From Gideon Herscher, JDC Director of Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Efforts
This year, I will have the unique opportunity to celebrate Rosh HaShana here in Haiti. Yes, the Days of Awe in a country that has experienced, firsthand, the awe of mother nature and her forces. As we prepare for these high holy days, I’d like to share a few glimpses into the more hopeful experiences I’m encountering as the JDC humanitarian aid director here in Haiti.
I open with a “hot off the press” play-by-play of tonight’s escapades.
When a car breaks down in Port au Prince, the driver’s default is to either abandon the car until further notice, or wait for someone to come by and help repair the vehicle—yes, exactly where it is, in the middle of a 1 ½ lane, two-way street. Such decisions result in hours of traffic congestion, frustration, and lots of sweat while sitting under Haiti’s unrelenting sun. So, for the past three and a half months, I have learned to build traffic-time into my daily schedule, while I pass by unchanging collapsed buildings, and street vendors scrambling to sell whatever that day may bring to the market (today it was television antennas, car floor mats, purple detergent, and delicious avocados).
This evening, however, on my way home from a JDC partners meeting, I encountered one of the most delightful traffic jams ever. At first, it seemed like the usual “driver’s default” decision to block one of the one-and-a-half available lanes. I waited quietly 30 minutes and then decided to adopt the local default custom, abandon my vehicle in the middle of the road, and investigate further. I made my way up the hill, passing a line of at least 100 abandoned cars, and joined a steady movement of people heading in the same direction. A few minutes later, I found myself among a crowd of hundreds of Haitians, waiting eagerly to enter another reality for the next 90 minutes—an impromptu outdoor movie screening. This was by far the most worthwhile traffic jam in Haiti!
The screen was set up in the middle of the street, next to a displaced persons camp, now home to approximately 3,000 people. The captive and polite crowd was comprised of those from the next door tent-camp and those that poured into the streets from nearby neighborhoods still intact—ensemble, to enjoy the spectacle. With thousands standing on both sides of the white screen, all eyes gazed at an independent film that depicted the challenges of post-earthquake life, accompanied by an uplifting soundtrack, with tribute songs by Caribbean musicians like “We shall rise again.” Still, all eyes glued to the white screen offering the 90-minute escape. And my mind locked in on the magnitude of what was unfolding before me—a kodak-moment of relief to an otherwise desperate country struggling to rise again.
The movie ended, the credits rolled, and people returned to their tents and homes. The moment had ended. It was glorious, its immediate significance spectacular, and it was over.
I share this evening’s events with you not only to offer a magical glimpse into Haiti’s post-disaster reality, but to relate to a larger and immediately relevant question to the work JDC is doing here in Haiti. As I made my way back to the car, passing the line of abandoned cars awaiting their owners, I had one question on my mind:
What is JDC doing in Haiti to create moments like the one I witnessed this evening, yet ensure such moments are able to extend into sustainable, long-term “realities of relief”?
Below are three responses to this paramount question—inspired by Maimonides’ ladder of meaningful Tsedaka, the highest rung strategically striving toward the recipients’ self-reliance:
1. This month, JDC, together with Haiti’s General Hospital in Port au Prince (Hopital de l’Université d’Etat d’Haiti), Magen David Adom, Haitian Red Cross, Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and a German aid organization (LandsAid) will complete the establishment of a state-of-the-art, fully functional, A-Z rehabilitation center and prosthetic production lab. The implications of this operation will change the reality for hundreds of disabled amputees in Port au Prince for whom walking again will no longer remain just a dream. Oscar, whom I wrote about in my last communication, is now joined by over 60 amputees who are taking their first steps, again.
2. At this moment, there are thousands of Haitian children living in a forgotten village just outside of Port au Prince, called Les Orangers. There is no school to attend in the area. For those few with the financial means to attend school, they must travel a 15 mile long truck-filled road. This daily journey is a life-threatening one. To complicate matters, this same village is currently absorbing thousands of homeless Haitians displaced since January’s earthquake. Next month, together with one of our local partners in Haiti (ProDev) JDC will break ground on what will become the Les Orangers JDC Middle School. In January 2011, the middle school will welcome its first class of 600 youngsters, who will no longer be deprived of a child’s basic right to education.
3. Over half of Haiti’s population lives in rural, remote areas. That is over 5,000,000 people. In many cases, Haiti’s rural population has no choice but to walk for days in search of the most basic of health care services. During the earthquake, the need for medical care in Haiti’s countryside was further exacerbated as the damage in areas like Leogane (the quake's epicenter) and farming regions further inland, suffered tremendous damage to human life. Fueled by the belief that all human beings, regardless of location, bear the right to medical care, JDC committed to changing the rural medical reality in select parts of Haiti. We purchased a boat, together with the Union for Reform Judaism, that traverses Haiti’s western coastline five days a week staffed by a top-level medical team from International Medical Corps. The sick who would otherwise walk at least five hours inland to access medical care, are now traveling less than a half hour to the shores of Haiti where they are met by a team of doctors—and the healing process can begin. JDC has also purchased six 4 X 4 fully equipped ambulances that are trailblazing into the country side to transport the frail to available medical care. JDC partners, Zanmi La Sante and EcoWorks, are facilitating this life-saving operation. An additional four 4 X 4 vehicles are currently on the roads of Haiti transporting hundreds of medical volunteers to remote areas with people in need of assistance. The boat and 10 vehicles are now integrated into the medical-care fabric of Haiti's countryside, and in many cases are making the difference between life and death.
