An Indian perspective on Szarvas

Amazing video from my colleague Gideon Herscher. Gideon was in India, taking part in the first-ever Limmud conference there. He had a brief moment to interview Indian graduates of our Szarvas Camp in Hungary .... it shows you what we mean when we talk about a global effort for Jewish renewal ...

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Philippines Typhoon Update

My colleague Danny Pins was in the Philippines this week and reported back to several of us this afternoon on what he’s seen and done. We’ll send out more information shortly, but in the meantime here are a few important points he made:

(1) Paradoxically, notwithstanding the massive property damage and huge dislocation, the loss of life was much lower than expected. This was partly due to the (unfortunate) experience that the islands have with typhoons (some twenty a year), and a well-organized response that allowed many to get to shelter and safety fast.

      (2) The resilience of the civilian population is remarkable. The main emphasis of the next phase of reconstruction is going to be “debriefing” and rehabilitation – to get as many children as possible into school and as many adults as possible back to work

       (3) The geography of the country is really important – it’s an archipelago of over 7000 islands and a population of almost 100 million scattered around those islands. What that means is that JDC didn’t go straight to Tacloban, like many other NGOs – we’re focusing on other less-visited areas.  But areas that were equally-severely damaged, nonetheless.

The aim right now is coordination. We've spent approximately 30% of the funds with partners on the ground and coordinating with the local Jewish community. Now we’re going to move to the next phase and look at longer-term strategies to help the population. More on this to come.

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The Philippines and Ethiopia

I'm in Boston this weekend with my inspiring colleague, Dr. Rick Hodes, JDC's medical director in Ethiopia. He is one of the most dedicated and impressive Jewish communal heroes I know, and I'm grateful to be spending time with him and CJP (the Boston Jewish federation).

While we're spending time talking about Ethiopia, and JDC's non-sectarian work, the question of the work we're doing in the Philippines keeps coming up. You'd think that they're not connected. But (unsurprisingly) they are.

In audience after audience I see the same themes resonate for the work that we do together - doesn't matter whether it was in Japan, or Haiti, or Myanmar ... or Ethiopia or the Philippines.

Working with an eye on our Jewish values is the same. No matter where.

The commitment to saving the world, one life at a time, is the same commitment.

The value of human dignity is the same value.

And the example set by colleagues such as Adam, en route to help, is an inspiration.

The Philippines

I was moved to see this wonderful email from CJP (the Boston Jewish federation) from an amazing woman. Geraldine and I have been to several countries on JDC-CJP missions together. She is a leader in the Boston Jewish community; when the typhoon hit she was on the ground, and served as a liaison for the Jewish community in the Philippines and JDC.

Her bravery, her commitment and her Jewish values are an inspiration.

Dear CJP Family,

As many of you know, I spent the past week in the Philippines coordinating relief efforts to various areas ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan. Locally known as Typhoon Yolanda, Haiyan is now considered one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the Pacific region. While my family was spared, many of my relatives and friends lost loved ones to the winds and sea as their homes were engulfed by 30 foot waves and as winds of over 195 mph battered debris across towns and cities, tossing people around like flies and literally ripping children from the arms of their parents.  With 4,000 dead and 3 million displaced, the numbers belie the additional horrors of those who currently survive. 

Highly anxious about my family's safety and what I might find upon reaching my damaged town, I was therefore surprised to receive an email from Barry when I landed in Manila.  That Barry even thought of reaching out to me during this time of need moved me greatly.  And the messages of support I subsequently received from Gil, Zamira and Seth provided so much comfort that I literally started crying when I received the emails. Though thousands of miles away, their thoughtfulness and concern exemplified to me the unique and authentic caring we have for one another in our Boston community. 

What happened after that was even more amazing.  As CJP opened a mailbox to support relief work, thousands and thousands of dollars poured in to fund CJP's coordinated efforts with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).  It wasn't too long before I started communicating on a daily basis with JDC Israel and New York about what was going on the ground and how we might best create a strategic plan to maximize the deployment of funds especially donated by our Jewish communities. 

