation in JCC programs and tuition scholarships for the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/ JDC International Summer Camp at Szarvas. Additionally, to battle rising unemployment and poverty, in 2009 JDC opened the new Ariel Job Center, providing seminars and guidance on job hunting, interviewing and resume building, as well as classes in computer and office skills.

By furnishing community care, Jaffe JFS becomes the gateway into the Jewish community for young Jewish families in need,connecting them with Jewish programming and a welcoming Jewish community.

Partner Organizations: The Jaffe Family, the Abraham and Sonia Rochlin Founda- tion, the Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and the Hungarian Federation of Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ).

Unmet Need: $66,000

Program cost including JDC and partner funding: Program cost in 2010 is $304,000, comprised of individual donor and partner funding.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $30,000 would bring JFS services to families in rural areas. • A gift of $20,000 would provide scholarships for 20 children from poor homes to attend Jewish camps. • A gift of $30,000 would enable Jaffe JFS to provide additional one-time emergency support to children and families in dire financial distress.

PROGRAM NAME: OUTREACH NETWORK ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Jewish NGO's, and by extension, the Hungarian Jewish Com- munity

Number of People Helped: Approximately 5,000 Hungarian Jewish people

The Challenge: With Jewish affiliation low in Hungary, there is an acute need for strong Jewish organizations that will galvanize a Jewish renaissance and excite Hungarian Jewry about their heritage. Fortunately, some 40 budding Hungarian Jewish organizations seek to strengthen and enrich Jewish communal life and re-

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vive a Jewish spirit that has lain dormant for over 50 years. However, these pioneering organizations sorely need both financial resources and expert guidance in order to flourish, and in turn, stem and reverse the trend of assimilation in Hungary. The Response: The JDC-initiated Outreach Network initiative provides mentoring and technical support to Jewish NGO’s and grassroots assocations seeking to find their footing in Hungary’s newly democratic environment. JDC’s extensive expert- ise in community development helps the growing number of innovative Jewish NGOs in Hungary—launched by local social entrepreneurs—develop practices for effective and transparent service delivery and governance. The values and tech- SITE VISITS SITE niques they learn will guide these institutions towards genuine self-sufficiency.

The organizations that benefit from Outreach Network assistance collectively operate an array of programs, reaching Hungarian Jews of all ages and all walks of life. Some examples include:

• Maccabi Sport Club: An organization which holds recreational sports days and contests for 600 Jewish children and teenagers. • Szombat Jewish Magazine: A monthly, independent magazine covering cultural, philosophical, and political issues related to Jewish life in Hungary. • Golem Theatre: A cultural group which co-organizes the International Jewish Theatre Festival to make Jewish culture accessible to unaffiliated Jews and the general population. • Beit Orim: A series of educational and communal events organized by a small Reform congregation for English speakers and Israelis. • Marom Hungary: A grass-roots cultural organization, Marom aims to recreate Jewish culture and tradition in a way that appeals mainly to young adults in Budapest, Hungary. The organization is commited to dialogue, openness and embracing the diversity of Judaism. • Limmud Hungary: This community-based annual three-day conference, modeled on Limmud UK, attracts Jewish people of all backgrounds. Created several years ago by JDC under the name “Limmud Keshet,” it operates today as an independent organization.

The Outreach Network program helps these and other organizations bolster their organizational capacity, improve outreach and deliver services more effectively.

Partner Organizations: Local non-profit organizations

Unmet Need: $20,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $90,000. Of this: JDC $55,000; partners $35,000

Supplemental Giving Opportunities • A gift of $30,000 will enable JDC to strengthen the network by providing financial support and consultation to other Jewish Hungarian organizations, as well as bolstering the support to existing network organiza-

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tions. • A gift of $20,000 will bring a number of programs developed by the outreach network to Jews living in rural Hungary. PROGRAM NAME: THE RONALD S. LAUDER-JDC INTERNATIONAL JEWISH SUMMER CAMP AT SZARVAS, HUNGARY ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Children and teenagers, ages 7-17, from more than 23 countries in Eastern and Central Europe and around the world. SITE VISITS SITE

Number of People Helped: Over 20,000 teens, since the establishment of Szarvas in 1990

The Challenge: As a result of the Holocaust and decades of communist suppres- sion, an entire generation of Jews in Eastern and Central Europe grew up in an environment empty of Jewish content and experiences. Alienated from Jewish life, they were not equipped to instill any sense of Jewish affiliation in their children, who became even further removed from their heritage. With the fall of the Soviet regime, it became clear that without effective action to raise Jewish identity and increase Jewish knowledge, most of the Jews in Eastern Europe and FSU would be lost to Judaism forever.

The Response: Every summer, The Ronald S. Lauder-JDC International Jewish Summer Camp at Szarvas, Hungary immerses Jewish youngsters from around the world in a uniquely Jewish environment that combines creative informal Jew- ish educational programming with recreation and camping activities. For many, Szarvas is their first introduction to core concepts such as Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Amidst the pastoral surroudings, Szarvas campers learn about their religion and culture, build their Jewish identity and forge lasting friendships with Jewish peers from other locations. Many graduates become inspired to become active in Jewish life in their home communities, and motivate their entire families to do so, as well.

With an eye to the future, Szarvas also furnishes its counselors with in-depth training in planning and carrying out effective Jewish programming. Thus, it has become a wellspring for critically-needed young leadership for the small Jewish communities now emerging in Eastern Europe.

Partner Organizations: The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the UJA- Jewish Federation of Toronto, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, and individual donors.

Unmet Need: $60,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $1,050,000. Of this, JDC $480,000; partners $570,000

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Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $90,000 will enable JDC to expand cultural and leadership activities, to continue to engage Szarvas graduates during the school year. PROGRAM NAME: AMEN YOUTH VOLUNTEER PROGRAM ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Israeli youth and their communities

Number of People Helped: More than 50,000 teenagers in 45 locations have given SITE VISITS SITE nearly four million hours of volunteer service to their communities.

