Pardes In the Press
My "Seminar on Wheels"
By Marissa Feinman, Jewish Community News
Beginning on Sunday, November 16, 2008, I was fortunate enough to participate in an annual conference called the General Assembly. Each year the United Jewish Communities (UJC), which includes federations and Jewish communities from all over North America and represents more than five million Jews, has a conference that is held in a different North American city. Every five years the conference is held in Israel and, as a former Hillel employee and student leader, I was chosen to be a representative amongst the more than 3,000 in attendance.
The first two days of the conference highlighted the importance of the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. A multitude of Israeli politicians, American Jewish professionals and American lay leaders gave speeches, moderated panels and ran breakout sessions that sounded to my untrained ear like a simultaneous pat on the back and underhanded (and sometimes not so underhanded) plea for more financial support. Just as I was wondering if I my place at the conference would have been better served by another wealthy philanthropist, I participated in a "seminar on wheels."
While the speakers and sessions were interesting, this special day was the most impactful for me. I finally got to see some of the good that I had been hearing about. Of the 60 plus itineraries available for our Tuesday site visits, I headed to the Negev where I got to see some of the programs funded by the Joint Distribution Committee, the International arm of the UJC. The description for my track stated that we would be encountering some of Israel's poorest and most distressed citizens. As the day progressed we saw a Bedouin community, a young adults resource center and a small business program aimed at helping members of Negev kibbutzim which are privatizing rapidly.
Each of these communities faces unique challenges. The Bedouin community is adapting to a new stationary life. The women are gaining the opportunity to engage in educational programs with their infants, while the school system is developing in order to bridge the gap between Israeli and Bedouin education systems. The young adults who are generally first generation immigrants are given guidance and resources that their parents would not have been able to provide. Lastly, adults are learning more than half way through their lives, how to be self sufficient.
At the end of the day I felt inspired. As a member of the global Jewish community, I have a contribution to make. I can be a Jewish professional, lay leader or philanthropist, but whatever form it takes, I can make an impact.
Marissa Feinman is studying at the Pardes Institute in Israel. She received a scholarship from your Jewish Federation for this program. She will be one of two guest Israel correspondents, reporting from Israel, both her experiences and what she sees going on there, until her return in Summer 2009.
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