Quick(ish) update…
-Nir Barkat won!!!!!!!!
-I met Nir at the mall the day of the elections! He was walking around with a few people campaigning for votes! It was like seeing a celebrity!
-The UJC’s General Assembly took place in Jerusalem this year.
- I learned that the world is in a financial crisis at the GA (who knew..), so it is important to remember to donate to your local federation even if times are tough.
-At the GA I heard Olmert, Ehud Barak, Peres, Stanley Fisher, Bibi Netanyahu, and Tzipi Livni speak amongst others.
-Besides the issue with the Palestinians, many of these speakers pointed to education and crime as areas that need special attention in this country.
-All of the speakers (if they addressed the topic) recognized the need to create a state for the Palestinians. Netanyahu even spoke at length about bolstering the Palestinian economy to create economic opportunity and a partnership between the groups.
-A highlight of the conference was the day trips that took the over 4,500 participants to over 60 nonprofits that are funded in part by the UJC. I went to visit Lone Soldiers (young men and women who made aliyah without friends or family here) at institutions that are meant to ease the transition into Israeli society. Other people went to the Dead Sea to learn about the water crisis or to visit Ethiopian communities or to other social justice organizations that have formed to fill a need.
-After the GA I went to a MASA sponsored “Building Future Leaders” seminar that featured a speech by Lieutenant General (res.) Moshe Yaalon who gave us the stump speech for the Likud Party that he recently joined as he is running for a seat in the Knessest ( I wonder if anyone told him we can’t vote here…).
-We also went on a wheelchair accessibility tour of the German Colony. Turns out Emek Refaim (a very popular street with lots of restaurants) is not wheelchair friendly.
-Lastly, we went to Machne Yehuda market (a big outdoor market with lots of vendors; it’s where I buy all my fruits and vegetables because it is much less expensive then the grocery stores) to collect food for poor people for Shabbat. Forty of us walked around with paper flyers and the amount of food we collected was incredible. The organization Shehen Tov (Good Neighbor) collects and distributes food to needy families every Shabbat. There are now 10,000 people all over Israel who receive food thanks to this organization.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/24/08 at 04:51 AM | Comments (1)Comments
sounds like you had alot of great experiences
the good neighbor organization sounds like a wonderful service organization—glad you had an opportunity to participate !
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