The Challenge: As Israel aspires to provide a bright, independent future for its citizens, it must develop a socially conscious society with a distinct culture of volunteerism. However, while a third of Israeli adults engage in volunteer activities, fewer than one in ten teens volunteer. As tomorrow's leaders who will shape Is- raeli society, youth must internalize a sense of social responsibility. Cultivating habits of community service at a young age lays the foundation for lifelong com- mitment to civic involvement, characterized by concern for the weak and needy.

The Response: JDC launched AMEN to mobilize young Israelis to adopt volunteerism as a way of life. AMEN rallies youth within a given city to take a leading role in local volunteer activities, which meet their communities' needs. AMEN works with existing local resources to recruit new young volunteers, match them with fulfilling volunteer activities—creating such opportunities if they don't exist—and establish forums for teenage volunteers to meet and support each other. Organizations working with volunteers receive training to help them motivate and retain young volunteers. The AMEN-created local volunteer system becomes an integral part of a city, ultimately building Israel's next generation of leaders and active citizens who assist the country's neediest populations.

AMEN's results have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. The average rate of youth volunteerism within eight pilot cities has increased tremen- dously: from 9% to 50%, with over 200 new youth volunteer projects created.

Partner Organizations: AMEN is a partnership between JDC, the Ministry of Edu- cation, the Israel Youth Hostel Association, and Amutat Alon. AMEN also has strategic partnerships with various businesses including Intel, Sakal, the Israeli Electric Company, Cisco and Baran, as well as with universities and colleges. The program's expansion in Israel's north was made possible by JFNA’s Israel Emer- gency Campaign funds.

Unmet Need: $200,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $700,000, comprised of individual donor and partner funding.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $50,000 will enable JDC to establish a new family volunteering

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model in five pilot cities.

PROGRAM NAME: BEACONS IN THE DARK ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Blind and visually impaired children and youth

Number of People Helped: Currently serves 55 blind and visually impaired chil- SITE VISITS SITE dren and youth in five locations

The Challenge: Most school-based social activities in Israel are geared towards able-bodied students, and are not adapted to the needs of the nearly 2,800 children and youth who are blind or visually impaired. Thus, visually impaired students remain lonely and alienated from their peers, unable to enjoy their free time with others in an organized way. Lacking positive social interaction from an early age, these children are at risk of remaining isolated for the rest of their lives. Indeed, without acquiring the self-confidence that comes with social acceptance in one’s younger years, a blind or visually impaired child may never achieve full independence or social stability later in life.

The Response: JDC's Beacons in the Dark seeks to create a safe space and comfortable social environment where blind and visually impaired children can channel their leisure time toward forming lifelong friendships, learning life skills, and building self-confidence. Through weekly and monthly programming, Beacons in the Dark participants learn to become more independent, interact socially and explore their own abilities. The typical schedule includes cooking classes, hiking trips and other activities which participants would have difficulty undertaking on their own. Weekend retreats and a five-day summer camp provide participants with a taste of independent living, away from their families and routine environment.

The impact of Beacons in the Dark goes beyond furthering the self-confidence and independence of these children in the short run. Indeed, by enabling Israel's blind and visually impaired children to cultivate social and life skills, Beacons in the Dark is laying the groundwork for their future integration into the working world and into Israeli society.

Partner Organizations: JDC's main partner in Beacons in the Dark is Kivunim, an Israeli non-profit focusing on the needs of children with disabilities. Other partners include the Ministry of Education's Department for Special Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services' Department for Services for the Blind and Beit Miriam, a day center established by Ilan, an Israeli NGO for children with disabilities.

Unmet Need: $45,000

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Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $140,000. Of this, JDC $48,000; partners $92,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $35,000 would enable JDC to create training materials using computer programs specially designed for the visually impaired. • A gift of $10,000 would cover the cost of additional enrichment activities for visually impaired children. SITE VISITS SITE

PROGRAM NAME: BETTER TOGETHER ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Children and youth – from birth to 18 years of age – and their families

Number of People Helped: 40,000 children and youth, in 22 Better Together neighborhoods in 14 cities, are benefiting from Better Together's holistic approach to community change. Of these, 12,000 children and youth, along with 1,500 parents, are directly benefiting from upgraded Better Together programs and services.

The Challenge: The Israel National Council for the Child noted in its 2009 statisti- cal journal that the cities with the lowest socio-economic rating have the lowest percentage of teens who complete their high school matriculation exams (Israel's definitive mark of graduation from high school). This is but one example of the damaging effects of widespread poverty on a city's children. Furthermore, communities and neighborhoods that are plagued by entrenched poverty—such as development towns on Israel's periphery and poor inner city neighborhoods – are likely to have especially high numbers of children at-risk for abuse, neglect, or severe developmental delays.

While many Israeli cities boast NGOs that are trying to address children's needs, there is a lack of coordination and long-term planning by organizations working in the same communities. Furthermore, most current intervention plans overlook the need to strengthen the capacity of these communities to cope with the challenges they face. Thus the prospects of individual children may improve, but the environment in which the live remains unaffected.

The Response: JDC created Better Together in order to empower local city councils and mayors to meet the needs of the community as a whole. Rather than addressing problems on a piecemeal basis, Better Together inspires long-term change in blighted neighborhoods by mobilizing parents, educators, police, city councils, community centers and social service providers to work together to map and address the needs of children and youth. Better Together's proactive stance motivates professionals to work together to meet unmet needs; encourages par-

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ents to become involved; and helps grassroots community efforts to take shape. The program's holistic approach follows children from birth to 18, from morning to night, from school to home with a focus on four primary areas: • An Early Start – awareness of proper child development, identification and treatment of babies and preschoolers with developmental delays and special needs. • Academics – school readiness and support for kindergartners through 12th grade students. • Extracurricular – safe, positive enrichment for children and youth of all SITE VISITS SITE ages. • Social resources and community engagement – trained, caring local adult volunteers to support and assist the neighborhood's at-risk youngsters.