On this Rosh HaShana, I ask that you consider bringing these new “realities of relief” into your thoughts and actions. And perhaps in 5771, you will consider helping spawn new sustainable realities of relief for those currently unable to do so on their own.
I leave you with one final reflection. Last week, I took one of my new friends in Haiti out for lunch. She survived Haiti’s earthquake under very difficult and traumatic circumstances. At her request, she will remain nameless. As we broke bread together, she began sharing the very graphic and horrific details of her experience being narrowly trapped between two slabs of concrete. While it was clear that this conversation was cathartic for her, I decided to openly question her desire to go into such great detail. She offered the following profound response:
Paraphrased: “Gideon, I know who you are and where you’ve come from. I know you are Jewish, and I know you are from Israel. I know of the trials and tribulations, catastrophes and atrocities your people have experienced. I know you were slaves in Egypt, were expelled from Spain, persevered as Refusenicks in the U.S.S.R, and I know you lost millions of souls in the Holocaust. And I know you were alone, without anyone at your side in these darkest hours. …And today I know that JDC has joined hands with Haiti to help us rebuild in the wake of our disaster. Despite the world’s silence in your times of need, you are here with us.”
I offered a slight nod, smiled, and bowed my head in humility to the profundity of her knowledge and understanding of our history and narrative, and its impact on our decisions as a Jewish organization to “parachute” into disaster zones in the pursuit of justice and relief for the voiceless, invisible, and forgotten.
May this Rosh HaShana bring compassion and generosity to vulnerable populations across our globe, health and optimism to the lonely and traumatized, and enduring realities of relief to the resilient people of Haiti.
Shana Tova,
Gideon Herscher
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Haiti
August 31, 2010
August 30, 2010
Looking at Jewish Morocco
Briefing from Steve Schwager, CEO
Even in our Jewish world, with its rich heritage and great diversity, Morocco stands out. Its Jewish community is distinctive on a historic scale.
Jews first arrived in Morocco over 2,000 years ago, but they really came into their own after 1492 when Spain's Jews and Muslims chose expulsion over forced conversion to Christianity and together crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa.
This shared display of steadfastness in the face of oppression helped forge a special bond between Morocco's Jews and Muslims. Thus, while political conditions were not always favorable and many Jews lived in the grinding poverty of the mellahs, Morocco became a major center of Jewish life, giving rise to great scholarship and a distinctive culture.
Morocco granted Jews equal rights as long ago as 1864. And in 1940, when the Nazi-controlled Vichy government attempted to apply anti-Semitic policies to Jews under the French protectorate of Morocco, the sultan, Mohammad V, refused to carry them out.
Today as in the past, the country prides itself on the full and equal place its Jewish citizens hold. While their numbers are fewer than 5,000—a far cry from the 250,000 of only a few decades ago—this remarkable community occupies a special place both within the Jewish world and among the Moroccan people.
JDC's role in Morocco reflects the community's uniqueness. On the one hand, since it first began working in Morocco during World War II, JDC has been deeply involved in developing and strengthening the community's education, welfare, and healthcare. Indeed, while the Moroccan community operates and funds most of its institutions itself, JDC remains a key partner in helping the community maintain quality services, providing both financial and technical support.
The significance of this partnership, however, extends beyond the services it helps bring to Morocco's Jews. Here, JDC’s International Development Program (IDP) projects take on special meaning because they uniquely express the desire of the local Jewish community to contribute to the wider society of which they are a part.
In addition to the humanitarian impact of our IDP programs—bringing water or physical rehabilitation to victims of Haiti’s earthquake, for example—and our philosophical motivation by tikkun olam, an important component of this work is helping strengthen a local Jewish community's relations with its neighbors by having them participate in the creation and implementation of these IDP projects.
Nowhere is the potential for this dual impact greater than in Morocco—and it’s precisely what has happened through a wheelchair and medical-equipment distribution project for people with disabilities.
Developed in partnership with the local Jewish community and the Amicale Marocaine des Handicapés (AMH), the project began in late 2007 with the distribution of the first of 1,100 wheelchairs. At the ceremony outside Casablanca's Jewish Home for the Aged, 50 wheelchairs were distributed to Muslim men, women, and children with disabilities. The power of this good deed was expressed on the faces of the recipients and their relatives.
But its impact reverberated well beyond the first 1,100 beneficiaries and their families: The ceremony was attended by senior dignitaries, including the Minister of Social Affairs and the Governor of Casablanca, and was covered extensively in both print and broadcast media.
Importantly, the Jewish community received the kudos. As one headline read, "The Jewish Community is bringing Help to the Disabled."
The initial phase of this project has had a ripple effect. JDC Board members who attended the wheelchair event during their mission to Morocco were moved to raise an additional gift for the country’s disabled. Adele Lebersfeld, then chair of JDC’s Africa/Asia Committee, presented the president of the AMH with a check to help purchase vans and a mobile unit that now serve the disabled in remote towns and villages.
That first distribution has also since been followed by others around the country. In May 2009, I was privileged to join other Board members at an event in Casablanca held in conjunction with the opening of the Fred and Velva Levine Community Residence. This time, the distribution was of special wheelchairs and equipment for disabled sportsmen and women.
