46 | JUNE 1 • 2023
ERETZ
W
hen Amos Gofer planned
his May visit from Israel to
Metro Detroit, he looked
forward to gathering with the Jewish
community at the “ORT and the
City” event and thanking the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
and the broader community for its
support for Kfar Silver ORT Youth
Village, where he serves as the chief
executive officer.
He did not anticipate being
separated from his family and
community as they sought shelter
from an unrelenting barrage of
rockets from Gaza. The immediate
urgency of his visit was to stress the
importance of building safe rooms for
the remaining seven homes in Kfar
Silver to provide safety and space for
daily life just 25 seconds away from
impact and destruction from rocket
attacks.
Kfar Silver, located near Ashkelon
in southern Israel, serves 1,100
students of every background. A third
of the students board at Kfar Silver.
For many children, Kfar Silver is their
only home.
Gofer stepped in as CEO of Kfar
Silver ORT Youth Village in late 2019
and has been helping one student after
the next overcome challenges and
succeed on their scholastic and life
journeys.
He lives in Kfar Silver with his wife
and three children. His home has a
safe room, which functions as a child’s
bedroom. During periods of acute
violence, like now, the whole family
moves bedding to the safe room and
sleeps there together.
“Kfar Silver is a microcosm of
Israel,” said Gofer of the children
served by the Youth Village. “It is
beautiful and provides the children
with the roots to success.”
Kfar Silver was built during the
first 10 years following Israel’s
independence. Initially, it served
surviving refugees from World War
II. A central part of the Youth Village
is the farm, a central component of
education at Kfar Silver.
Today, students choose from
one of six educational tracks
including: sports, arts, agriculture/
entrepreneurship/research, leadership,
linguistics/diplomacy, and science/
technology/engineering/mathematics.
A track can also be customized
around the interests and
talents of individual
students.
Jennifer Levine, senior
director of Federation’s
Israel & Overseas
Department, says
Federation is committed to
its partner agencies.
“The Israel & Overseas Allocations
Committee of the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit decides on
key focus areas annually,” she said.
“Currently, these priorities of funding
include youth at risk, which is an
obvious fit for supporting the work of
Kfar Silver.
“We are very fortunate in our
community to have many current
and past international leaders with
our overseas partners, JDC, Jewish
Agency and World ORT. The current
president of World ORT is our own
Kfar Silver ORT Youth Village needs funds to build safe rooms.
It Takes a Village
Jennifer
Levine
YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Federation’s Israel and
Overseas Department
visited the village in
November 2022.