In 1977, Israel’s Premier Menachem Begin undertook two major historical decisions: to pursue the peace offer made by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during a dramatic visit to Jerusalem in November of that year, and to launch Project Renewal, the most comprehensive program in Israel’s history of neighborhood rehabilitation and social change.
Now, more than eight years after the two decisions were made, it is clear that their importance to Israel’s future and well-being is almost unparalleled. Furthermore, in the opinion of many, Begin will be remembered in history not only for the peace with Egypt, but perhaps even more so for his vision of improving Israel’s divided society.
More than 45,000 families, or about 300,000 people, live in 82 neighborhoods, which are participating in Project Renewal, a joint program undertaken and implemented by world Jewry and the Israeli government.
The involvement of world Jewry in Project Renewal is not only through fundraising but also through personal contacts between residents of the neighborhoods and members of the Jewis communities around the world.
INVOLVEMENT OF WORLD JEWRY
By now, the ongoing personal linkage between Jews abroad and residents of the deprived neighborhoods of Israel is an inseparable part of Project Renewal and one that gives a unique meaning and a whole new dimension to the involvement of world Jewry with Israel.
Almost every neighborhood in Israel participating in Project Renewal is twinned with a Jewish community abroad. In most community organizations, committees of lay leaders responsible for Project Renewal have been formed. In the United States, the United Jewish Appeal acts as the liaison with Project Renewal neighborhoods in Israel.
The UJA encourages mission groups and individuals to visit the neighborhoods in Israel. At least once a year, the Project Renewal committees of the Jewish communities abroad visit their twinned neighborhoods.
EVIDENCE OF CLOSE, WARM TIES
The close, warm ties between American Jews and residents of Project Renewal neighborhoods were evident during the UJA President’s Mission in Israel last month. One of the highlights of the mission came on a terribly hot Wednesday afternoon, when the 700 members of the mission boarded more than 25 buses that took them to various Project Renewal neighborhoods across the country.
This reporter joined the San Diego delegation — represented by some 45 members — that went to Kiryat Malachi, 50 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem. The affluent Jewish community of San Diego “adopted” the neighborhood of Kibbutz Galuyot in Kiryat Malachi, which is being renovated under Project Renewal.
Despite the heat wave, a large group of youngsters and adults greeted the San Diego delegation at the neighborhood community center. Although many of the Americans could not speak Hebrew and the local residents could not speak English, there was a sense of family reunion. Many hugged and kissed. Some only shook hands, but almost everybody was smiling.
Many members of the San Diego delegation have been visiting Kiryat Malachi on a regular basis. They regard some of the residents in the town as personal friends, despite the difficulty in communication and despite the marked differences in culture and background.
PLEDGES BY THE SAN DIEGO JEWISH COMMUNITY
According to Gerald Kobernick, immediate past president of the San Diego Jewish Federation, the Jewish community of San Diego pledged to raise $3.2 million for the Kibbutz Galuyot neighborhood in Kiryat Malachi. “So far we have raised $2.8 million,” Kobernick said, adding, “We are working now to complete the balance.”
The community center facilities, funded by the San Diego community, include a dental clinic, center for the elderly, youth room and play center. The renovated housing of the neighborhoods are impressive, especially when compared to the buildings that are still awaiting renovation.
At the dinner tables that evening, the mood was festive. The food was authentic Moroccan, cooked especially for the event by the local residents, most of them immigrants from North African countries who came to Israel in the early 1950’s.
Howard Brotman, president of the San Diego Federation, pledged in a short speech the continued commitment of his community to the future of the Kibbutz Galuyot of Kiryat Malachi. Yossi Vanuno, Mayor of the town, thanked the American visitors, predicting that one day Kiryat Malachi would be “a major Israeli city.”
The next day, back in the luxurious hotels of Jerusalem, many of the delegates said the visit to Project Renewal neighborhoods was the “most rewarding” and “the best” day they had during their visit to Israel.
Blossom Siegel, from Newport Beach, California, said her visit to the Project Renewal neighborhood in Ashdod was a highly emotional experience for her, because it showed her “the other side of Israel.”
She said she believes that Project Renewal helped the local residents to develop “self-confidence and pride in themselves,” and made American Jews come face to face with Israel’s social problems. “This is my first visit to Israel. I can assure you it is not the last,” she said.
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