A few weeks ago the project entered a new phase and marked another success. An additional 100 wheelchairs were made available for distribution thanks to funding from an anonymous donor. This time, the focus was on the residents of Fez, Sefrou, and Oujda. The head of the Fez Jewish community presided over the distribution ceremony that marked the 11th anniversary of the King's coronation in the presence of dignitaries. Once again, the benefit to both the disabled and to Morocco's Jewish community was incredible.
So many lives have been improved thanks to our efforts and those of our partners in the Moroccan Jewish community. From my participation in one of the ceremonies, I can attest to the immense warmth and goodwill this project generated. Irv and I are proud that JDC is a part of a non-sectarian initiative that has done so much to renew and reinforce the ancient bonds between Morocco's Jews and Muslims. Sensitive and effective—JDC-IDP at our best.
Even in our Jewish world, with its rich heritage and great diversity, Morocco stands out. Its Jewish community is distinctive on a historic scale.
Jews first arrived in Morocco over 2,000 years ago, but they really came into their own after 1492 when Spain's Jews and Muslims chose expulsion over forced conversion to Christianity and together crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa.
This shared display of steadfastness in the face of oppression helped forge a special bond between Morocco's Jews and Muslims. Thus, while political conditions were not always favorable and many Jews lived in the grinding poverty of the mellahs, Morocco became a major center of Jewish life, giving rise to great scholarship and a distinctive culture.
Morocco granted Jews equal rights as long ago as 1864. And in 1940, when the Nazi-controlled Vichy government attempted to apply anti-Semitic policies to Jews under the French protectorate of Morocco, the sultan, Mohammad V, refused to carry them out.
Today as in the past, the country prides itself on the full and equal place its Jewish citizens hold. While their numbers are fewer than 5,000—a far cry from the 250,000 of only a few decades ago—this remarkable community occupies a special place both within the Jewish world and among the Moroccan people.
JDC's role in Morocco reflects the community's uniqueness. On the one hand, since it first began working in Morocco during World War II, JDC has been deeply involved in developing and strengthening the community's education, welfare, and healthcare. Indeed, while the Moroccan community operates and funds most of its institutions itself, JDC remains a key partner in helping the community maintain quality services, providing both financial and technical support.
The significance of this partnership, however, extends beyond the services it helps bring to Morocco's Jews. Here, JDC’s International Development Program (IDP) projects take on special meaning because they uniquely express the desire of the local Jewish community to contribute to the wider society of which they are a part.
In addition to the humanitarian impact of our IDP programs—bringing water or physical rehabilitation to victims of Haiti’s earthquake, for example—and our philosophical motivation by tikkun olam, an important component of this work is helping strengthen a local Jewish community's relations with its neighbors by having them participate in the creation and implementation of these IDP projects.
Nowhere is the potential for this dual impact greater than in Morocco—and it’s precisely what has happened through a wheelchair and medical-equipment distribution project for people with disabilities.
Developed in partnership with the local Jewish community and the Amicale Marocaine des Handicapés (AMH), the project began in late 2007 with the distribution of the first of 1,100 wheelchairs. At the ceremony outside Casablanca's Jewish Home for the Aged, 50 wheelchairs were distributed to Muslim men, women, and children with disabilities. The power of this good deed was expressed on the faces of the recipients and their relatives.
But its impact reverberated well beyond the first 1,100 beneficiaries and their families: The ceremony was attended by senior dignitaries, including the Minister of Social Affairs and the Governor of Casablanca, and was covered extensively in both print and broadcast media.
Importantly, the Jewish community received the kudos. As one headline read, "The Jewish Community is bringing Help to the Disabled."
The initial phase of this project has had a ripple effect. JDC Board members who attended the wheelchair event during their mission to Morocco were moved to raise an additional gift for the country’s disabled. Adele Lebersfeld, then chair of JDC’s Africa/Asia Committee, presented the president of the AMH with a check to help purchase vans and a mobile unit that now serve the disabled in remote towns and villages.
That first distribution has also since been followed by others around the country. In May 2009, I was privileged to join other Board members at an event in Casablanca held in conjunction with the opening of the Fred and Velva Levine Community Residence. This time, the distribution was of special wheelchairs and equipment for disabled sportsmen and women.
A few weeks ago the project entered a new phase and marked another success. An additional 100 wheelchairs were made available for distribution thanks to funding from an anonymous donor. This time, the focus was on the residents of Fez, Sefrou, and Oujda. The head of the Fez Jewish community presided over the distribution ceremony that marked the 11th anniversary of the King's coronation in the presence of dignitaries. Once again, the benefit to both the disabled and to Morocco's Jewish community was incredible.
So many lives have been improved thanks to our efforts and those of our partners in the Moroccan Jewish community. From my participation in one of the ceremonies, I can attest to the immense warmth and goodwill this project generated. Irv and I are proud that JDC is a part of a non-sectarian initiative that has done so much to renew and reinforce the ancient bonds between Morocco's Jews and Muslims. Sensitive and effective—JDC-IDP at our best.
August 25, 2010
Hillel Helps Seniors Cope in Moscow
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| Photo from Hillel website |
One response initiated by the JDC office in Moscow was to put together a plan to mobilize volunteers. A “call” went out over the Russian-language Facebook as well as through other means, and many responded, including participants from the Hillel in Moscow.
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life posted an article on their website about the Moscow Hillel's efforts during this crisis. Read more about it at Hillel Helps Moscow Seniors Cope with Heat, Pollution.
