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Rabbi Eric Yanoff of Shaarey Zedek helping to glean the fields in Israel.
Land Of Milk And Honey?
Mazon works to make this a reality for Israel's 1.1 million who go hungry.
Rabbi Eric Yanoff
Special to the Jewish News
T
his was not the typical Israel trip.
I have been part of missions
to Israel before — often leading
the group through the ancient sites and
celebrating the renaissance of the Jewish
people in this land. So often, when groups
from the United States come to visit Israel,
we revel in the notion that this once again
is a land of plenty, flowing with milk and
honey.
But tragically, for 22 percent of Israelis,
including nearly 30 percent of Israel's chil-
dren, the dream of such a land of plenty is
far from reality.
These 1.1 million Israelis live in a state
of food insecurity. The "Jerusalem of Gold"
so often seen by tourists is only a short
walk from Jerusalem's South Katamon
neighborhood. Here, the residents live in
poverty and despair. The challenges they
face resemble those we see and read about
here in Detroit and in
other major metropolitan
areas.
I was privileged to
be part of the Mazon
delegation to Israel this
past December. Mazon,
the Jewish Response to
Hunger, provides fund-
ing for organizations
on the front lines of the worldwide fight
against hunger. The delegation included
H. Eric Schockman, Mazon president; Joel
Jacob, Mazon vice chair; Agostinho "Augie"
Fernandes of Gleaners Community Food
Bank of Southeastern Michigan; and stra-
tegic consultant Erik Winborn.
Some of us had been to Israel before;
others were first-timers. Regardless of
Israel experience, this view of Israel was
a heartbreaking peek into those aspects
of Israeli society where "HaTikvah" (The
Hope) of building a society in Israel based
on the inalienable rights of security, social
justice and well-being have
not yet been realized.
On this particular trip, the
mission joined forces with
the Forum to Address Food
Insecurity and Poverty in
Israel to visit Mazon grant-
ees and to survey progress
on one of the most ambi-
tious efforts to combat food
insecurity in Israel: the creation of the
Israel National Food Bank.
More than 350 amutot (charitable
organizations) work to purchase food for
pantries, to supply and staff and transport
enough to feed the Israeli hungry. If these
organizations could join forces to increase
buying power, then perhaps the demand
might be met. Currently, these efforts
provide 25,000 tons of food to those in
need — but the overall estimated need
tops 140,000 tons. The Forum is working
to bring together the amutot to collaborate
on this massive project.
Part of the joint mission of Mazon and
Forum involved a day at the Knesset,
informing and lobbying lawmakers
on the importance of the issue of food
insecurity. Sadly, too many of those who
manage and envision the future of Israeli
society also have not allowed themselves
to see anything but the fanciful image of
a "Jerusalem of Gold" or a "land flowing
with milk and honey."
For many policymakers, this was the
crucial first step — to open their eyes to
the overwhelming need for sustenance
and social welfare programs in the State
of Israel. Because so much of the budget
is (understandably) dedicated to defense
and security, lawmakers have not been
able to pay enough attention to programs
that help educate and feed the neediest
sector of the Israeli population.
The challenge is enormous, and it was
quite emotional to witness this less-gilded
Milk and Honey on page 28
March 29 2007
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