While waiting for the JDC to arrive, I, for the next few days, threw myself into distributing throughout my province potable water, food, tents, and other relief goods alongside the Red Cross and Rotary International. I toured damaged areas with UNICEF, providing much needed translations, since I speak the local dialects fluently. I also did what I could to comfort refugees seeking shelter in evacuation camps and donated medicines to local public health offices. 

When the JDC finally arrived a week later, I was able to provide them with both a written and oral report of my on-the-ground observations and thoughts regarding the country's needs and prospects for rehabilitation.  I am also continuing to arrange for them people to meet in government as well as the private sector.  Realizing how well we work together, JDC's Danny Pins (whose grandparents were flown by the JDC along with 1000 other Jews to the Philippines to escape Nazi Germany during World War II) has requested that I continue to "stay on the team" for the duration of this relief effort which of course I am absolutely more than happy to do. 

I also have to mention that in the midst of all the chaos, one of my more uplifting experiences was davenning with the Filipino-Jewish, mostly Sephardic Orthodox kehilla at the Beit Yaacov Synagogue on Shabbat in Manila. (The attached photo is a meeting of the leadership of the Philippine Jewish community with  Geraldine   and a representative of the JDC )   Surprisingly, I was able to follow along with the entire Sephardic service and derived much strength and comfort from singing some familiar tunes. At the kiddush we exchanged stories about our respective communities, discussed what we do at CJP and marveled at the amazing presence of the IDF, IsrAID, and soon to arrive Israel Trauma Network in the country's most devastated areas. 

As I reflect upon my experiences over the past week, I humbly think about how small we are in the greater scheme of the universe and how insignificant we seem against the powerful forces of nature. And yet, despite our human frailty, the Torah portion read at Beit Yaacov, of Jacob's struggle with the angel and his subsequent renaming as Israel also reminded me of how great we can be when we infuse our humanity with spiritual strength to overcome, and face head-on, whatever challenges might come our way. 

It is with this in mind that I wholeheartedly thank Barry, the Staff, the Board, and everyone at CJP for rising to the occasion and responding immediately, without hesitation, to address the unimaginable human suffering that has befallen the country in which I was born.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for reaching out to me and my fellow Filipinos in this dark time of need. And thank you so much for allowing me, through your actions, to experience the purest form possible of chesed and rachamim.  You have no idea how much spiritual strength you give me. I am so proud to be a Jew and a member of our community. 

With my deepest thanks,

Geraldine

¡Viva Jewish Buenos Aires!

With a quarter of a million Jews, Argentina is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the world — and one of its most vibrant. 

Aided by JDC support, creative programs, and dynamic community institutions, the community has rebounded from a devastating 1994 terrorist attack and the financial crisis that plagued the country at the start of the millennium.

Today Buenos Aires is at the vanguard of global Jewish innovation, and an exciting place to be Jewish.

Lots of places ... or just a few

I’m in Connecticut for the next couple of days, meeting federations and supporters of our work. One aspect, in particular, keeps coming back as a theme in my meetings, and I wanted to write a few thoughts about it now.

It’s this issue of the elderly in the former Soviet countries. We work in some 2800 locations, across 11 time zones (don’t get me started … I’ve been down that road before) and in many of the locations there are elderly Jewish clients dispersed to the far winds. 

Wouldn't it be so much easier – I often get asked – if we centralize the clients in large urban areas?

On the face of it, this is a really good, and obvious question. 

And especially when you think about two factors that are worth considering:

(1)    The Joint is a leading agent for ageing-in-place programs in places like Israel (such as “supportive communities,” which we call Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities” or NORCs, in the US)

(2)    The trend of Jewish life is to consolidation and urbanization (lots more on this in some future post).