Partner Organizations: Better Together is a partnership between JDC, Israeli government agencies, municipalities, local academic institutions, NGOs and Israeli corporations.

Unmet Need: $2,250,000

Program cost including JDC and partner funding: Program cost for five years in five cities is $3,750,000. Of this, JDC $2,250,000; partners $1,500,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: •A gift of $20,000 will provide 10 computers for a computer room in one Better Together neighborhood, offering children an enjoyable way to boost their scholastic achievements. •A gift of $25,000 will fund the cost of an outdoor playground, tailored to the needs of special needs children, in one Better Together neighborhood. • A gift of $45,000 over three years will enhance and expand activities at an Early Childhood Play Canter in one Better Together Neighborhood. •A gift of $90,000 over three years would enhance and expand activities, geared for teens (including teens at risk), at a Youth Center in one Bet- ter Together Neighborhood.

PROGRAM NAME: BLUE DAWN ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Men

Number of People Helped: An average of 350-400 participants per year

The Challenge: Service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is an asset for finding employment in Israel, and for many potential employers, is reflective of the appli- cant's teamwork, discipline, and decision-making skills. The IDF provides practi-

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cal training and connections useful in establishing a rewarding career. Job appli- cants without army credentials may be refused employment, making deferral or exemption from army service a disadvantage to building a career in Israel. While many Haredi men recognize that army service is a gateway to career opportunities, they are discouraged by the army's secular environment and rigid requirements.

The Response: JDC's Blue Dawn program was created to allow Haredi men to benefit from the vocational training and job skills that, in addition to IDF service SITE VISITS SITE itself, can put them ahead in finding high-level employment. Blue Dawn units ad- here to religious stringencies consistent with the participants' civilian lives, even providing time for daily Torah study. Since many of the men are married and have children, they are placed on bases close to home and offered more flexible hours. The first group of 90 participants served in the Israel Air Force. Following basic training, some have specialized in aircraft mechanics and electronics, while others have worked in helicopter engine repair and maintenance. These men com- pleted their service in the summer of 2009 and will continue their career development with JDC's support, if needed. Some have chosen to remain in the air force as a career. Blue Dawn has now been expanded to other IDF divisions including: software testing and computer programming for intelligence units, mechanical and electrical repairs aboard navy ships, and the IDF's Planning and Logistics Division.

Partner Organizations: The Israeli Defense Forces and the Government of Israel.

Unmet Need: $250,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $600,000. Of this: JDC $300,000; partners $300,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $40,000 will enable JDC to provide 50 Blue Dawn graduates with a professional assessment of their employment-related strengths, skills, interests and characteristics. The end product will be a personal career plan incorporating employment goals and processes to achieve these goals. • A gift of $130,000 will allow 10 groups of 10 Blue Dawn graduates to complete their high school equivalency and thus be qualified for increased employment and higher education opportunities.

PROGRAM NAME: CAFE EUROPA ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Elderly Holocaust survivors

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Number of People Helped: Café Europa programs currently reach some 2,000 elderly Holocaust survivors in 20 Israeli cities.

The Challenge: As of 2008, Holocaust survivors comprised approximately 32% of Israelis age 65 and above. The fact that so many of these Holocaust survivors are alive today, despite the trauma and profound loss they experienced during their childhood/teenage years, is a tribute to their resilience and coping skills. Indeed, subsequent to their arrival in Israel in the aftermath of World War II, many survivors dealt with the devastating memories that lingered by suppressing these SITE VISITS SITE recollections and focusing on building their lives anew. This steadfast resolve to forge a new future enabled them to function in their adult lives.

Today, however, as these survivors age, their coping abilities are beginning to fade. The preoccupation with work wanes, eliminating this distraction. Physical deterioration and the awareness of their mortality further threaten survival and defense mechanisms. Moreover, the majority of survivors never witnessed the aging process first hand, since in most cases their parents and older relatives were murdered, many in the prime of their lives. This lack of experience with the phenomenon of aging in and of itself compounds the crisis triggered by their aging. Due to one or more of these factors, a generation of Holocaust survivors is revisiting, in their old age, the grief and pain they felt in their youth.

The Response: JDC’s Café Europa program is helping Israel's elderly Holocaust survivors— the last link to this traumatic chapter of Jewish history—build a community of peers and cope with their memories in a group setting. The program encompasses various therapeutic techniques to help survivors address their feelings and communicate their stories to one another and to the larger communities in which they live. Café Europa reaches out to the survivors' families, inviting them to take a role in the healing process. It also creates avenues for local youth to volunteer at the center, thus creating an intergenerational community. In this way, the program offers a lifeline of social and emotional support to Holocaust survivors, and ensures that their legacy of bravery is preserved for future genera- tions.

Partner Organizations: JDC's main partner in Café Europa is the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, which has played a key role in the program's rapid expansion in recent months. Other partners include local municipalities and various non-profit organizations, including local associations for the elderly.

Unmet Need: $351,102

Program cost including JDC and partner funding: Program cost in 2010 is $1,151,738. Of this, JDC $514,848; partners $636,890.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $10,000 will enable the addition of an intergenerational project of Holocaust memoir writing. This gift, which would join Holocaust survivors and high school students in the writing process, will culminate

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with the publishing of a hardcover book comprising the memoirs of the elderly participants.

• A gift of $5,000 would enable a therapeutic intergenerational art activity, joining teens with Holocaust Survivors from Supportive Communities for the Elderly, a flagship JDC project that provides a basket of services that enable elderly Israelis to “age in place.” SITE VISITS SITE

PROGRAM NAME: CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Adults with disabilties

Number of People Helped: Currently serving 2,500 disabled people per year, with the aim of reaching 9,000 disabled people per year.

The Challenge: There are some 700,000 disabled Israelis who face a daily struggle to participate fully in society. Without appropriate support, their most basic choices and tasks are immensely challenging. Decisions about independent living arrangements, employment, means of mobility, social activities and other aspects of everyday life can be overwhelming.