August 24, 2010
Profile of a JDC Hero
From Steve Schwager, CEO
A long overdue biography was recently published in Israel on the life of Joseph (Joe) Schwartz, a JDC hero of historic proportions. Written in Hebrew by Ruth Bachi, an Israeli author who previously wrote a biography about Teddy Kollek, this engaging book—featuring a preface by Israeli President Shimon Peres—was acclaimed in Ha’aretz and has stimulated much interest. It has also prompted an exchange of letters in the newspaper from prominent figures including former Israeli Ambassador to the US Moshe Arens and Professor Yehuda Bauer of the Hebrew University. I am pleased to share that the author greatly utilized the JDC Archives in conducting research for this book.
Who was Joe Schwartz?
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz was director of JDC’s overseas operations from 1942-1950. Hundreds of thousands of Jews now in Israel literally owe their lives to him.
Dr. Schwartz joined the JDC staff as its Secretary in 1939. The following year, he traveled overseas for JDC, touring Italy, Switzerland, and Hungary in connection with JDC rescue operations. Following the Nazi occupation of France, Dr. Schwartz moved JDC’s headquarters to Lisbon and helped thousands of Jews escape across the Pyrenees to Spain, while also arranging for their emigration. During these years, Schwartz shuttled back and forth to the US and to the part of France that remained unoccupied, striving to save additional Jews from Nazi terror.
In Lisbon, Dr. Schwartz helped direct extensive aid programs for European Jews trapped in Europe. He worked closely with President Roosevelt’s War Refugee Board in its campaign to assist Nazi victims in German-controlled areas. Approximately 10,000 Jewish children were kept alive in hiding in France because of those efforts. Thousands were given false passports and were helped to escape to safety in Switzerland, Spain, the Balkans, and Palestine.
Dr. Schwartz and the late Saly Mayer, JDC’s representative in Switzerland, worked as a remarkable team that helped dangle the idea of ransom in front of the Nazis for eight months, at the same time winning concessions that led to the cancellation of deportation orders for 200,000 Hungarian Jews scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz.
Immediately after the liberation of France, Dr. Schwartz reestablished his headquarters in Paris and began to organize JDC programs that would help to rebuild life for Europe’s 1.4 million surviving Jews. But the American government also turned to Dr. Schwartz for assistance. In 1945, Dr. Schwartz accompanied Earl Harrison, who had been recruited by President Truman to investigate the conditions of the Jewish displaced persons (DPs) in the American zones of Germany and Austria. Their findings and ultimate report resulted in the improvement of living conditions in the DP camps.
Dr. Schwartz enabled tens of thousands of Jewish DPs to find their way to Palestine as “illegal immigrants” before 1948. In August 1948, after the establishment of the State of Israel, Dr. Schwartz met with Israeli officials to plan for future emigration to the new State. The result of these meetings was the historic mass movement of Jews from the world’s distressed areas, especially Operation Magic Carpet from Yemen. This was not an easy task; Dr. Schwartz traveled repeatedly to Israel to iron out problems involving the transportation by JDC of as many as 20,000 Jews each month.
Dr. Schwartz played a key role in creating Malben in Israel in 1949 to care for the elderly, chronically ill, and handicapped Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel.
In that same year, Dr. Schwartz also turned his attention to the wretched living conditions of hundreds of thousands of Jews in Muslim lands. He directed and expanded assistance programs, particularly for tens of thousands of children in North Africa.
The globe was his workplace. Early in 1950, Dr. Schwartz’s official duties took him to Tehran, where he organized rescue operations for thousands of Jews who had escaped there from Iraq, and additional thousands of Kurdish Jews who had fled from persecution in the tribal areas in Northern Iran.
Joseph Schwartz was a brilliant and exceptional man. Known as Packy to those close to him, he was born in Ukraine and moved to Baltimore at an early age. A distinguished educator and scholar and an authority on Semitics and Semitic Literature, Dr. Schwartz received his doctorate from Yale, following his graduation from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Seminary of Yeshiva University. Dr. Schwartz taught at the American University in Cairo and at Long Island University and then served as Director of the Federation of Jewish Charities in Brooklyn. He served the JDC from 1939- 1950/1, and then went on to become the Executive Vice-Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and later the Vice President of Israel Bonds.
Joe Schwartz died in 1975, leaving behind a legacy of countless good deeds.
Irv and I believe that the lay and professional leaders of JDC are carrying on the tradition of caring for the “world Jewish family” evidenced by the work of Joe Schwartz and his colleagues in the years prior, during, and after World War II. It is a tradition that serves us well and continues to make us proud.
 |
| Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz |
Who was Joe Schwartz?
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz was director of JDC’s overseas operations from 1942-1950. Hundreds of thousands of Jews now in Israel literally owe their lives to him.
Dr. Schwartz joined the JDC staff as its Secretary in 1939. The following year, he traveled overseas for JDC, touring Italy, Switzerland, and Hungary in connection with JDC rescue operations. Following the Nazi occupation of France, Dr. Schwartz moved JDC’s headquarters to Lisbon and helped thousands of Jews escape across the Pyrenees to Spain, while also arranging for their emigration. During these years, Schwartz shuttled back and forth to the US and to the part of France that remained unoccupied, striving to save additional Jews from Nazi terror.