And yet … there are (at least) three reasons why we’re not going to see any centralization of elderly clients to receive the life-saving food, medicine and homecare provisions that we give in the former Soviet Union:

(1)    From a demographic perspective … all those who would have moved, already moved. Most of them left, in the late 80s and early 90s. Those who are now elderly in their apartments don’t want to move anywhere. Forcing them to move isn't something we can feasibly or morally do.

(2)    From an economic perspective … building old-age homes is an astronomically expensive proposition in former Soviet countries. It would destroy our budgets and we’d need to create a whole infrastructure around these homes that doesn't currently exist.

(3)    From a psychological perspective … the idea of an old-age home in the former Soviet Union is a terrifying prospect for an elderly person. It conjures up all kinds of horrible institutionalized Soviet memories of times past.

I’m not saying it won’t happen. I’m certainly not saying it can’t happen. But if you've got the desire to make a massive impact on the lives of elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union, the best bang for your charitable buck right now is the Hesed system and its incredible life-saving work.

And if you haven’t yet climbed the five flights of stairs in a crumbling Khrushchyovka building, held hands with an elderly client whose life is saved because of the generosity and kindness of our supporters …  come with us on a mission soon, and see what we mean when we talk about saving one life is like saving the entire world.

It's Getting Worse

Poverty rates in Israel are getting worse, according to my colleagues at the JDC-Myers-Brookdale Institute.

In 2011, there were 442,200 poor families in Israel (20% of all families), encompassing 1,838,600 persons (25% of all persons), of whom 860,900 were children (36% of all children).
50% of the poor families are working poor.

What this means is that there's been an increase from ten years ago, when there were 318,900 poor families in Israel (18% of all families), encompassing 1,169,000 persons (19% of all persons), of whom 530,700 were children (25% of all children).

The most dramatic increase was in the rate of children living in poor families, which rose from 25% in 2001 to 36% in 2011.

The rate of poverty among families in Israel is the second highest among OECD countries and is almost double that of the OECD average.

There are also regions that are particularly poor. The rate of poverty among persons is highest in the Jerusalem district (46%) and the Northern district (37%), but is much lower in the Southern district (26%) and the Central district (13%).

If we don't solve this, the peace process won't matter anyway.
This is also an existential threat to the future.


If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Life in the middle of death

Typhoon Haiyan's impact has been awful. But in the midst of the suffering there are some inspiring stories of hope and life.

Because of the generosity and support of amazing donors in North America, JDC has been able to provide the following supplies to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) field hospital in Bogo, at the northern end of Cebu Island:

Equipment: Portable Ultrasounds, electrocardiograms, CR scanners, Monitors.

Supplies: Pharmaceuticals especially for babies and children, baby food, bottles, diapers, children's crutches.

The team delivered a baby boy last night. His mother named him “Israel.”

There's a lot more work to do: there’s no running water in the island, tens of thousands are homeless. 

Whatever help you can give will save lives immediately. You can go to www.jdc.org to make a donation.

Shabbat shalom.

A national problem

One of the most fascinating meetings I’ve had in a long time took place yesterday.

I was hosting a leadership mission from the Associated (the Baltimore Jewish federation) here at the Joint’s offices in Jerusalem. 

We had a series of panels on fascinating topics – Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Israelis and their integration into “mainstream” economic life; European Jewry’s challenges; legal and illegal migration to Israel, and more. But one topic fascinated me because of the array of talent in the panel discussing the issue: economic development in the Israeli-Arab sector.

The panel included four people who, I think, are at the forefront of what we talk about when we talk about change and talent dealing with this subject:

Avivit Hai, the Program Associate in Israel for the Inter Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues and one of the most articulate speakers on Arab-Israeli issues I’ve met;

Roi Assaf, the Head of the Social Development Department, in the Authority for the Economic and social Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors, which sits in the Prime Minister's Office;

Dr Sigal Selach, my terrific colleague and Director of the JDC-TEVET Employment Initiative; and

The inspiring and wonderful Safa Garb,  JDC- TEVET Division Director, Arab Society and Infrastructure.