Moreover, having a physical disability has repercussions that affect all aspects of a person's life. For example, only 30% of people with severe disabilities and 54% of people with moderate disabilities are employed (compared to 71% of the general population). This underemployment contributes to widespread poverty among disabled people in Israel. Physical impairments make it difficult for them to exercise, a factor which contributes to the higher incidence of chronic illness – such as heart disease and hypertension— among people with disabilities compared to the general population.

Finally, the lack of public services that are suited to the needs and preferences of people with disabilities further impedes their efforts to live independently and in a fulfilling way.

The Response: JDC established Israel's first Centers for Independent Living (CIL) in Jerusalem and Beersheva in cooperation with local grassroots NGOs. Based on a successful USA program model, the centers, which are managed by professionals who are themselves disabled, aim to maximize abilities rather than emphasize disabilities. It is this approach that has such a significant impact on the daily lives of people with disabilities.

Centers for Independent Living develop a range of services and programs, which offer their clients the means and assistance to lead independent lives and to participate socially and professionally in Israeli society. Services include repair of wheelchairs; an emergency hotline for logistical support; peer counseling to pro-

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vide practical assistance and advice on legal rights; a database providing information on housing and employment services within the community; social activities; self-help groups; and legal aid and seminars. Partner Organizations: JDC partners with the following NGOs, which are led by people with disabilities: Jerusalem's Disabled Now Association; Beersheva's Equality and Justice Association; Haifa's Ahva Association; Tel Aviv's Mate Hamaavak Disabled Persons Association and Bekol Organization for Hard of Hearing and Deaf People in Israel; Al Manal in Sakhnin; and Acess Israel in the Upper Galilee. Other partners include the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social SITE VISITS SITE Services, the Ministry of Health, the National Insurance Institute, the Ruderman Family Foundation, local municipalities and private donors and foundations.

Unmet Need: $1,165,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: $2,000,000 over four years, comprised of individual and partner funding.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $25,000 would cover one year of operating costs for one Mobile Information Unit, which disseminates crucial, practical information to people with disabilities who are poor, isolated or living in peripheral areas of the country. • A gift of $150,000 would fund a comprehensive Assistive Devices Pro- gram in the six CILs in Israel. Such a gift would enable: individual con- sultations for disabled people by an occupational therapist about the assistive/rehabilitative device best suited to their needs; mobilization of volunteer engineers to create innovative assistive devices not available in the market; and subsidies (or complements to government subsidies) for assistive devices for poor disabled people. • A gift of $150,000 would fund one year of health promotion programs in six CILs. These activities, which would cater to the particular needs of people with disabilities, would encourage good nutrition, physical fitness routines and cessation of smoking.

PROGRAM NAME: GARINIM KEHILATIYIM: ETHIOPIAN-ISRAELI COMMUNITY RENEWAL ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Ethiopian-Israelis living in disadvantaged neighborhoods

Number of People Helped: JDC is providing support to nine groups of community renewal activists and indirectly helping hundreds of Ethiopian-Israeli families in each location.

The Challenge: The Ethiopian-Israeli community has faced many challenges in its

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struggle to integrate into Israeli society. Cultural and social barriers prevent them from finding jobs with decent pay, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. At the same time, various factors have led to the community's geographic isolation in disadvantaged and run-down neighborhoods, making absorption even more difficult. Those who do manage to build a brighter future do so in other cities, leaving the weaker community members without support.

Further, the traditional leaders of Ethiopian-Israeli society are aging and gradu- ally stepping aside, without community activists to replace them. The community SITE VISITS SITE is marginalized, unemployed and lacking a strong leadership that can propel it forward.

The Response: Educated, professional Ethiopian-Israelis, recognizing the plight of the communities they originated from, have begun to organize into community renewal groups (called garinim, the Hebrew word for "seeds" or "kernels") and move back into isolated and run-down neighborhoods in order to revive the communities. JDC is offering both financial and professional support to nine of these garinim, covering salaries and helping to execute programming, map community needs and build a professional work model in the communities they support. JDC also provides recreational activities for the group's members and is helping to develop a national network for the program. JDC supports the extension of the network to two additional municipalities every year.

Partner Organizations: JDC's partners in Garinim Kehilatiyim are the Ministries of Immigrant Absorption, Housing, Education, and Social Welfare (Masad Klita).

Unmet Need: $10,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program Cost in 2010 is $70,000. Of this: JDC $17,500; partners $52,500.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $50,000 will allow JDC to expand the program to support an additional garin. • A gift of $25,000 will fund the establishment of a community garden in the neighborhood the garin is active in. the community garden will cater to and empower the Ethiopian-Israelis that the garin is reaching out to.

PROGRAM NAME: KELIM - TOOLS FOR SUCCESS FOR KAVKAZI ISRAELI YOUTH ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Kavkazi Israeli youth

Number of People Helped: 600 Kavkazi Israeli teens in Beersheva

The Challenge: Many youth from Kavkazi families (immigrants hailing from the

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Caucasus mountain region of the former Soviet Union) are growing up in poverty. Their parents came to Israel with skills that did not transfer well to the Israeli job market, and as a result they are working long hours for low wages. In addition to poverty, Kavkazi Israeli teens experience conflicts resulting from cultural gaps between their parents' traditional lifestyle and prevalent norms in modern Israeli society. Their parents' generation, for example, has defined gen- der roles: fathers are breadwinners and mothers take responsibility for the home. But this division is not so clear cut for youth growing up in Israel. In another, related example, Kavkazi Israeli parents expect that young adult men will look for SITE VISITS SITE jobs to assist their hard-working fathers in supporting their families. Indeed, sons often comply, though many would like to pursuse higher education, as do their native Israeli peers. For girls, long-established expectations to marry young conflict with their educational aspirations as young Israeli women.