In Lisbon, Dr. Schwartz helped direct extensive aid programs for European Jews trapped in Europe. He worked closely with President Roosevelt’s War Refugee Board in its campaign to assist Nazi victims in German-controlled areas. Approximately 10,000 Jewish children were kept alive in hiding in France because of those efforts. Thousands were given false passports and were helped to escape to safety in Switzerland, Spain, the Balkans, and Palestine.
Dr. Schwartz and the late Saly Mayer, JDC’s representative in Switzerland, worked as a remarkable team that helped dangle the idea of ransom in front of the Nazis for eight months, at the same time winning concessions that led to the cancellation of deportation orders for 200,000 Hungarian Jews scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz.
Immediately after the liberation of France, Dr. Schwartz reestablished his headquarters in Paris and began to organize JDC programs that would help to rebuild life for Europe’s 1.4 million surviving Jews. But the American government also turned to Dr. Schwartz for assistance. In 1945, Dr. Schwartz accompanied Earl Harrison, who had been recruited by President Truman to investigate the conditions of the Jewish displaced persons (DPs) in the American zones of Germany and Austria. Their findings and ultimate report resulted in the improvement of living conditions in the DP camps.
Dr. Schwartz enabled tens of thousands of Jewish DPs to find their way to Palestine as “illegal immigrants” before 1948. In August 1948, after the establishment of the State of Israel, Dr. Schwartz met with Israeli officials to plan for future emigration to the new State. The result of these meetings was the historic mass movement of Jews from the world’s distressed areas, especially Operation Magic Carpet from Yemen. This was not an easy task; Dr. Schwartz traveled repeatedly to Israel to iron out problems involving the transportation by JDC of as many as 20,000 Jews each month.
Dr. Schwartz played a key role in creating Malben in Israel in 1949 to care for the elderly, chronically ill, and handicapped Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel.
In that same year, Dr. Schwartz also turned his attention to the wretched living conditions of hundreds of thousands of Jews in Muslim lands. He directed and expanded assistance programs, particularly for tens of thousands of children in North Africa.
The globe was his workplace. Early in 1950, Dr. Schwartz’s official duties took him to Tehran, where he organized rescue operations for thousands of Jews who had escaped there from Iraq, and additional thousands of Kurdish Jews who had fled from persecution in the tribal areas in Northern Iran.
Joseph Schwartz was a brilliant and exceptional man. Known as Packy to those close to him, he was born in Ukraine and moved to Baltimore at an early age. A distinguished educator and scholar and an authority on Semitics and Semitic Literature, Dr. Schwartz received his doctorate from Yale, following his graduation from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Seminary of Yeshiva University. Dr. Schwartz taught at the American University in Cairo and at Long Island University and then served as Director of the Federation of Jewish Charities in Brooklyn. He served the JDC from 1939- 1950/1, and then went on to become the Executive Vice-Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and later the Vice President of Israel Bonds.
Joe Schwartz died in 1975, leaving behind a legacy of countless good deeds.
Irv and I believe that the lay and professional leaders of JDC are carrying on the tradition of caring for the “world Jewish family” evidenced by the work of Joe Schwartz and his colleagues in the years prior, during, and after World War II. It is a tradition that serves us well and continues to make us proud.
August 19, 2010
STRIVE Employment Program Featured in Jewish Press
Read about Nechama at Striving For Success in Israel.
August 17, 2010
JDC ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR PAKISTAN FLOOD RELIEF
NEW YORK, NY, August 17, 2010 — The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization, is collecting funds to aid victims of the devastating floods in Pakistan. JDC has previously provided relief to the Pakistani people in the wake of the disastrous 2005 and 2008 earthquakes.
"By harnessing our vast experience in international disaster relief and tapping our network of partners on the ground to assess the most pressing needs, JDC will quickly respond to those affected by the floods in Pakistan," said JDC CEO Steven Schwager. “Guided by the principle of tikkun olam (repairing the world), we’ll help ensure that the most vulnerable are reached.”
JDC, which provides life-saving food, clothing, medicine, and other necessities in more than 70 countries around the globe, has implemented similar relief efforts in places like Haiti, countries in South Asia in the wake of Indian Ocean Tsunami, and in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis. One hundred percent of funds collected will be directed to relief efforts.
JDC is closely coordinating with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Interaction in Washington D.C.
"By harnessing our vast experience in international disaster relief and tapping our network of partners on the ground to assess the most pressing needs, JDC will quickly respond to those affected by the floods in Pakistan," said JDC CEO Steven Schwager. “Guided by the principle of tikkun olam (repairing the world), we’ll help ensure that the most vulnerable are reached.”
JDC, which provides life-saving food, clothing, medicine, and other necessities in more than 70 countries around the globe, has implemented similar relief efforts in places like Haiti, countries in South Asia in the wake of Indian Ocean Tsunami, and in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis. One hundred percent of funds collected will be directed to relief efforts.
JDC is closely coordinating with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Interaction in Washington D.C.
To Make a Contribution:
Online: www.jdc.org
By Phone: 212-687-6200
By Mail: check payable to
JDC-Pakistan Flood Relief
P O Box 4124
New York, NY 10163
New York, NY 10163
August 13, 2010
JDC RESPONDS TO DEVASTATING RUSSIAN HEATWAVE
NEW YORK, NY, August 13, 2010 – Amidst 100-plus degree temperatures and the suffocating, smoky air from fires south of Moscow, 82-year old Svetlana suffered without air-conditioning in her cramped apartment and wondered how she would survive. The intolerable heat and discomfort brought on by the ecological disaster made respite nearly impossible. What was she to do? Fortunately, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was already in action — its response team ready to do everything necessary from check-in calls, in-home visits, revitalizing meal deliveries, and fan purchases to help those most tormented by the scorching weather. JDC, a leading provider of humanitarian aid in Russia, stepped up its daily services for seniors and children in response to the emergency situation, including creating a Moscow-based volunteer program led by more than 40 young Jewish students and professionals.
