Metro
Getting Together
Federation strikes a PACT to bridge
Israeli Ethiopian learning gaps.
r
Detroiters make an impact on a PACT class. Detroit Federation visitors with
JDC representatives: Gideon Herscher, kit Livni, Guy Baron, Nora Baron,
Harold Blumenstein, Mamuye Zere, Penny Blumenstein, Nancy Grosfeld and
Esti Halfon.
Vivian Henoch
Special to the Jewish News
ust say the word "Detroit" in a
Hebrew-speaking classroom in
Netanya and watch faces light up.
"It's amazing," said Penny Blumenstein,
describing a recent Federation site visit to
the WIZO Daycare Center. "Even preschoolers
know that there are people in Metro Detroit
who care about them:' she said.
Representing the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit at a conference of
the American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee (JDC) held recently in Jerusalem,
Penny and Harold Blumenstein, Nora and
Guy Baron and Nancy Grosfeld extended
their trip and traveled to Netanya, specifi-
cally to see how Federation funding from the
Jewish community of Detroit has had impact
on an educational enrichment program
called PACT- Parents and Children Together.
Now in its sixth year, PACT is an early-
childhood intervention program that helps
Netanya's Ethiopian-Israeli families integrate
into Israeli society by preparing their chil-
dren to enter the first grade on equal foot-
ing with their Israeli peers. Conceived as a
partnership between the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, the JDC and the
municipality of Netanya, PACT is a head-
start program, focusing not only on the child
j
but also on the family, the community and
the professionals who shape the pre-school
years.
"The years from birth to 6 are precious in
the life of a child:' said Blumenstein. "When
you see PACT in action today, you see clearly
where our community dollars are going to
make the most of early education for chil-
dren of émigrés and new citizens of Israel
and to help bridge gaps between Israeli and
Ethiopian cultures."
A proponent of PACT from its inception
in the fall of 2001 while president of the
Federation, Blumenstein now follows its
progress with pride. "PACT is truly a success
story. This is a program you can put your
arms around and feel good about, because
the results are immediate and very tangible."
Describing classes as moderate in size,
progressive, innovative and attentive to the
special needs of every child, Blumenstein
said the children in those classes were right
where they were supposed to be develop-
mentally.
Of an estimated 1,700 Ethiopian-Israel
children in Netanya today, 1,400 now par-
ticipate in PACT programs. Approximately
715 families are also served through adult
literacy classes, parenting programs and
Ethiopian educational liaisons.
Not everyone in Israel gets this opportuni-
ty. The Ethiopian community of Netanya has
Shining On Israel
Akiva students follow the flame
of Jewish history.
Rabbi Tsaidi, middle rear, and Akiva students tour the Northern Galilee.
18
July s 2007
iN
eshivat Akiva took 17 sopho-
mores and juniors to Israel as
part of the Southfield school's
Lehava program. Lehava, the Hebrew
word for "flame," is a three-week Jewish
history learning experience.
The program was the brainchild of
Akiva's educational director, Rabbi Dr.
Yigal Tsaidi, who coordinates the trip
and serves as guide. He told the Jewish
News, "The rabbis have said, 'One cannot
compare hearing to seeing; and Lehava
is proof positive of the wisdom of their
words. Only by experiencing the land
of Israel through all five senses can one
appreciate its rich history, its diverse
topography, its multi-faceted culture and
its unique brand of politics.
"We take great care in preparing the
students for Lehava by teaching them
about the struggle for the establishment
of the Jewish state and helping them to
comprehend the role of Medinat Yisrael
[the land of Israel] in contemporary
Jewish life, as well as in the future of our
people. Armed with this knowledge, even
those students who have visited Israel
before encounter new vistas."
The Akiva students arrived in Israel on
the 40th anniversary of the reunification
of Jerusalem. They explored the tunnels
beneath the Western Wall, emerging to
witness 25,000 celebrants praying, sing-
ing and celebrating restoration of this
ancient, sacred site into Jewish hands
40 years ago. Afterwards, the Lehava
group participated in a live videoconfer-
ence broadcast from Yeshivat HaKotel to
Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield and yeshivot
in Boston, Chicago and Houston.