What I found fascinating about the discussion – and there’s more I’ll write about this at some point – was the depth of knowledge and capacity that all four displayed. 

Roi’s words were particularly poignant: “Arab poverty [in Israel] isn’t an Arab problem – it’s a national problem. Twenty per cent of our population contributes only eight per cent of our GDP.” Imagine what we could achieve if they had the capacity and ability to do more.

The Prime Minister’s Office has some really striking statistics: 78% of Jewish men and 76% of Jewish women (ages 18-66) are employed … but only 69% of Arab men and 27% of Arab women are! Just think about the difference between over three-quarters and one-quarter. That’s a massive statement about the challenges we’re facing.

We have a first-world country with some third-world labor patterns. And it’s not sustainable.

JDC SENDS URGENT AID TO PHILIPPINES, PARTNERS WITH IDF FIELD HOSPITAL

Advance Team Heads to Island Nation to Ensure Impactful Response

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, New York, November 13, 2013 -- As part of its ongoing response to the extraordinary devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is shipping a container of critically-important food, shelter, hygiene, and medical supplies to the island nation and will ensure fresh water, sanitation items, and shelter support for those on the ground through its partners the Afya Foundation and Catholic Relief Services. 

JDC will also provide life-saving equipment and supplies to the Israeli Defense Forces Field Hospital when it arrives in Philippines. JDC previously partnered with the field hospital in Haiti, Sri Lanka, and Japan. Additionally, JDC will be providing "School in a Box" kits for temporary classrooms for displaced children through its ongoing partnership with UNICEF. JDC's advance team of disaster relief and development experts, including a medical doctor and emergency field medic, is heading to the Philippines later this week to assess needs and work with its local/international partners and the Filipino Jewish community to ensure maximum impact for survivors.

"Even while we mourn the loss of so many lives, we are working around the clock to ensure that the Filipino people are cared for as quickly and responsibly as possible. There are serious challenges ahead in the short term, but our partnerships with the IDF Field Hospital, Afya Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, and UNICEF represent a strategic and high-impact solution to the overwhelming despair Filipinos face everyday," said JDC CEO Alan H. Gill.

Harrowing reports out of disaster zones detail hundreds of thousands of people left homeless, extreme supply shortages, and slow-moving rescue and recovery efforts. These efforts are even further complicated by the vast scale of the Philippines -- made up of thousands islands -- and the overwhelming medical, nutritional, and emotional needs of millions of people in the most-affected regions. JDC has therefore focused its immediate response on the organization of relief supplies and state-of-the-art medical care to address the growing crisis among storm survivors.

JDC's disaster relief programs are funded by special appeals of the Jewish Federations of North America and tens of thousands of individual donors to JDC. JDC coordinates its relief activities with the U.S. Department of State, USAID, Interaction, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli relief agencies, and the United Nations.

JDC has provided immediate relief and long-term assistance to victims of natural and manmade disasters around the globe, including Haiti, Japan, and South Asia after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and continues to operate programs designed to rebuild infrastructure and community life in disaster-stricken regions.

To Make a Contribution:

Online: www.jdc.org

By Phone: 212-687-6200

By Mail:

JDC Typhoon Haiyan Relief

P.O. Box 4124

New York, NY 10163

United States

Please make check payable to JDC Typhoon Haiyan Relief

About JDC

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world's leading  Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters. For more information, please visit www.jdc.org

Typhoon Haiyan and the Weight of Jewish History

There’s a lovely op-ed by Alan Gill, the Joint’s CEO (pasted below) in today’s JTA about our debt to the Philippines. It particularly moved me because it’s not just about the awful humanitarian tragedy there and our response, but also about our Jewish history … and our gratitude to the Filipino people.