“With thousands of Jewish seniors and children languishing in the unprecedented Russian heat and smoke pollution , we leapt into action. By activating our strong network of community centers and social workers with supplemental help from young people who gave up their traditional Russian summer vacations to volunteer, we have helped many people escape the oppressive and exhausting conditions brought on by this environmental crisis,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
In Moscow alone, JDC staff and the young volunteers – often recruited through Facebook and JDC young leadership programs – have made more than 900 calls and numerous home visits to isolated seniors. During these visits, the young people provided much-needed solace to the elderly and brought extra food, drinking water, medicine, and helped clean their homes. These volunteers have also staffed a children's care center at the Nikitskaya JCC, where air-conditioned relief is being provided for low-income families.
Outside Moscow, JDC efforts include increased monitoring and support of the elderly; the installation of additional air-conditioning units in its local community centers in regions most affected by the heat and the transportation of seniors from their hot homes to these centers. JDC also joined leaders like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in making a donation to the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation’s fund for victims of the wildfires that were sparked by the high temperatures.
Read more about JDC 's efforts at No Passport Required.
“With thousands of Jewish seniors and children languishing in the unprecedented Russian heat and smoke pollution , we leapt into action. By activating our strong network of community centers and social workers with supplemental help from young people who gave up their traditional Russian summer vacations to volunteer, we have helped many people escape the oppressive and exhausting conditions brought on by this environmental crisis,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
In Moscow alone, JDC staff and the young volunteers – often recruited through Facebook and JDC young leadership programs – have made more than 900 calls and numerous home visits to isolated seniors. During these visits, the young people provided much-needed solace to the elderly and brought extra food, drinking water, medicine, and helped clean their homes. These volunteers have also staffed a children's care center at the Nikitskaya JCC, where air-conditioned relief is being provided for low-income families.
Outside Moscow, JDC efforts include increased monitoring and support of the elderly; the installation of additional air-conditioning units in its local community centers in regions most affected by the heat and the transportation of seniors from their hot homes to these centers. JDC also joined leaders like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in making a donation to the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation’s fund for victims of the wildfires that were sparked by the high temperatures.
Read more about JDC 's efforts at No Passport Required.
August 12, 2010
Answering The Challenge of Employment in Israel
From Steve Schwager, CEO
If you have ever wondered about the impact that your dollars to JDC are having on global Jewry or life in Israel, look no farther than The Financial Times over the past few days. In the article entitled, “A not very secular shift” by Tobias Buck (excerpts below with permission from The FT) and a letter by me sharing JDC’s response, hundreds of thousands of high profile global leaders, from business to politics, were able to see our work—as the analysts of a critical problem and then, as the partner in bringing solutions to the table.
The article extensively cites Professor Dan Ben-David, Executive Director of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel (an independent research institute that receives support from JDC). Dan shares and analyzes recent Taub findings on unemployment trends among Haredi men and Israeli Arab women, and their economic and political implications on the State of Israel.
As Isaac “Buji” Herzog, Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services remarked at our May Board meeting, “The contribution of JDC to the resilience of the community in Israel—the resilience of the society in Israel in all of its ethnicity, multiculturalism, and mosaic-type structure—is enormous. It’s almost unimaginable… I’m saying this as one of your most serious partners who works with JDC, with Joint Israel, on a daily basis, and believes that you are an incredible partner and you exemplify what partnership is all about.”
As many of you know, JDC and the Government of Israel launched the TEVET initiative in 2005 to help break the cycle of poverty among population groups with high levels of chronic unemployment—Haredim, Israeli Arabs, immigrants, young adults, and individuals with disabilities. TEVET takes into account the cultural and other barriers that keep these citizens from finding and keeping jobs and develops programs to integrate them into Israel’s workforce in a way that is culturally sensitive.
I share with you my letter to the editor, which was published in The Financial Times, highlighting TEVET’s success in bolstering employment among Haredim and Israeli Arabs—meaningful economic boosts to them and to Israel as a whole.
Sir,
Tobias Buck (“A not very secular shift”, Analysis, August 5) uncovers a challenge for the State of Israel that requires both grassroots and governmental efforts to ensure that the Haredi and Israeli-Arab populations can become viably employable.
To that end, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the State of Israel are already working together on 60 employment programmes, more than 15 of which have been strategically tailored to put the Haredi and Israeli-Arab populations to work.
In the last five years, we’ve placed more than 5,000 Haredi men and several thousand Israeli-Arab women into Israel’s workforce. Such jobs include positions in Israel’s high-technology industry as computer programmers, as well as jobs as bus drivers, photographers, cashiers and hairdressers.
And while the problem presented in your analysis seems staggering, our efforts to employ these groups – as well as the other 800,000 chronically unemployed adults in Israel – are producing encouraging results.
Steven Schwager, Chief Executive, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), New York, NY, US
I also share with you excerpts from the original Financial Times article.
