EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

(

_For 35 years helping
people with disabilities •
be fully included in
community life

arc

A House Of Refuge, Hope

Nazareth Illit
t was a sun-splashed November morning as we pulled up
to Beit NANA, a center for at-risk youth, in this Central
Galilee city with a growing immigrant population. From
my seat on our chartered bus, the nondescript building hous-
ing the center belied the life-altering experience offered inside
for Israeli Jews who are at a highly impressionable age.
We were at NANA because it is located within Michigan
Jewry's partner region and because of its important outreach
to Israeli teens who are just a few years away from becoming
soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. The kids are at a cross-
roads, with the difference between a useless
or a productive life hanging by a thread in
some cases.
I was in the region with Federation dele-
gates from Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor and
Grand Rapids to the Partnership 2000 (P2K)
steering committee. They were there not only
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of sharing
economic, educational, cultural and social
ROBERT A. bonds with Nazareth Illit, Migdal HaEmek
and the Jezreel Valley, but also to recalibrate
SKLAR
the partnership to yield more tangible bene-
Editor
fits on both sides of the Atlantic.
Most new immigrants in Nazareth Illit have come from the
former Soviet Union. Others have come from Ethiopia and
South America. The city is largely Jewish, though it borders
on heavily Arab Nazareth. Today, about half of Nazareth Illit's
50,000 residents are new immigrants, called ohm. Many are
school age; their troubled upbringing back home in many
cases — as well as the inability to
speak Hebrew, which causes them
to segregate in school — put
them at risk when they arrived in
Nazareth Illit. This 47-year-old
city has worked hard to prosper
despite the Palestinian reign of
terror.
Kids born in Israel also are at
risk either because of weak
parental oversight or bad peer
influence. "They grow up nor-
Reuven Amsalem
mal, but get exposed at school
to at-risk youth who put them
at risk, too," says Reuven
Amsalem, 32, NANA's inspired, inspiring general manager.
Amsalem, the father of two boys ages 1 and 6, grew up in
Miglal HaEmek. He earned a law degree in England and
worked at a youth detention center in Herzliya before coming
to NANA two years ago.

I

What Is NANA?

NANA aims to teach respect for cultural differences and the
rewards that flow from a diverse, secure, educated society.
And I'm impressed.
"What we do," says Amsalem, "isn't hard to understand. We
reach out, one child at a time. In the junior highs, we have
counselors identify, children who want to drop out when
they're 16 and we help try to prevent that."
NANA is as much a house of hope as one of refuge for the
140 teenagers, ages 14-19. Only Hebrew is spoken; that helps
break down cultural barriers.
Nazareth Illit and the State of Israel contribute to NANA's
$120,000 annual budget. The American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee, to which local federations con-

tribute, also provides funding.
I have found little redeeming value in rap music. So I was
skeptical when our P2K group was asked to gather for a mini
rap concert at the far end of Beit NANA. But we were treated
to a three-song concert of good music and clean lyrics. Most
of all, I realized that these kids could just as easily be preying
on the community out of boredom or peer pressure had they
not found the joy of music at NANA.
At-risk youth are not unique to Nazareth Illit. The threat is
a national crisis in Israel, a land of 6.5 million people where
poverty and substance abuse are more prevalent and the gap
between the haves and have-nots has widened. About a third
of all Israelis are younger than 18. Crime in Israel rose 4.5
percent in 2003 after falling three of the prior four years.
Amsalem and his staff walk a tightrope in trying to teach
and discipline, but not alienate. They work at the edges of
teenage life in Nazareth Illit, trying to keep kids in school and
out of danger.
NANA opens at 2 each school day for enrichment and
career-oriented group activities. After dinner, kids are welcome
to hang out, enjoying games, computers, dancing or each
other's company. The accent is on honesty, respect, encourage-
ment and problem solving. Amsalem also tries to embrace the
parents and teachers of the kids.

NANA's Influence

In a very real way, the kids run Beit NANA. They take owner-
ship of what it offers. "This is the way to their hearts,"
Amsalem says. "We talk to them and get to know them, and
they get to know us."
Overnight field trips help the kids see, appreciate and con-
nect with Israel. We want them to contribute, not just sight-
see," Amsalem says. "We throw Traveling Together parties for
residents where were visiting."
NANA-sponsored troupes of dancers, singers, jugglers and
other performers entertain around the Central Galilee to have
fun, earn money and become
part of the region's fabric.
All of this is great, I thought,
but what about the kids caught
in the briar patch of gang life?
"We go to where they hang
out," Amsalem says. "We get to
know them, mark the leaders
we can work with and try to
befriend them."
Tal Peer, 14, is an Israeli
native and a positive force at
Beit NANA. The 10th-grader
hopes to work in business one
day. In 2003, she and other
Israeli teens took part in a
Tamarack summer camp pro-
gram in Ortonville, thanks to Partnership 2000 and Detroit
Federation funding.
Tal arrived at NANA seven months ago to make new
friends. "I also wanted to contribute to society," she says. She
does that by helping others have fun and grow.
Tal validates the need for Beit NANA. "It takes kids off the
street and gives them a place to express themselves without
fear or worry," she says. "I see it every day and I'm so proud to
be part of it."
NANA is a Hebrew acronym for Youth Rising. With anti-
Zionism sweeping the Middle East, Israel's future more than
ever will hinge on the rising will and power of its youth.

At
JARC,
we take
Tributes
personally...

PERSONAL.
ATTENTION

By Mail, Phone, Fax or Online

PERSONAL GREETINGS

Every Card Uniquely Yours

PERSONAL SERVICE

One Day Processing

PERSONAL CARE

For the Men, Women and
Children We Serve
Throughout Their Lives

248.538.6611
Fax 248.538.6615

vvvvwjarc.org

30301 Northwestern
Suite 100
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

799290}

to

12/10
2004

5