A 35-member delegation from the Pittsburgh Jewish Community conducted a two-day visit (November 20-21) to the region. The delegation began its visit with a joint tree planting ceremony together with 4th grade students from the "Ofek" Elementary School in Karmiel. The excited students received their visitors with a mix of Israeli songs and invited their guests to return often to the region so that they can examine the growth and progress of the trees they planted together.
From there, the delegation continued on to a visit at the Family Health Center, operated under the auspices of the Social Services Administration of City of Karmiel. The center, in operation since the conclusion of the Second War in Lebanon was established in part with the help of a Pittsburgh donation.
The afternoon hours were dedicated to visiting three projects that dealt with children and young people, the Karmiel Children's Village, Kibbutz Eshbal (where the delegation inaugurated a soccer field that was donated by the UJF) and the Galilee Arab-Jewish Circus (this activity operates out of the Hadekel Elementary School and is operated by the Galilee Foundation for Value Education – Shorashim). The delegation also visited Kishorit, a life-home village in Misgav for people with special needs.
At dinner, the visitors met with local partnership activists and volunteers and enjoyed a musical evening performed by the "Paz Duo" from Ma'ale Zvia. In his remarks the delegation's head, Steven Tobe remarked "Today we saw many important and lovely projects being conducted in the region; however, for the most part we felt that we have come home, for a visit to our family".
On the second day of their visit, the group toured the Agmon HaHula in the Galilee Panhandle and met with children participating in the "Birds Know No Borders" program of the Jewish Agency. Upon conclusion of their visit in the region, the delegation met with Ron Shani, mayor of the Misgav Regional Council and Eti Levy, Council Manager who took them on a tour of the council's Emergency Preparedness Center and the Har Schkenia Observation Point.
Field of dreams, By GIL HOFFMAN (Reporter of the "Jerusalem Post")
Bella Heppenheimer experienced the worst possible hatred in Nazi Germany as a child. Now that she is 95-years-old, she is giving children the best possible love by donating a new sports field to Kibbutz Eshbal in the Misgav Region, Pittsburgh's Jewish Agency Partnership 2000 sister community.
On November 20, the 40 people on UJF-Pittsburgh's mission that was built around the United Jewish Communities General Assembly -- along with Heppenheimer's family in Israel and the children of Eshbal -- participated in a moving ceremony at the field, dedicating it to the loved ones she and her husband Manfred lost in the Holocaust.
The field will be used by the Jewish, Arab and Beduin children at the Eshbal boarding school, which helps wayward youth straighten out their lives. At the ceremony, two of the children thanked Heppenheimer and the Pittsburgh Jewish community and then inaugurated the field with basketball and soccer games against the top players on the mission.
UJF's Campaign and Resource Development Director, Brian Eglash, told the crowd at the ceremony that Heppenheimer was an amazing woman who loved children but was unable to have any of her own. He said she was unable to make the trip, but that she would soon come to Eshbal to play with the children on the field.
"Bella worked her entire life and she always loved Israel," Eglash said. "She said she wanted to make a difference for children in Israel and we thought that this was the best way. She's making a significant difference in children's lives for years to come."
Gilad Perry, who was one of the founders of Eshbal, added at the ceremony: "Not too long ago this place was only rocks, but in a short while, this dream was built. Without you, this dream would not have come true."
Eshbal is a 10-year-old community of young people committed to educating youth at risk and working on coexistence programs that brings together teens from Misgav and the neighboring Arab villages.
The 60 members of Kibbutz Eshbal cater to the 4000 children of the Galilee and region reach out to all groups in Israeli society.
"We think education is the best instrument to return Israeli solidarity," Perry told the mission. "We came with motivation and values but not a lot of experience. We realized the kids need what we have to offer them. Kids who come from nothing obtain tools here to become part of Israeli society."
Ninety percent of Eshbal graduates have gone on to serve in the army or perform national service, and kids in the school's first graduating class, who tried to burn down the kibbutz, now have careers. UJF recently started supporting a wilderness therapy program for the children at the boarding school, which helps them learn about teamwork and build self esteem, trust and understanding.
"The fact that this place is run by young adults is amazing," said 30-year-old Scott Tobe, the chairman of UJF's overseas funding committee. "There are people who say our generation is self-centered and not trying to create Tikkun Olam, and this place proves that wrong."
Another highlight of the mission for many of its participants was seeing a performance of the Jewish-Arab circus in Karmiel, which is supported by an anonymous donor from Pittsburgh. The circus brings Jews and Arab children together to learn about each other, find commonalities and perform.
The show features 10-16-year-old children from Karmiel and neighboring Arab villages on unicycles and trapezes, juggling, dancing and clowning around, culminating in the formation of a large pyramid. This is the sixth year for the program that has 50 participants divided equally among Jews and Arabs. The children perform for parents, holiday festivals and Birthright groups.
"It's a circus so they have fun, but they also learn skills," said its director, Rabbi Mark Rosenstein. "Even if they weren’t Arabs and Jews, they would learn trust and to overcome their fears. When you do that with people who are different from you, it helps you create a shared identity with them. And circuses are non-competitive so everyone can shine."
The mission also visited Karmiel's Children's Village, which is home to 270 children, aged five to 18, who are loved and guided by 17 sets of dedicated foster parents who live in the village with their own biological children. UJF is currently remodeling homes in the village so more children could live there. The group visited families and spoke to the parents and children about the challenges of their unique situation.
"The Children's Village is special because they have taken one of the most difficult situations of an orphanage and created a whole new model," Tobe said. "The fact that the couples adopt 8 to 11 children is one of the most selfless things I have ever heard in the world. The kids seem so happy, and I don't think that's true in many orphanages.
It takes a difficult situation and makes it positive."
UJF campaign chairman Ted Goldberg, campaign called the village "a miraculous atmosphere to learn and grow."
One project that UJF recently began supporting is Birds Without Borders, which brings together Jews and Arabs from the Misgav region to study birds' migratory patterns at the Hula Valley Nature Reserve Bird Sanctuary.
"It was beautiful to see the birds and the way the Jewish and Arab kids work together," said UJF chief financial officer Jeff Finkelstein. "I admit that I was skeptical about the program early on, but now that I have seen it, I am proud that we are involved with it."
The mission also attended the four-day general assembly and visited projects supported by UJC across the country. Tobe's father Stephen, who chaired the mission, said it was his first time visiting Karmiel, but he already felt at home.
"For me, the highlight of the trip was seeing the people here who are thriving because of UJF," Tobe said. "I am proud to be from Pittsburgh with everything that we are doing here."