Thus, as Kavkazi Israeli youth see their parents cling to traditional customs while they struggle in school, they become frustrated and question their own identity. Ultimately, many fail to integrate—in school, in the army and in society at large. This failure is expressed through a dropout rate twice that of the national average, low matriculation scores, poor army service, and risky conduct such as drinking and violent behavior. Without culturally sensitive and intensive attention to their predicament, the social integration and cultural security of Kavkazi Is- raeli youth is at risk.

The Response: In search of an all-inclusive way to create a safety net to strengthen Kavkazi Israeli youth and promote their integration, JDC-Ashalim has embarked on a pilot initiative in Beersheva, a city with a strong, albeit struggling, Kavkazi immigrant community. KELIM works on the premise that in order to help youth, all those involved in their lives—from social services and schools to parents and community leadership—must be aware of their specific needs and committed to addressing them as priorities.

Accordingly, KELIM’s first step was to establish an organizational platform unit- ing all organizations and government services that work with Beersheva’s Kavkazi Israeli community. In doing so, it has placed the community’s needs squarely on the municipal agenda. In order to effectively work with the community, some three-quarters of the staff are Kavkazi Israelis. Through this platform, KELIM is reaching out to youth at all levels of risk, from those who have dropped out of school to those with the potential to excel in their studies, offering them a spectrum of recreational, social and academic programs and opportunities, as well as financial assistance. Within three years, KELIM is already benefiting nearly 60% of the city’s Kavkazi Israeli youth.

Partner Organizations: JDC partnered with UJA-Federation of New York to establish KELIM. Other partners include the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of So- cial Affairs and Social Services, the Beersheva municipality and local NGOs.

Unmet Need: $0 in KELIM Beersheva.

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Program cost for KELIM in Beersheva, Including JDC and Partner Funding: $925,000 per year, comprised of partner funding.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • KELIM is a city wide initiative. It costs $1,200 per youth to replicate it in another city for one year.

PROGRAM NAME: MASIRA SITE VISITS SITE ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Arab-Israelis with disabilities

Number of People Helped: Masira has already empowered 14,000 Arab-Israelis with disabilities through its basket of programming.

The Challenge: There are an estimated 150,000 Arab-Israelis with disabilities. They face many obstacles—some shared with others with disabilities, some more pronounced in Arab-Israeli society in general and some unique to this group. Such obstacles include a dearth of accessible services, social stigmas, lack of coordination among service organizations, physically inaccessible buildings and facilities, limited access to information on rights and services and difficulties in finding employment.

The Response: JDC’s Masira is an all-inclusive initiative designed to respond to the challenges faced by people with disabilities in Israel's Arab communities. It encompasses the following components:

Developing leadership among people with disabilities by advancing their skills and knowledge and enabling them to serve as leaders, activists and mentors for their peers.

Strengthening NGOs run by and for the disabled, and expanding proven and successful programs to additional Arab communities. Examples include: Al Manara (an organization which promotes the advancement of blind individuals), Forum of Women with Disabilities, and Accessible Community (an organization which furthers increased physical accessi- bility of public buildings and spaces).

Making culturally sensitive information accessible via an Arabic information hotline on rights and services, workshops in Arabic and the translation of relevant websites.

Working to change attitudes towards people with disabilities within the Arab-Israeli community by working with community leadership, including imams (Muslim spiritual leaders).

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round-tables designed to encourage communication and information exchange.

Partner Organizations: JDC partners with the following agencies and organizations to operate Masira: the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services and other government ministries; the Israel Association of Community Centers; the Massar Institute; Milbat; Shatil; Bizchut: the Israel Human Rights Center for Peo- ple with Disabilities; the Center for Independent Living in Beersheva; the Institute for the Advancement of the Deaf in Israel; Al Amal; Altufula; Almanara, the Al- SITE VISITS SITE shefaa and Alrahama associations; local municipalities and regional councils.

Unmet Need: $500,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost 2010-2014 is $1,250,000, comprised of individual donor and partner funding.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $30,000 will fund the expansion of the Forum of Women with Disabilities, which works to advance the rights of women with disabilities.

• A gift of $30,000 will enable JDC to collaborate with Bizchut, The Israel Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities, to open Information Centers in Israeli-Arab areas to help people with disabilities actualize their rights.

• A gift of $30,000 will fund the expansion of a forum of visually impaired and blind university graduates, which works to advance their integration into society and the workplace.

PROGRAM NAME: OFF THE STREETS ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Extreme at-risk youth

Number of People Helped: Off the Streets is currently being piloted in four locations where immigrant youth at extreme risk often form street gangs. The street counselors are currently engaging some 80 youth.

The Challenge: Of Israel’s 350,000 at-risk children and youth, 50,000 teens are at the far end of the risk spectrum. New immigrants and native Israelis, most are growing up in economically distressed, peripheral towns. Many have come to feel antagonism and anger towards their school and community, and have no hopes for a better life. This outlook of despair has led to at-risk behaviors such as dropping out of school, theft and violence, and abuse of drugs and alcohol. In recent years, the rising incidence of street gangs in Israel has intensified delinquency among teens, especially those from immigrant backgrounds. These

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at-risk youth, who feel rejected by society, join street gangs in search of an identity, and in search of peers who share their sense of anger. As these gangs form, they draw youth deeper into risk and turn them against their local community and family. Their destructive actions are damaging not only to themselves and their futures, but also to the lives and property of local residents. These gangs pose a unique challenge to professionals who work with at-risk youth, and require a new approach.

The Response: By providing a continual presence of counselors in the street or SITE VISITS SITE around youth "hide-outs," JDC's Off the Streets aims to build trust and develop relationships with individual youth who have turned to street gangs in search of companionship and a sense of belonging. The program's staff must find ways to help these youth detach from the strong influences of the street gangs and rede- fine their identity. The specially trained street counselors reach out to and work one-on-one with youth to develop personal intervention plans to steer youth away from destructive behaviors and ultimately return them to mainstream society through participation in school and/or work environments.

