Jews in the D

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14 | DECEMBER 26 • 2019 

but had little knowledge of its 
mission and impact. 
We first heard from Eliot 
Goldstein, JDC’
s executive 
director of resource develop-
ment. He collaborates with local 
Jewish Federations, donors and 
businesses to help JDC meet its 
financial goals.
Shachar followed with a crash-
course on JDC, saying the orga-
nization’
s mission in Israel is to 
help close some of the big socio-
economic gaps in the country. 
Some major facts (as of 2017) 
Shachar outlined stood out:
• 1 in 4 people in Israel make 
minimum wage
• 50 percent of those consid-
ered poor have a job (mostly 
Haredi Jews and Arabs)
• 900,000 people in Israel live 
with disabilities. Disability pen-
sion is minimal.
• 1 in 3 children in Israel live 
under the poverty line
We then toured the historic 
Beit Hansen, a former hospital 
for people with Hansen’
s disease, 
which in the past, had a negative 
stigma and was often referred to 
as “leprosy.
” I appreciated that 
the hospital and its staff gave the 

residents a purpose in life, seeing 
them beyond their illness.
I was able to put facts we 
learned about youth-at-risk 
into perspective as we stopped 
by Susan’
s House, a welcoming 
workplace for youth ages 15-18 
who struggle with learning dis-
abilities, mental health concerns, 
trauma, substance abuse issues 
or have disruptive home lives. 
The teens work at Susan’
s 
House three days a week creating 
pottery, glass art and jewelry. I 
loved meeting some of the teens, 
who were passionate about their 
craft. I could tell this place fos-
ters self-empowerment and gives 
them a sense of community.

TUESDAY, NOV. 26
This day was by far the most 
impactful for me as we delved 
into the lives of Arab Israelis 
through a visit to East Jerusalem. 
We met with Michal Ben Dov, 
director of strategic partner-
ships for JDC-ELKA, JDC’
s 
Institute for Leadership and 
Governance, which works to 
bring Israeli leaders together to 
achieve sustainable impact across 
all sectors of the country.
I was initially struck by the 
glaring socioeconomic gaps in 
East Jerusalem. Residents there, 
primarily all Palestinians, were 
denied basic needs such as gar-
bage disposal, good education, 
welfare and basic services for 
around 50 years.
Michal shared it wasn’
t until 
2014 during the “Stabbing 
Intifada” that the state of Israel 
and the city of Jerusalem under-
stood it must deal with the bla-
tant disparities in Jerusalem.
Despite some progress 
through the JDC and govern-
ment entities, the rate of poverty 
remains at about 76 percent. 
Michal pointed out that people 
have compared East Jerusalem to 
troubled areas in Detroit.

While there, we visited a grade 
school and learned about JDC-
supported educational programs. 
We also heard from an Arab 
Israeli woman named Heba, a 
JDC-ELKA employee who took 
it upon herself to find work and 
put herself through college. 
Heba’
s story better illustrated 
the gaps in education between 
the Arab and Jewish sectors, 
but also emphasized a rise of 
Arab Israeli women over men in 
obtaining good education and 
high-tech jobs.
Following an intense day of 
learning, we finished on a high 
note with an interactive culinary 
tour at Shuk Machane Yehuda, 
where we sampled everything 
from sushi to khachapuri, a 
Georgian cheese and egg bread. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27
The journey through Jerusalem 
continued as we made our first 
stop at JDC’
s ESHEL “Up 60+” 
program, geared toward retired 
seniors. I was surprised to learn 
if you’
re working in the public 
sector in Israel, you are required 
to retire by age 67 for men and 
62 for women.
We heard from some seniors 
in the program, including a 
native Detroiter, Idele Ross. She 
also happens to be a former free-
lance writer for the Jewish News!
We were then schooled on the 
JDC TEVET program, which 
develops programs, models 
and innovative approaches to 
employment for Haredi teens. 
The program heads engage with 
yeshivahs around Israel to help 
young men interested in higher 
education achieve academic 
goals in conjunction with their 
Torah studies. My biggest take-
away was how the program helps 
guide young men to discover 
their true passions.
We then headed for Be’
er 
Sheva, where we engaged with 

 “Coming home from 

this trip, I have a 

stronger sense of pride 

regarding my Jewish 

faith than ever before. 

I come home with 

a vision to continue 

the conversation 

and educate Detroit 

about the programs 

in Israel. I plan to 

fi
 nd programs in the 

Detroit area that are 

like those we visited 

in Israel and ask 

myself, ‘How can I get 

involved?’”

— RACHEL KESTENBERG, 
BIRMINGHAM

Simonna Matz, Allison Jacobs, Rachel Kestenberg, Mimi Marcus, Angela Reich, 
Brooke Bendix and Rachel Matz with the Hapoel Be’
er Sheva Unified Soccer Team