Our relief efforts in the Philippines have already started. We’re working with Afya to bring in a container of much-needed food, shelter, hygiene and medical supplies.  We’ll also be working with Catholic Relief Services, one of JDC's longstanding partners in delivering emergency aid at times of disaster, to help support their emergency response which includes provision of WASH (water and sanitation items) and shelter support.

We’ll be updating further over the next few days.

I saw my colleague Danny Pins this evening here in Jerusalem – he’s about to leave to head up one of our teams there. You can read a bit about him in Alan’s op-ed below.

Danny is a Jewish hero. I’m proud to have him as a partner and friend in the Joint.

Op-Ed: In its time of need, repaying a debt to the Philippines

By Alan H. Gill

November 12, 2013 10:57am

NEW YORK (JTA) — As the extent of the catastrophic damage and tragic death toll continues to grow in the Philippines, a particularly heroic piece of history should be recalled by the global Jewish community, which owes a debt to the island nation.

Seven decades ago, a Philippine president, a globetrotting Jewish family named Frieder and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, my organization, helped save the lives of more than 1,000 Jews who otherwise would have almost certainly died in the Holocaust.

Thanks to their initiative, these refugees were issued rare travel certificates to the Asian country to work as skilled laborers in the Frieders’ cigar factories in Manila — though in reality, few of them had any experience in the industry whatsoever. The audacious operation, seemingly extraordinary today, is the subject of the recently released documentary “Rescue in the Philippines.”

At the time that Manuel Quezon admitted Jews to his country, the Filipino president made what seems today like a remarkably prescient statement.

“The people of the Philippines will have in the future every reason to be glad that when the time of need came, their country was willing to extend a welcome hand,” he was quoted as saying.

We recalled this moment in history last week when we began reading reports and watching coverage of the impending super typhoon Haiyan — the strongest storm in recorded history — as it barreled toward the Philippines. In anticipation of the impact, JDC’s disaster relief and development staff assembled a contingency plan that went into full effect once news emerged of the death and destruction wrought by Haiyan.

As part of our ongoing response to the typhoon, JDC will ship critically important food, shelter, and hygiene and medical supplies — as well as ensure the provision of water and sanitation items and shelter support — through its partners, the Afya Foundation and Catholic Relief Services. JDC’s advance team of disaster relief and development experts will head to the Philippines later this week to assess damage and needs while consulting with our local/international partners and the Filipino Jewish community to ensure maximum impact for storm survivors.

About 30 percent of funds raised will be dedicated to immediate relief for food, water, shelter, medical supplies and care, unless the emergency phase lasts longer because of expanding, critical needs among survivors. The rest will be invested in sustainable local projects that will emerge in the long, slow process of rehabilitation that is sure to come.
It’s a formula JDC, which is celebrating its centennial this year, has developed over decades of efforts in the field, from helping Ukrainians starved by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s to rehabilitating survivors of genocide in Rwanda. And on behalf of the North American Jewish community and with its support, we have over the past decade delivered tens of millions of dollars in aid to victims of natural and manmade disasters in Southeast Asia, Haiti and Japan.

These efforts now come full circle, especially for one member of our team arriving in the Philippines later this week, Danny Pins. In addition to being one of our development and employment experts, Pins’ mother and grandparents were among the German Jews who fled to the Philippines to seek safe haven in 1938. His posting, in many ways a homecoming despite previous trips to the country, is highly symbolic.

Today, in the wake of one of the worst storms in history, with perhaps more than 10,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, we are fully committed to fulfilling President Quezon’s prophecy and returning the favor to the Filipino people. Not just because we are Jews, the heirs to this nation’s life-saving actions, but because we firmly believe in mutual responsibility and the idea that each individual life is valuable beyond measure.

(Alan H. Gill is the CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.)

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Typhoon Haiyan

In the aftermath of the destruction wrought by super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) has begun collecting funds for relief efforts. Responding to a quickly rising death toll and catastrophic destruction, JDC staff experts are consulting with local authorities, the Filipino Jewish community, and global partners to assess the unfolding situation on the ground and ensure survivors’ immediate needs are addressed. The typhoon, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, caused widespread damage to the island nation, especially the hardest-hit central city of Tacloban, and is barreling its way towards Vietnam.

