— Ophira Navon, wife of President Yitzhak Navon of Israel, launched “Project Enrichment” here last night, in support of the many educational activities conducted for children in Israel by the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO.
The festive occasion at the Four Seasons Hotel was attended by many prominent Canadians, including Corinne Levesque, wife of Premier Rene Levesque of Quebec, and Maureen McTeer, wife of the former Prime Minister of Canada, Joe Clark, as well as members of the diplomatic corps, local political figures and members of the Hadassah-WIZO national executive.
Mrs. Navon, in Canada for the first time, observed that Israel is a small country lacking many natural resources and must invest in its most precious resource, the future of its children. Israel’s First Lady is a child psychologist by training and holds a degree from Columbia University in New York.
“To strengthen the roots of children in their native land, milk and honey is not enough, “she said. She stressed what Israel has accomplished in its 32 years of independence by welding together people from 102 countries. “To create a conscious citizenry and prepare future leaders, we must invest in children’s education,” she said.
Muriel Small, national president of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, who introduced Mrs. Navon, said every child in Israel deserves an education. She said that a contribution of $10,000 per child over a period of five years would make this possible. As a token of gratitude to Mrs. Navon, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO announced that 18 youth scholarships have been created in her name for the year 1981.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
