OPINION
The Many Myths
Of America And Israel
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DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS
5/22
1998
34
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Jeannie Weiner, left, meets with Israelis Susan Laks, Shosh Nahon and Edna Shapira.
TALI GOREN-SAPIR
AND JEANNIE WEINER
Special to The Jewish News
T
he two of us, an Israeli and
an American Jew, recently
shared an extraordinary expe-
rience. We are participants
with Women to Women, a program of
Partnership 2000, which was adopted
by the Jewish Federation of Metropoli-
tan Detroit.
This project brought together 12
women from Michigan who traveled to
the central Galilee region in January and
12 Israeli women from the Galilee who
traveled to Michigan six weeks later.
There were many extraordinary
events which occurred in both Michi-
gan and Israel — there was bonding
and friendship beyond the expectations
of either the planners or the partici-
pants.
A goal of the Women to Women
project was the building of a bridge and
the development of a partnership
between the women in the Partnership
2000 region in Israel and Jewish women
in Detroit and Ann Arbor. In order to
build that bridge, it was necessary to
confront the myths and realities each
Tali Goren-Sapir is an ulpan teacher
and newspaper editor at Kibbutz Gazit
in Israel.
Jeannie Weiner is past president of the
Jewish Community Council of Metro
Detroit.
group had about the other.
We discovered that in spite of the
many trips to Israel by the Michigan
women and in spite of the level of
sophistication and involvement of the
Israeli women, we did indeed have
much to learn about each other.
For example:
Myth: Israel, although technological-
ly advanced, continues to need Ameri-
can Jews in the same way that a young
child needs an older sibling.
Reality: A visit to agencies and both
public and private schools in the Part-
nership 2000 region demonstrated that
we in Michigan had much to learn
about Israel. There is astounding work
being done in caring for the elderly and
for children inside the classroom. We
are two modern democracies, which
have expertise in one area or another.
Both countries would benefit from this
expertise if information were shared.
Myth: Women in Israel are indepen-
dent, self-sufficient and equal partners
with their male counterparts.
Reality: A significant number of
women in Israel do not earn enough to
pay their taxes. Women in Israel, in
many quarters, are not regarded as equal
to men. In fact, Israeli women are
under-represented in many areas of the
workforce.
While the status of women is legally
protected "on the books," this protec-
tion is not implemented in daily life.
Too many women in Israel suffer from
abusive situations. The week that the
Michigan women were in Israel there
were more reported abusive incidents in
the central Galilee than ever before. In
fact, two women had been murdered by
their husbands.
The level of abuse affecting women
and children is rising and is an increas-
ing problem. The problem is not only
occurring in new immigrant families
but is present in all entities of Israeli
society.
Myth: Immigration to Israel has
slowed and the exodus is over.
Reality: Immigrants continue to
arrive daily and, added to those who
have arrived in recent years, their num-
bers are so vast that immigration is
changing the entire picture of life in
Israel. Absorption has been remarkable
and the Israelis are to be commended,
but much work remains to be done to
ease the strain on social service agencies,
schools and construction of buildings.
In the Partnership 2000 region, there
is a community that now consists of a
population which is 25 percent new
immigrants.
Myth: Israelis, like all Jews, give
extensively to their communities.
Reality: The Israeli women in the
Women to Women exchange are
unusual in their level of commitment
and volunteerism. The strains of con-
stantly living under siege with military
duties and expected responsibility
leave the Israeli woman with little
time or inclination to volunteer or
give to her community.