Eastern Michigan University Jewish Studies Presents geSCkle"le6 An Evening With Jonathan Tropper New York Times Best Selling Author of: This is Where I Leave You (2009) Everything Changes (2006) How to Talk to a Widower (2008) The Book of Joe (2005) Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 7:30 p•m. Room 310 B, Student Center, Eastern Michigan University FREE Lecture Sponsors • Division of Academic Affairs • College of Arts and Sciences • Hillel at EMU This lecture is part of an ongoing Jewish lecture series along with a new Jewish Education First History Gallery in the EMU Student Center. Visit emich.edu for updates on future lectures. For more information, please contact: martin.shichtmangemich.edu A book signing will follow the presentation. .00-77 ,G eneral, ducatioh -LBO 26 March 24 2011 EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Education First Imported Expertise from page 24 of nongovernmental organizations in Israel has multiplied as Israel's traditionally socialist-leaning welfare system has significantly downsized. Some 12,000 non-government orga- nizations (NGO) are now active in Israel. English-speaking immigrants have found their niche not only in reaching out to the socio-economi- cally disadvantaged, but also in civil society areas like the environment, human rights, religious pluralism and Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. "It's likely because Anglos come with a much more developed idea of civic society than other ethnic groups in the country, and so they get involved;' said Sydney Engelberg, a faculty member at Hebrew University's program in nonprofit management. "Part of my Zionist feeling was that if I can help anyone, I want to help children in Israel:' Portowicz said. "I think I made a bigger difference here than I thought I would make." When Alon Tal came to Israel in 1990 at the age of 29, he vacillated between joining the just-established Environmental Ministry or establish- ing an environmental advocacy orga- nization. He went with the latter. "A large percentage of many Israeli nonprofits come from international Jewish philanthropy, so there is a home-court advantage for American immigrants in terms of English skills and cultural affiliation," Tal told JTA. Miriam Garmaise, an immigrant to Israel from Canada, also became a prominent environmentalist. She is the executive director of Shomer for a Better Environment, a nonprofit established in 1998 by Tamar Gindis, a fellow Canadian immigrant, that focuses on national cross-sector proj- ects. Their current flagship project is promoting a gray-water recycling initiative intended to jump-start the practice of recycling shower and laundry water as a way to save up to tens of millions of cubic meters of water a year. Garmaise traces her interest in activism to growing up in Canada, where her parents were active in the Jewish community and projects to help Israel. "The fact that people like me moved to Israel is because we con- sider Israel a very important place to be and to contribute to once we are here," she said. As for the bureaucratic and other stumbling blocks they face, Garmaise is upbeat. "I have come to respect the need for time and patience to make things happen:' she said. Portowicz adds, "You persist. You don't take no for an answer." Seth Farber, a Modern Orthodox rabbi who immigrated from the United States and founded ITIM, the Jewish Life Information Center, knows all about persistence. He battles what he says often seems like an interminably uphill fight to help Israeli and diaspora Jews navigate the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, which holds a monopoly on issues of religion, like conversion and marriage. Farber believes his American background has been helpful in his work, specifically his knowledge of how other Jewish religious leadership models work. "In Israel, people don't feel as responsible for their Jewish life, so it can sometimes have less meaning:' Farber said. "What I can bring to the table is a middle ground, an opportu- nity for people to have their say. "Americans put a lot of belief into the third sector to have power and make a difference he adds. "Because I'm a Zionist and this is the center of the Jewish people now, this is where I want to make my impact." Another American-run Israeli NGO involved in efforts to reduce tensions between religion and state is Tzohar, founded by a group of Modern Orthodox rabbis in 1996, soon after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist. The organization's current executive vice president is Nahum Rosenberg, an American immigrant. "It's important to be not only bilin- gual but bicultural and live in both worlds," Rosenberg said. He says Americans bring advan- tages when it comes to fundraising and the culture of management. "We may be nonprofits, but that does not mean we are not perfor- mance organizations. So you need to have that side he said, referring to professional Western standards for NGOs. "And you need to have that Israeli flair for ingenuity and per- severance with the ability to stretch every shekel as far as it can go. "If you can seize on both traits, you can use them to your advantage?'