Partner Organizations: JDC's partners include the Ministry of Immigrant Absorp- tion, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, The Karev Foundation (Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies), and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Unmet Need: $200,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Total program cost is $282,200. Of this, JDC $200,000; partners $82,200.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $4,000 will establish a special fund to provide food, shelter and medical care and meet other emergency needs of teens living on the streets, who are trapped in crisis situations.

PROGRAM NAME: SPRINGBOARD ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Ethiopian-Israeli and Kavkazi-Israeli high-school students and soldiers

Number of People Helped: Springboard currently operates in 11 cities communities in Israel, serving 24,000 immigrant youth and soldiers.

The Challenge: Service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is a gateway to employment in Israel. Successful completion of IDF service is a vital credential in Is- rael's employment market, determining future career opportunities, compensation, and job benefits. The IDF can be especially advantageous to young men and women from immigrant communities because it provides them with a 96 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:55 PM Page 97

"second chance" to gain the skills and social integration that they may not have fully acquired through their schooling and homes.

Unfortunately, the percentage of Ethiopian-Israeli and Kavkazi soldiers who do not complete their army service is much higher than that of the general population. In fact, many of these immigrant soldiers serve time in jail for deserting the army. Some of them leave the army due to difficult economic conditions that require them to work to help support their families. Some leave because they serve in menial positions, cannot adjust to the rigorous army framework and/or feel SITE VISITS SITE that their families do not support their decision to serve. In general, they do not understand the severe negative consequences of leaving the army.

The Response: JDC's Springboard program was created to reach out to these vulnerable immigrant groups before, during and after their army service. Initially launched for the benefit of the Kavkazi-Israeli community, the program has expanded to serve the Ethiopian-Israeli community as well. Springboard aims to increase the number of immigrant youth participating in meaningful army service and reduce the rate of IDF drop-outs. The program works with families and communities to gain their support for enlistment and completion of IDF service on the part of community youth. Springboard provides individual and group guidance to high school students on the verge of enlistment, new soldiers and parents. At the same time, Springboard works with officers and army officials to help them ap- preciate the unique needs of the immigrant youth under their command, and better equip them to meet these needs.

Partner Organizations: Springboard is a partnership with the IDF, the National In- surance Institute, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Immigration and Ab- sorption, and local municipalities.

Unmet Need: $200,000

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $700,000. Of this, JDC $200,000; partners $500,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $20,000 will enable JDC to run an information line about IDF service for potential recruits and their their families. • A gift of $50,000 would support an enhanced training program for staff and development of a program database.

PROGRAM NAME: SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES FOR THE ELDERLY ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Elderly Israelis

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Number of People Helped: Some 48,000 seniors are being served by 240 Support- ive Communities throughout Israel.

The Challenge: The number of elderly Israelis living in distress is rising as a result of natural growth and immigration. This growth, in addition to an increase in the average age of the elderly, has strained the capacities of Israel's health and social services and leaves many impoverished elderly with few options. One such option – moving into public nursing homes – is costly and often depressing. Many seniors would prefer to "age in place," remaining in their own homes, surrounded SITE VISITS SITE by friends and family.

The Response: JDC's Supportive Communities for the Elderly seek to help Israel's elderly "age in place." These neighborhood-based programs are designed to postpone or eliminate the need for elderly citizens to move out of their homes as their health declines. The elderly are provided with a basket of services that re- sponds to their day-to-day concerns and assures them that emergency health care is available when needed, thus allowing them to live independently. Services include a "community 'parent" who maintains contact with the residents and takes care of repairs; an emergency alarm button for each household; home visits available from doctors 24 hours a day, all year round; ambulance service to hospitals; and home visits and social and cultural programs to reduce the isolation so common among the elderly.

Partner Organizations: Supportive Communities for the Elderly is a partnership among JDC, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, local municipalities, local associations for the elderly and seniors participating in the program (in the form of membership fees). This strategic model – which calls for several sources of income for Supportive Communities—furthers the program's sustain- ability, which is one of its hallmarks. In fact, today, approximately half of the Sup- portive Communities are financially independent and rely on JDC only for professional advice and support.

Unmet Need: $856,549

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost over three years is $8,300,581. Of this, JDC $2,363,544; partners $5,937,037.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $5,000 will enable JDC to transport homebound elderly to two excursions (destinations such as restaurants, theaters and museums) and run social and cultural activities in the individual homes of homebound elderly for one year. • A gift of $5,000 will fund the Supportive Community Coordinators Forum, in which coordinators meet, participate in professional development trainings sessions, and share information and experiences over the course of two years.

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PROGRAM NAME: TEACH FIRST ISRAEL ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Disadvantaged Israeli schoolchildren from low socio-economic communities SITE VISITS SITE Number of People Helped: By the end of 2012, JDC will have placed 220 talented young teachers in 50 of the country's weakest schools to further the academic success of some 22,000 students from impoverished backgrounds.

The Challenge: Education should be the answer to Israel's socio-economic gaps. Yet, in practice, children from poor homes and peripheral areas—youngsters who most need enthusiastic teachers to motivate them to succeed—are not always being taught by people with a passion for teaching. Low wages and low prestige, along with concerns about bureacracy or being "stuck" in a teaching career deter creative and intelligent young adults from entering the teaching profession— including with the potential and desire to influence Israeli society for the better. This reluctance to enter the field has translated to a 50% drop in the number of university graduates seeking a teacher's certificate in the last decade, and an an- ticipated shortfall of 10,000 Israeli teachers by 2011. The dearth of bright teaching students has led to a dramatic rise in the average age of teachers and in the incidence of "burnout" among them. As acceptance requirements for teacher's colleges have dropped in order to compensate, the problem of underqualified adults entering the profession has grown.

The Response: JDC created the Teach First Israel program to recruit, train and place some of the country's brightest young people to teach in the country’s weakest schools. Based on the popular "Teach First" (UK) and "Teach for Amer- ica" (US) models it is designed to help thousands of disadvantaged Israeli students.