 “Our heartfelt prayers go out to the Filipino people in the wake of yesterday’s deadly storm. We immediately activated our network of global partners and will leverage our previous experience in the region to provide immediate, strategic relief to survivors in their time of need,” said Alan H. Gill, JDC’s Chief Executive Officer. “These efforts are especially poignant for us given the Philippines’s life-saving actions during the Second World War when the country offered safe haven to more than 1,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi onslaught. It is our privilege today to honor that historic debt.”

 As damage reports and casualty rates continue to grow, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos remain inaccessible, without power and shelter in the wake of Haiyan, called Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines. JDC has a history operating in the Philippines, previously helping to fight post-typhoon cholera through an Israeli partner in 2009 and working to enhance emerging Jewish community life through the inclusion of the Filipino Jewish community members in pan-Asian Jewish events. During the buildup to World War II, JDC ensured the emigration of more than 1,000 European Jews escaping Nazi persecution to the island nation. The story of European Jews who took refuge was the subject of “Rescue in the Philippines,” a recently released documentary. It followed the remarkable story of how one family – the Frieders – together with the JDC helped bring hundreds of European Jews to Manila, saving them from near certain tdeath in the Holocaust.

JDC’s disaster relief programs are funded by special appeals of the Jewish Federations of North America and tens of thousands of individual donors to JDC. JDC coordinates its relief activities with the U.S. Department of State, USAID, Interaction, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli relief agencies, and the United Nations.

JDC has provided immediate relief and long-term assistance to victims of natural and manmade disasters around the globe, including Haiti, Japan, and South Asia after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and continues to operate programs designed to rebuild infrastructure and community life in disaster-stricken regions.


CURRENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES:

Contact has been made with the Jewish Community in the Philippines and we have offered JDC's assistance, and requested their advice and counsel, and offered to partner with the community in responding to the disaster.  The majority of the community is situated in Manila with a a small Jewish community in Cebu, and a few in Boracay.  The community reported that there are probably a few Jews that were in the direct path of the Typhoon but they are not aware of them. Hopefully they will be in contact and if need be assistance will be provided.

We are at the stage where everything is still very fluid - we don't know how much money will be collected and have available to allocate,  we are assessing the extent of the needs on the ground and are identifying US, Israeli and local partners. Within the next few days we will be sending a JDC assessment team comprised of emergency response professionals, well versed in disasters and in identifying potential partners.

Currently we are working on upcoming interventions with USAID, Catholic Relief Services, Afya, Heart to Heart, UNICEF, the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) - Field Hospital, MDA, Mashav, and other international partners of JDC from our previous disaster relief efforts.  There are several local organizations that we are vetting for disaster response capacity, some that have been working with JDC's Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI) so have a history of working with JDC.  We will work with multiple agencies depending on their capacity, access and track record with a priority for local agencies.

Our general rule is to provide one third of our funding (depending upon the amount of money we raise) to immediate relief - food, water, shelter, medical assistance and then our longer term focus is upon developing sustainable projects with vulnerable populations that have been impacted by the disaster.  Such programs can include infrastructure - the reconstruction of schools, hospitals, playgrounds that have been destroyed, and an additional set of programs that include training and capacity building through community development,  psychosocial/post trauma, education, where our focus is upon the most vulnerable populations, children, elderly, women and people with disabilities.  Wherever possible we prioritize working with local partners to build capacity and ensure sustainability.  Where appropriate we will use Israeli expertise and recognize the partnership, as well as utilize JDC's in-house expertise.

We will continue to send situational updates.

The Infiltrators

I spent the day in Tel Aviv, as I get ready for tomorrow’s General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America. 