…[An increasingly vocal group of economists and policymakers] point out that Israel is facing a dramatic demographic shift that will have a deep impact on its ability to sustain economic growth and keep public finances in balance, weakening its ability to deal with security threats in the region.
The problem, in short, is that the two fastest growing groups – the Haredim and Israel’s Arab minority – are also the poorest, least productive and least educated. Both include a disproportionately large number who do not work and depend on welfare. The problem is particularly acute among ultra-orthodox men, 65 per cent of whom do not participate in the labour force, and Israeli-Palestinian women, 76 per cent of whom are outside the workforce.
…The Arab minority already accounts for 21 per cent of the population, with Haredim estimated to make up 8-10 per cent. Yet their combined share is certain to rise dramatically. Analysts say the best way of illustrating their demographic potential is to look at education. According to a recent study by the Jerusalem-based Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, almost one in two elementary pupils is being taught in an Israeli-Arab or ultra-orthodox school. Prof Dan Ben-David, director of the Taub Center, argues that simply extrapolating this trend into the future is fraught with problems but yields remarkable results nonetheless. The Taub Center report finds: “If the changes of the past decade continue, then in 2040 the share of ultra-orthodox and Israeli-Arab pupils will be 78 per cent of all pupils in Israel’s primary schools.”
…Policymakers have only recently started grappling with the question of how to integrate the Haredim and the Israeli-Palestinians into the workforce. Mr Braverman’s ministry, for example, vowed this year to invest Shk800m ($213m, €161m, £134m) in projects designed to boost employment and education among the Arab population.
…Analysts agree that the shifting demographics require a bold policy response, and most argue that change is needed sooner rather than later. As Prof Ben-David says: “There is a point of no return, and when we cross it we will not be able to change things democratically – and maybe not at all.”
Irv and I hope that JDC’s research and programmatic response, highlighted in this media coverage, reaffirm that your support helps create solutions to systemic issues in Israel and to challenges facing Jewish communities worldwide.
To learn more about TEVET, please visit the JDC website.
If you have ever wondered about the impact that your dollars to JDC are having on global Jewry or life in Israel, look no farther than The Financial Times over the past few days. In the article entitled, “A not very secular shift” by Tobias Buck (excerpts below with permission from The FT) and a letter by me sharing JDC’s response, hundreds of thousands of high profile global leaders, from business to politics, were able to see our work—as the analysts of a critical problem and then, as the partner in bringing solutions to the table.
The article extensively cites Professor Dan Ben-David, Executive Director of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel (an independent research institute that receives support from JDC). Dan shares and analyzes recent Taub findings on unemployment trends among Haredi men and Israeli Arab women, and their economic and political implications on the State of Israel.
As Isaac “Buji” Herzog, Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services remarked at our May Board meeting, “The contribution of JDC to the resilience of the community in Israel—the resilience of the society in Israel in all of its ethnicity, multiculturalism, and mosaic-type structure—is enormous. It’s almost unimaginable… I’m saying this as one of your most serious partners who works with JDC, with Joint Israel, on a daily basis, and believes that you are an incredible partner and you exemplify what partnership is all about.”
As many of you know, JDC and the Government of Israel launched the TEVET initiative in 2005 to help break the cycle of poverty among population groups with high levels of chronic unemployment—Haredim, Israeli Arabs, immigrants, young adults, and individuals with disabilities. TEVET takes into account the cultural and other barriers that keep these citizens from finding and keeping jobs and develops programs to integrate them into Israel’s workforce in a way that is culturally sensitive.
I share with you my letter to the editor, which was published in The Financial Times, highlighting TEVET’s success in bolstering employment among Haredim and Israeli Arabs—meaningful economic boosts to them and to Israel as a whole.
Sir,
Tobias Buck (“A not very secular shift”, Analysis, August 5) uncovers a challenge for the State of Israel that requires both grassroots and governmental efforts to ensure that the Haredi and Israeli-Arab populations can become viably employable.
To that end, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the State of Israel are already working together on 60 employment programmes, more than 15 of which have been strategically tailored to put the Haredi and Israeli-Arab populations to work.
In the last five years, we’ve placed more than 5,000 Haredi men and several thousand Israeli-Arab women into Israel’s workforce. Such jobs include positions in Israel’s high-technology industry as computer programmers, as well as jobs as bus drivers, photographers, cashiers and hairdressers.
And while the problem presented in your analysis seems staggering, our efforts to employ these groups – as well as the other 800,000 chronically unemployed adults in Israel – are producing encouraging results.
Steven Schwager, Chief Executive, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), New York, NY, US
I also share with you excerpts from the original Financial Times article.
…[An increasingly vocal group of economists and policymakers] point out that Israel is facing a dramatic demographic shift that will have a deep impact on its ability to sustain economic growth and keep public finances in balance, weakening its ability to deal with security threats in the region.
The problem, in short, is that the two fastest growing groups – the Haredim and Israel’s Arab minority – are also the poorest, least productive and least educated. Both include a disproportionately large number who do not work and depend on welfare. The problem is particularly acute among ultra-orthodox men, 65 per cent of whom do not participate in the labour force, and Israeli-Palestinian women, 76 per cent of whom are outside the workforce.
