Israel, Diaspora partners seek a 'two-way street'
Sister communities discuss new models for mutual assistance
, NJJN Staff Writer | 02.28.08

Sidebar A grim month for Merchavim

Nine local volunteers and 10 Israelis vowed to intensify the relationship they formed 10 years ago when their home communities formed a partnership under a Jewish Agency for Israel program.

And doing so, they agreed, will mean reimagining the partnership between United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey and Ofakim and Merchavim as a two-way street, not a Diaspora relief effort for their Israeli cousins.

The two groups gathered at a West Orange hotel Feb. 24-26 for three days of intensive brainstorming, aided by two facilitators and a team of UJC MetroWest professionals.

"Both communities are engaged in getting to know one another better and being involved in one another's lives," said facilitator Emily Levy-Shochat, a Liberty, NY, native who moved to Israel in 1979.

"This meeting is part of a one-year process to help them look at the partnership and say, 'Where are we and where do we want to go?' Over the next five months they will continue to work on recommendations to the powers that be in their respective communities," she explained.

Ofakim and Merchavim are two of the 550 Israeli communities linked with American-Jewish organizations in the Partnership 2000, or P2K, program set up in 1994 by JAFI.

The city of Ofakim and the surrounding Negev region of Merchavim are labeled "development areas." Akin to the American enterprise zones, businesses and government have targeted them for assistance with economic growth.

"When we started the P2K program we thought we could affect the area economically, but we found out that was much too large a program," said Sandy Hollander of Newton, a former MetroWest federation president who has been involved with the partnership program from the beginning.

"Ofakim is a town of 25,000 with severe economic problems," he said. "When we started they had the largest unemployment rate in Israel, but we don't have the resources to change that."

What the partnership did find success with was in people-to-people efforts, including its "Living Bridge Program."

"We create relationships," said Hollander. "We send our kids there and they send their kids here. We get to understand their problems and they get to understand ours."

Lisa Lisser, a Short Hills resident who cochaired the American delegation at the conference, also spoke of the importance of the interpersonal contacts.

"I think MetroWest has made a wonderful impact," she said. "We have tried to become part of the fabric of their community through projects that respond to their needs," she said.

And yet Lisser suggested another challenge of the retreat: developing ways to make the partnership mutually beneficial.

"For the most part it has been a one-way street," she said. "What we are looking to do here is make it more mutual. Ofakim and Merchavim will have a strong impact in MetroWest."

Uri Barner, director of strategic planning and training at the Jewish Agency, said the partnership had been based on an outdated model.

"It used to be that the affluent Jews in MetroWest supported and gave to Ofakim-Merchavim, but that is a paradigm we need to break," said Barner. "We should perceive things in a different way. They are two communities in need, and it is in each one's advantage to support the other."

Barner said it is a challenge to engage Israelis in projects with Jews abroad.

"Unfortunately, the Israel-Diaspora relationship is not on the agenda of the average Israeli, but it should be an issue and our job is to make sure it will be an issue," he said.

To get there requires communication, said Dalia Yosef, a member of the management team at the community center in Merchavim.

"I think the most important thing is to understand each other in Ofakim-Merchavim as well as in MetroWest," said Yosef, the retreat's Israeli cochair. "We need conversations. We need open minds. We need to think together. We need to be involved all the time."

A PR problem

Leading a discussion on Feb. 25, facilitator Joe Terlov asked, "What does widening our circle of involvement mean?"

"We want people to know about P2K and to take action, to be involved," said one Israeli participant.

"So there is a public relations problem?" Terlov asked.

"In both places," replied Amir Shacham, director of Israel operations for UJC MetroWest. "Many people take part in P2K programs without knowing they are part of this concept."

"We can reach out to people affiliated with our community," said one of the MetroWest participants.

"That could be synagogues, JCCs, day schools. We know about them," said Terlov. "How about students? Hillels? Delicatessens? Are there places where young Jews go to hang out and have a good time? Starbucks? The Internet? There you go."

As they divided into four small workshops, Terlov told them to list "five ideas your community hasn't thought of yet to increase the awareness of P2K programs in their communities."

"Take one year of funding the allocation of P2K and rather than do anything else, do just one thing. Bring as many Israelis as you can here and as many Jews from here over there," suggested Shacham. "Just to visit each other's communities and create connections like this."

Then, asked to list "three things we don't want to do," one American suggested: "Create bureaucracy, unnecessary meetings, e-mail, and memos."

"We don't want to build everything around fund-raising," said another.

"We don't want to start big," said another participant. "Sometimes you need to start small and then expand a program."

Ran Juhl, manager of Ofakim's community center, described the P2K relationship as a circle.

"Not all the programs are talking about money," said Juhl. "Sometimes, partnership is just partnership. I can write you e-mails and you know me. That's it. It's friendship, moral support, a place to stay if you're in town – to sharing recipes. Whatever."

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A grim month for Merchavim

FEBRUARY WAS A grim month for residents of the Merchavim Regional Council, a sister community of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ under the Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership 2000 program.

On Feb. 17, a Kassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in an open field within the region – the first time the area, situated in the northeastern Negev, was hit by rockets. Officials and residents immediately braced for what they feared was a new chapter in the ongoing bombardment of the western Negev from Gaza.

Meanwhile, later that week The Jerusalem Post reported that officials of the Merchavim Regional Council – including its head, Avner Mori – were being investigated by the National Fraud Squad on bribery allegations.

UJC MetroWest NJ officials were saddened by the news of the investigation.

"Many members of our community have known the mayor for many years, and we all hope the allegations prove false," said Arthur Sandman, UJC MetroWest's associate executive vice president for program services, in a statement. "The relationship of UJC of MetroWest with Merchavim is a deep connection, based on mutual friendship and our common bond as Jews. Our relationship is deeply personal, with many teenagers, parents, and volunteers from our two communities befriending each other through our many programs together."

Sandman emphasized that UJC MetroWest does not have any official connection with the government of Merchavim.

"Rather, UJC of MetroWest supports programs in Merchavim through Partnership 2000, a relationship facilitated by the Jewish Agency for Israel," he said. "All funds provided by UJC of MetroWest are for charitable purposes, and all funds are disbursed in Israel by the Jewish Agency based on full financial oversight."

Added Sandman: "UJC of MetroWest will always seek to work cooperatively with the officials of Merchavim, whoever they might be at any point in time."
 

Local stories posted courtesy of the New Jersey Jewish News