On my way to lunch with a friend, I walked through Levinsky Park, the “Eritrean/Sudanese” area of Tel Aviv. Most of the thousands of people congregating are immigrants – African refugees who have crossed the border. It’s often called “the State of Levinsky” because of the internal rules and laws the immigrants have set for themselves.

I wanted to see this place for myself. There have been some prominent comments by Israeli politicians that these “infiltrators” are an enormous strain on Israel’s welfare system, that they carry disease, they’re rapists, a plague, a cancer. Levinsky is, ironically, in the heart of the Neve Sha’anan neighborhood – an Oasis of Serenity. But it’s never been much of a serene place – the Central Bus Station turned the area into an oasis of prostitution, crime and vandalism long before African immigrants came. Poor social and urban planning can do that. And now many of the migrants sleep on the floor, in the park. 

Most aren’t allowed to work or get official residency rights, so they’re trapped in a spiral of despair and poverty.

My colleagues in JDC’s The Centerfor International Migration and Integration (CIMI) have spent some time looking at this issue. Here’s the bottom line: if we don’t recognize that there’s a problem here … we’re probably never going to resolve this.  

If we don’t let them work, the situation’s going to get worse.  

And if they’re here, we have obligations towards them. We should be helping Israel meet this challenge and enhance protection for asylum seekers.

Getting ready for the #JFNAGA

I'm heading to Jerusalem to take part in the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. It's one of my favorite events of the year ... seriously. And there are a couple of good reasons for it:

(1) there are some really awesome people going. People I admire, people I find inspiring, and people I want to see.

(2) it's in Israel. Any excuse, frankly, is a good excuse to go.

and (3) a lot of what I like most in the federation world is there. The GA is the focal point for much of the discussions, the stories, the agenda of what we talk about when we talk about American Jewish community life. If we didn't have it, we'd have to create it.

I should be spending most of my time giving briefings and presentations. But if you're there, come say hello.

Israeli women

You would think, with a casual glance at the international comparisons, that Israel is doing great when it comes to the status of women. On issues like education and employment, the base lines look favorable. For example ...

51% of Israeli women ages 25 to 34 have at least a post-secondary education, compared with 42% of other western countries.

57% of Israeli women ages 15 to 64 are employed, on par with the average for other western countries.


And yet .... behind these averages lies a very different picture.
For some of our discussions we've been looking at two areas in particular, education and employment.

In the field of education, there are some really significant gaps in the education of disadvantaged women, even though there's been a lot of progress:

(1) In 2010, 59% of Ethiopian women and 41% of Arab-Israel women didn't complete high school, compared with only 5% of all Jewish women.
Many of these women hadn't even finished 8th grade.

(2) In 2010, Ethiopian and Arab-Israeli women had much lower rates than Jewish Israelis for getting secondary degrees: 20% for Ethiopians and 32% for Arab-Israelis, compared with 67% of all Jews. (Although you should note that both Ethiopians and Arab-Israeli women made considerable progress between 2001 and 2010—from 12% to 20% for Ethiopians, and 18% to 32% for Arab-Israelis).

(3) Passing Matriculation exams: Among recent high school graduates, the gaps are declining further. In 2009-10, 43% of Arab-Israeli 12th-grade girls and 35% for Ethiopian 12th-grade girls scored high enough on their matriculation exams to meet university entrance requirements, compared with 65% of all Jewish 12th-grade girls.

Girls from all groups are outperforming boys, particularly among the disadvantaged groups. The matriculation rates among boys were 28% for Arab-Israelis and 18% for Ethiopians, compared with 58% for all Jews.

If you want more information and sources on these findings, message me, or contact my colleagues at Myers-JDC-Brookdale. If you want to receive this blog on a regular basis by email (about twice a week, depending on what else I'm up to), sign up in the top-right box where it says "follow" ...

Renewal

Lovely video from my colleagues in the former Soviet Union ... why do we do renewal, what's the purpose, and what's the inspiration ...