Impressions: Thoughts on the JCF Israel Consultation Trip

SUSIE SORKIN: "Sometimes, living an ordinary Israeli life takes a courage that most Americans never have to face. Residents of Sderot live with the reality that at any moment they will have 15 seconds to get into the nearest shelter. Soldiers live with the knowledge that when attacks happen, their job is to charge, not to retreat. Of course, most Israelis don’t face these physical dangers in their daily life. But the Israelis we met on our Consultation trip, showed remarkable courage in daring to dream and daring to fufill those dreams."

SIGALIT RUBINSON: “Each morning begins with breakfast briefings, delivered alongside bright tomatoes, savory pastries, creamy cheeses and the requisite coffee, and today brought us Benny Levin, Chair of the Israel Venture Network and Asher Elias of Tech Career. If building a better Israel is the goal then the challenge is to marry management and business skills toward social good. Levin suggested that with the decrease in outside funding and the changing face of philanthropy, the monologue of overseas to Israel funding will finally become a dialogue - shifting the relationship from donor to partner.” 

MURRAY ZUCKER: “Today, the expression "seeing is believing" was taken to a new level. The programs we visited and the people we got to meet were not only inspiring but showed how much can be accomplished to make profound social change in an Israel that is a just, pluralistic, and vibrant democracy. One of the programs, Shachar Chadash (A New Dawn), provides a culturally acceptable way for Haredi (ultra orthodox) men to serve in the IDF where they get vocational training and support in finding meaningful employment after the service. The Haredi population is rapidly increasing: the men usually don't work, their community lives off of welfare, they keep insulated - but exert a disproportionate political sway. Not only has this caused financial drain on the economy but increasing tensions and resentments among the majority of Israelis.”

GILAH ABELSON “We visited a Jewish-Arab Israeli school where the integration has been so good that the families have a monthly hike and picnic together once a month which 200 people attend! The school is in Beer Sheva which is a mixed community and there is now a waiting list for admission! Very successful and hopefully a model for other mixed towns."

JOELLE STEEFEL “I realize that I’m seeing an Israel on the cusp of major change. The dreams of societal reorientation of five and ten years ago are becoming reality…There’s a new desire among entrepreneurs to reshape their country, to address problems with strategic philanthropy, and to partner with a community that works as a successful change agent. And change is everywhere.”