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.