…The Arab minority already accounts for 21 per cent of the population, with Haredim estimated to make up 8-10 per cent. Yet their combined share is certain to rise dramatically. Analysts say the best way of illustrating their demographic potential is to look at education. According to a recent study by the Jerusalem-based Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, almost one in two elementary pupils is being taught in an Israeli-Arab or ultra-orthodox school. Prof Dan Ben-David, director of the Taub Center, argues that simply extrapolating this trend into the future is fraught with problems but yields remarkable results nonetheless. The Taub Center report finds: “If the changes of the past decade continue, then in 2040 the share of ultra-orthodox and Israeli-Arab pupils will be 78 per cent of all pupils in Israel’s primary schools.”
…Policymakers have only recently started grappling with the question of how to integrate the Haredim and the Israeli-Palestinians into the workforce. Mr Braverman’s ministry, for example, vowed this year to invest Shk800m ($213m, €161m, £134m) in projects designed to boost employment and education among the Arab population.
…Analysts agree that the shifting demographics require a bold policy response, and most argue that change is needed sooner rather than later. As Prof Ben-David says: “There is a point of no return, and when we cross it we will not be able to change things democratically – and maybe not at all.”
Irv and I hope that JDC’s research and programmatic response, highlighted in this media coverage, reaffirm that your support helps create solutions to systemic issues in Israel and to challenges facing Jewish communities worldwide.
To learn more about TEVET, please visit the JDC website.
August 11, 2010
On the Job in Ethiopia - University of Washington Hillel Short Term Service Program
Students from the University of Washington Hillel recently traveled to Ethiopia on a JDC Short Term Service program to volunteer their time in support of JDC's humanitarian assistance programs in the country. This marked the first time in the 27 years of field work in Ethiopia that such a group has traveled there for this purpose.
Read about their time in Ethiopia by clicking on the links below, or visit JDC: In Service, JDC's Short Term Service program blog.
Read about their time in Ethiopia by clicking on the links below, or visit JDC: In Service, JDC's Short Term Service program blog.
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| Working hard to get medicine to the visitors of JDC's clinic in Gondar. |
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| Teaching girls from a local village “Mary Had a Little Lamb” |
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| Helping carry water from the local water source |
August 5, 2010
GuideStar Israel Launched by JDC, Government of Israel and Yad Hanadiv
NEW YORK, NY, August 4, 2010—The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Israeli Ministry of Justice, and Yad Hanadiv (The Rothschild Foundation) have launched GuideStar Israel, a project operated by NPTech Technologies for Nonprofit Organizations. NPTech is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded by the JDC-Israel and Yad Hanadiv.
Front Page of the new GuideStar Israel website in Hebrew
The new website — http://www.guidestar.org.il/ — makes information from government sources about Israel’s more than 30,000 nonprofit organizations available in Hebrew and Arabic, as well as voluntary information supplied by the organizations in various languages. GuideStar Israel is the world’s third GuideStar program after those established in the U.S. and England and was created in full cooperation with GuideStar International.
“The establishment of GuideStar Israel is another important step in the continued development of Israel’s philanthropic community. We’re proud to be joining with the government of Israel and Yad Hanadiv to help ensure the health and effectiveness of Israeli nonprofits through this venture,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
GuideStar Israel will allow nonprofits and the general public to research information about the wide variety of Israeli nonprofit organizations. The information provided will be updated regularly and will include details about organizations' governance, goals, organizational address, financial reporting, the way it uses its resources to advance its goals, as well as information on its Audit Committees and Boards of Directors.
Additionally, GuideStar Israel will allow organizations to upload information directly to the site, in various languages. This will allow nonprofits to establish a web presence easily and promote their goals to donors, volunteers, peer organizations, and others who are visiting the site.
You can also read more about the new website on eJewishPhilanthropy.
The new website — http://www.guidestar.org.il/ — makes information from government sources about Israel’s more than 30,000 nonprofit organizations available in Hebrew and Arabic, as well as voluntary information supplied by the organizations in various languages. GuideStar Israel is the world’s third GuideStar program after those established in the U.S. and England and was created in full cooperation with GuideStar International.
“The establishment of GuideStar Israel is another important step in the continued development of Israel’s philanthropic community. We’re proud to be joining with the government of Israel and Yad Hanadiv to help ensure the health and effectiveness of Israeli nonprofits through this venture,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
GuideStar Israel will allow nonprofits and the general public to research information about the wide variety of Israeli nonprofit organizations. The information provided will be updated regularly and will include details about organizations' governance, goals, organizational address, financial reporting, the way it uses its resources to advance its goals, as well as information on its Audit Committees and Boards of Directors.
Additionally, GuideStar Israel will allow organizations to upload information directly to the site, in various languages. This will allow nonprofits to establish a web presence easily and promote their goals to donors, volunteers, peer organizations, and others who are visiting the site.
You can also read more about the new website on eJewishPhilanthropy.
August 4, 2010
Promoting the Rights of the Disabled in Israel
The Jerusalem Post published an article about JDC's newly established national council to promote the rights of people with disabilities in the work force in Israel. Written by Ruth Eglash, the article states that "the National Council for the Rights of People with Disabilities in the Workplace will develop countrywide programs to improve job opportunities for people with disabilities, as well as advancing the rights of the disabled in the workplace."
Read the article at JDC establishes council for labor rights of the disabled
Photo by: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post
Read the article at JDC establishes council for labor rights of the disabled
August 2, 2010
JFNA Puts the Spotlight on JDC Family Programs in the FSU and Europe
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has posted a wonderful article about JDC's Jewish educational programs for families in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe.
Read more about it on the JFNA website at Family by Family.
Read more about it on the JFNA website at Family by Family.
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