EDITORIAL BOARD:
Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz
Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett
Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar
Editorial
Guest Colunin
Calling All Young Adults
W
Institute helps Israeli families
cope with a debilitating cycle.
Tel Aviv
T
here's a saying among Israelis that
"Jerusalem prays; Tel Aviv plays and Haifa
works." Many who know Israel will relate
to the sentiment, perhaps with the addition of "Eilat
sunbathes and Netanya speaks English and French."
Yet how well do we actually know the country?
Do you follow the latest news and politics? Have
you visited Israel multiple times? Does anyone in your
extended family live there? I wonder how many of us
can answer "yes" to one of the above, but will struggle
with the following question: How many
Israeli children live below the poverty line?
The answer is 35 percent, according to
the recent poverty report published by the
National Insurance Institute. That's more
than a third. Before working at the Jaffa
Institute, I had absolutely no idea that
the poverty in Israel was on such a scale,
although I have to confess to answering
yes to all three questions above.
It's a tragically high figure for a demo-
cratic country with such a globalized
economy and developed industry. Why is it
so high? We could spend days debating pos-
sible reasons. In ultra-Orthodox Haredi communities
and Arab communities, it is common to have only one
parent working to support several children. Add in the
fact that Israel has a huge immigrant population. Many
who flee persecution around the world come here with
the dream of a better life yet they lack the skills and
language to find anything but the lowest-paid jobs.
Then there are the problems not so unique to Israel,
from drugs and sexual abuse to the breadwinner in a
family falling ill. However, these explanations are not
satisfactory answers. They only scratch the surface of a
very complex economic situation.
The fact remains that when a child comes home
to an empty house and there is no food on the table,
when there's nobody to encourage them and help
with homework, it can be easier for them to take to
the streets and fall into delinquent behavior than to
remain in school. Given the high rate of childhood
poverty, it's hardly surprising that only 39 percent
of 12th-graders leave high school at a level that will
enable them to be accepted into university.
Coming To Grips
The Jaffa Institute runs more than 35 programs that
aim to break the cycle of poverty. At our after-school
centers, disadvantaged children receive a hot meal,
for some their only hot meal of the day, as well as
Chanukah was made brighter
this year for these kids
thanks to the Jaffa Institute.
homework help and tutoring so that they can keep up
in school, counseling, music and sport activities. Yet
as proud as we are of our achievements, it is simply
not enough. We cannot accommodate the thousands
of children in the greater Jaffa area alone who are
hungry, bored and lonely after school.
When one of our social workers discovered that
Ben, 9, and Av, 7, hadn't been to school for several
days, she went to their home and talked with their
mother. This single woman admitted that she had
kept her sons from school. The reason? She didn't
have enough money to provide them with sand-
wiches. She was working full time and it
hurt her to admit that she was unable to
adequately feed her sons. Faced with the
embarrassing prospect of explaining this
to the teacher, she chose not to send them
to school. Ben and Av were referred to our
after-school centers. They are now eating
healthier, receive help with homework,
enjoy various enrichment programs and
are performing much better in school.
These boys we can save. Sadly, other chil-
dren with the same potential never receive
the help they need.
A State Danger
This reality of day-to-day life is not as headline
grabbing as a nuclear Iran nor as sexy as students in
tents. Yet it is a problem and on a scale that we need
to be aware of and confront. Too many children will
be left in the dark this Chanukah season, their poten-
tial unlit. Something drastic has to change. The cycle
of poverty poses a severe threat to the future develop-
ment of the state. It not only destroys individual lives,
but also undermines the moral values upon which
Israel was built.
Following the report by the National Insurance
Institute, Moshe Kahlon, the welfare and social
services minister, has called on the government "to
intervene in a more meaningful and widespread
manner!' Let's hope this isn't mere political rhetoric.
The government needs to act effectively if we want
the young generation to be productive, taxpaying,
skilled citizens who can compete in the 21st-century
global market. And it needs to act fast. For the chil-
dren who are currently starving, abused and alone,
help cannot come quickly enough. LI
Sophie Allweiss handles communications for the Jaffa
Institute. The institute helps 4,000 citizens every year break
the cycle of poverty. Find out more on the website, www.
jaffainstitute.org, and the blog, jaffainstitute.blogspot.com .
ithout fanfare, the young adults of Jewish
Detroit are progressively helping build a base
for Jewish networking, camaraderie, activism
and spirituality by participating in events created to bring
them together. There's a buzz.
A prime example is Latke Vodka, the Chanukah-season
gathering that has grown to this year's extravaganza at the
Royal Oak Music Theatre. The seventh annual affair attract-
ed 20- and 30-somethings, 750 strong, to an evening of
music, food, drink, favors and surprises. The Nov. 26 spon-
sors: Federation's Young Adult Division and CommunityNEXT.
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield hosted 300 young adults at
a seasonal concert featuring the Jewish a cappella group
Maccabeats. The Dec. 3 sponsors: CommunityNEXT, YAD and
SZ's Sandra Davis Memorial Fund.
Two fall get-togethers drew 80 of our emerging young lead-
ers to electric discussions about rebuilding and re-energizing
Michigan as well as its Jewish community. Sponsors included
JN Publisher Arthur Horwitz and his wife, Gina, Lena Epstein
Koretzky of Bloomfield Hills and her husband, Brett, and Phil
Okun of Detroit-based Compuware.
Such events certainly appeal to communally engaged
young professionals. The key is to continue searching for
and welcoming young adults living beyond the margins of
everyday Jewish communal life so more also can experience
and enjoy the budding excitement of being Jewish among
peers in one of America's great Jewish communities. I I
P. A. TV Belittles Peace
C
ontinued anti-Semitism, whether blatant or by
innuendo, on official Palestinian Authority TV does
nothing to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,
staggered by lack of interest by Fatah leaders, especially
Mahmoud Abbas, the P.A. president.
Consider the Nov. 6 episode of Sights of Jerusalem
that pronounced rain falls on Jerusalem to wash away the
impurity of the footsteps of Jews on behalf of Muslims who
come to pray in the city.
Went that eye-opening broadcast:
"The golden dome [of the mosque] shines with colors
of the sky, with the white of clouds, while the joyous
holiday [Eid Al-Adha] is good to the residents.
The light rain cleanses the steps of
the foreigners [Jews] so that the
feet [of Muslims] in prayer will
not step on impurity."
.•
According to Jerusalem-based
Palestinian Media Watch, Sights of
Jerusalem portrayed Jews praying at
a.. For Israel
the Western Wall as "sin and filth."
And Our Jewish
It stated the P.A. plans to build
an Arab residential area in place
Community
of the Western Wall Plaza in
More than 300,000 tourists
Jerusalem "when they [Israelis]
visited
Israel in November 2011
disappear from the picture,
—
a
new
record. And more than
like a forgotten chapter in the
3
million
tourists
made Israel a
pages of our city's history."
destination
in
the
first
11 months
The Palestinian Authority
of
the
year,
with
the
visitors
and
denies that Jews have
pilgrims
for
December's
Chanukah
any historical rights to
and Christmas yet to be counted.
Jerusalem and even to the
Make
2012 the year you visit Israel!
Western Wall, a remnant of
the Temple Mount, which is
— Prepared by Allan Gale, Jewish
Judaism's holiest prayer site.
Community Relations Council of
So much for peace talks
Metropolitan Detroit
resuming any time soon.
standing
ward
© Dec. 29 2011, Jewish Renaissance Media
24
December 29 2011