Teach First Israel will recruit top university graduates to become teachers in schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. These new teachers will be trained via an intensive summer program followed by weekly training sessions, all based on a Ministry of Education determined curriculum. School principals will pair the recruits with mentors, chosen from among the best teachers in the school. Each participant will be required to commit to remain in the field of teaching for a min- imum of two years. Participants will receive a teacher's certificate upon the completion of their first year of work as teachers and become eligible for an MA scholarship during the second year. Participants who teach beyond the first two years become eligible for other benefits.

Partner Organizations: Teach First Israel is a partnership between JDC, the Ministry of Education, and Hakol Hinuch, the Movement for the Advancement of Education in Israel, an organization founded by Israeli businessman and philan- thropist Dov Lautman. 99 CC&CD_journal09ROX2:Layout 1 6/30/10 2:55 PM Page 100

Unmet Need: $371,512

Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Total program cost for 21 months is $6,471,259, Of this: JDC $371,512; partners $6,099,747.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $6,250 would provide a participant with a scholarship for two years of graduate school. SITE VISITS SITE

PROGRAM NAME: TURNING POINT ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Marginalized Israeli high school youth

Number of People Helped: 2,000 high school youth per year

The Challenge: Some 150,000 Israeli youth ages of 12–17 are considered to be “at- risk." Of these, approximately 50,000 are recognized as being at the high end of the risk spectrum: school dropouts, hidden dropouts and juvenile offenders. Delinquent behaviors and alienation from mainstream settings put them at severe jeopardy of being on the fringes of adult society. Most tellingly, these youth don’t even have expectations for their futures. Those who remain in school do not pursue gainful careers, and those who drop out of normative educational settings do not seem to care that this leaves them with little hope of being accepted for IDF service or re-entering mainstream Israeli life.

The Response: JDC's Turning Point initiative utilizes business entrepreneurship and employment to help alienated 15–18 year-olds develop an empowering vision of themselves and their futures at this critical juncture in their lives. It has already reached some 3,500 youth in 66 localities using a combination of program modules, including: • On the Job Business Experience—a network of youth-run business ventures • Entrepreneurship and Job Readiness Education—a series of courses and workshops on business concepts and networking • A mentoring program for at-risk youth entering the workforce

Turning Point is now beginning its second phase, in which activities will be adapted for particularly vulnerable groups of youth (immigrant, Arab-Israeli, and ultra-Or- thodox youth) and the program's various training modules will be expanded.

Partner Organizations: Turning Point is a partnership among JDC, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, the Ministry of In- dustry, Trade and Labor, the National Insurance Institute, the Network for Teach- ing Entrepreneurship (NFTE), the First International Bank of Israel, Matan (Israel's United Way), local authorities, Israeli philanthropic and non-profit organ-

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izations and the Israeli business community.

Unmet Need: $162,000 Program Cost Including JDC and Partner Funding: Program cost in 2010 is $745,000. Of this, JDC $270,000; partners $475,000.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $35,000 will enable JDC to hold a five-day "Bizcamp," where 20 at-risk teens can learn about the fundamentals of launching an inde- SITE VISITS SITE pendent venture—such as preparing business plans—while enjoying hikes and other recreational activities. • A gift of $65,000 will enable JDC to realize the hopes of five at-risk teens, each of whom has conceived a prospective business plans through their participation in Turning Point. Business advancement services include consultation, coverage of legal and patent fees and start-up costs.

PROGRAM NAME: WEBVENTURES ORGANIZATION: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC)

Population Served: Chronically unemployed Israelis and business owners in the Gaza Border region

Number of People Helped: By the end of 2009 Webventures will have mentored ten groups of 20 people (200 in total) toward launching web-based businesses. In addition, it has enabled over 50 small-to-medium-size businesses in the Gaza border region remain viable through online ventures.

The Challenge: Israel's low workforce participation rate reflects a range of obstacles to workforce entry. Cultural, behavioral and regulatory barriers include language, disability and lack of experience, soft skills or formal education. Chronically unemployed Israelis—such as adults with disabilities who face great prejudice and stigma in their job search or immigrant adults in Israel's periphery who lack cultural and geographical access to employment—need support to sur- mount barriers in order to achieve financial independence.

Most recently, business owners in Israel's southern conflict zone have experienced a major business downturn due to the ongoing security situation and the corollary change in consumer culture whereby residents only shop when absolutely necessary. Local business owners need to market their wares beyond the southern economy, but typically lack the means, knowledge and experience.

The Response: JDC's Webventures trains chronically unemployed Israelis in Inter- net entrepreneurship, a more accessible area of employment. That is, it can be home-based, prior experience and large overhead are not required, and neither language nor culture are apparent to the customer and may be utilized to reach

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niche markets. Participants learn the technical, business, marketing and legal aspects of establishling a web-based business and are assigned a mentor to guide them through the process.

Started as a pilot program to help chronically unemployed Israelis start their own web-based businesses, JDC adapted and expanded Webventures to help business owners in Israel’s south market their existing businesses on the web. Business owners are helped to develop websites and receive guidance in web-marketing their products to expand their potential client base in Israel and around the SITE VISITS SITE globe. The project is creating long-term viability for these businesses, especially important in case the conflict re-ignites.

Partner Organizations: Webventures is operated by TEVET, a partnership between JDC-Israel and the Government of Israel. TEVET partners with the Ministry of Labor, Commerce and Industry, the Small and Medium Business Authority, and the nonprofit Small Business Development Centers (MATI). Emergency programming was made possible by UJC/Federations Israel Emergency Cam- paign (IEC) funds.

Unmet Need: JDC seeks to bring Webventures to other underserved populations and chronically unemployed people in Israel’s social and geographic peripheries.

Program cost including JDC and partner funding: Program cost in 2009—$131,744. Of this: JDC $34,424 and Israeli Government $34,424 via the TEVET Employment Initiative. Other leveraged funds: MATI Raanana $19,895; participant fees $14,000; Municipalities and/or government agencies $29,000.

Emergency Program Costs: $119,840. Of this: UJC/Federations IEC $96,000; participant fees $23,840.

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • A gift of $40,000 will enable marketing of web businesses to larger audiences in Israel and abroad.

PROGRAM NAME: ENP SCHOLASTIC ASSISTANCE AGENCY: ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL PROJECT

Population Served: Ethiopian-Israeli students aged 13-18

Number of People Helped: In 2008-9, approximately 5,000 Ethiopian-Israeli students are participating this program.

The Challenge: Many Ethiopian-Israeli families lack the financial and educational options that their Israeli peers in better-off families or cities can afford. Yet such support is critical: 74% of Ethiopian-Israeli junior high school students are at a below-average level in Hebrew, mathematics, English and science. It is no

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surprise, then, that most Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers never make it to university. They either do not graduate from high school, or their achievements in the critical “bagrut” (matriculation examinations) are sub-par. They do not fulfill the requirements for acceptance to an institution of higher learning. They are in effect handicapped at the very start of their adult lives, and their opportunities for social mobility are severely constrained.

The Response: ENP’s centerpiece program is the Scholastic Assistance program for 13- to 18-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli students. Using a holistic approach to SITE VISITS SITE help these vulnerable teens improve their performance in school as a means to help them get into college, and at the other end of the continuum, to prevent them from dropping out or participating in other dangerous behaviors.

ENP’s Scholastic Assistance Program provides supplementary hours in small groups to strengthen students’ academic achievements. The program also addresses social needs and personal development, including self-esteem and leadership skills, while devoting attention to the social difficulties impinging on their progress in school. The program strengthens the connection between the students and their heritage and integrates their culture into their daily lives. The program also provides a lunchtime meal that for some is as critical as the scholastic assistance they are provided.

Partner Organizations: ENP is a partnership between UJC, the Government of Israel, representatives of Ethiopian Jewish Community Organizations, the Jewish Agency for Israel, JDC and Keren Hayesod-UIA.

Unmet Need: There are 16,000 Ethiopian-Israeli students in need of ENP's Scholastic Assistance program.

Funding Received from Annual Campaign: ENP receives supplementary funding from Federations and special campaigns of UJC (e.g. Operation Promise, IEC)

Supplemental Giving Opportunities: • $1,000 will fully support Scholastic Assistance for one Ethiopian-Israeli youth for an entire year • $100,000 will support Scholastic Assistance for Ethiopian-Israeli youth in one small city for an entire year.

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MISSION CHAIRS SITE VISITS SITE

MARLA WEISS EGERS has been working in the Jewish world for over 20 years, having begun her career in New York at UJA and CLAL – National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Since moving to South Florida in 2001, she has worked at the South Palm Beach County Federation in several capacities, including director of Board Development and Special Projects, vice president of the Women’s Division and most recently senior vice president of Campaign and Com- munity Development. In 2008 Marla was awarded the Nobil Award for Profes- sional Achievement at the JFSPBC. She is a graduate of Hunter College of the City of New York, is married to Stephen and is the mother of two sons, Teddy and Max.

LINDA A. HURWITZ, chair of National Women’s Philanthropy, is passionate and purposeful in her career of enhancing the lives of her people. A graduate of Duke University achieving Phi Beta Kappa in education and The Johns Hopkins Univer- sity in Administration and Supervisor of Education, Linda draws on her background as a teacher and an administrator to communicate, educate and motivate her audience. Linda has held every campaign position in her hometown of Balti- more, including chair of the Annual Campaign, Young Women’s Leadership, Women’s Department Campaign, Major Gifts, New Gifts and Upgrade. Linda is deeply committed to issues affecting Israel. She was the founding co-chair of the Ashkelon Partnership, Baltimore’s sister city, and participates on the JFNA Israel and Overseas Steering Committee. Linda is the recipient of all three of her Fed- eration’s Young Leadership Awards. A perpetual student, Linda is a graduate of The Wexner Foundation and the ACHARAI: Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Devel- opment Institute.

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STUART KURLANDER has a long history of involvement in the Jewish community. He is currently vice president for Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, a member ofthe Executive Committee and a member of the board. He previously served as vice president for Israel and Overseas, vice president at large, co-chair of the Campaign’s Philanthropic Leadership Group, and co-chair of Operation Promise for the Washington Federation. Stuart currently serves on the board of trustees of the United Jewish Endowment Fund, and as a board member of the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center and the Washington DC Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. In 2008, he received the Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee. He is a Wexner Heritage program alumni and a former member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet. Stuart is National Board chair of Keshet. He is the founder and chair of the Kurlander Program on Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engage- ment at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, the first program of its type at a Jewish Community Center. He was national chair of the first UJC LGBT Pride Mission to Israel in 2005. Professionally, Stuart is a Washington, DC partner and global co-chair of the Israel Practice Group, founding partner and former chair of the Washington, DC Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Group (HLS), and former global co-chair of the HLS Practice Group of the international law firm, Latham & Watkins, LLP.

MICHAEL I. LEBOVITZ is the National Campaign chair. He also serves on the JFNA Budget & Finance Committee and Transactions Committee. He was previously secretary to the JFNA Board and is former chair of the Nominating Com- mittee and Financial Resource Development Pillar. A native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Michael has served as president and Campaign chair of the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Chattanooga. Shortly after becoming president in 2002, he oversaw the opening of the Jewish Cultural Center, a major venue for Jewish life, activities and programs in Chattanooga and southeast Tennessee, built with the support of a Federation capital campaign, and was a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet from 1989 to 1997. He is a board member of the Chattanooga United Way, McCallie School, Hillside School, and is a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and its executive committee. Michael is chief development officer and senior vice president at CBL & Associ- ates Properties, Inc., a national developer, owner and manager of shopping malls.

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