A Fact Finding Trip
to Israel
By Jim Levitas, Vice-President, Special Overseas Projects
My most recent trip began at the end
of March. I was joined by fellow
Federation board members, Allan
Nyman and Stuart Goldfine, as we
returned to Israel to assess the
progress of projects that our
Federation had funded two years
earlier.
If you are like me, you want to get
to the bottom line quickly, so I
will report right in front that we
all were delighted with what we saw
and proud that our Federation was
able to “make a difference” to our
Jewish homeland.
But, now that you know the end of
the story, let’s back up and hear
the beginning and middle. Two years
ago, Allan, Stuart and I traveled to
Israel as volunteers at an IDF base
in the Negev. In our spare time, we
researched potential projects to
which our Federation would
eventually donate over a million
dollars. These direct allocations
were over and above our annual gift
to the United Jewish Communities (UJC),
the umbrella organization for all
Federations in the U.S. Those UJC
dollars ultimately go to the Jewish
Agency for Israel and the Joint
Distribution Committee.
Thanks, in large part, to the vision
of Allan Nyman, our Federation
decided to commit significant funds
directly to projects in the Negev.
This desert in Israel’s south
constitutes 60 percent of the land
mass of the country but contains
only 8 percent of its population.
Due to an already large and growing
Bedouin population, combined with a
crowded mid-section centered between
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel faces
a crucial need to promote Jewish
population growth in the Negev and
Galilee. Housing, jobs and
educational opportunities are
essential to the success of
populating these two regions – and
providing them poses a challenge to
the realization of that goal.
In 2006, with help from UJC and the
Jewish National Fund, we identified
Mayor Shmulik Rifman of the Negev
Regional Council, and Roni Flamer
and Ofir Fisher, co-founders of the
OR Movement, as key players in
prospective Negev development. After
doing our homework, we determined
that these were people with whom we
would gladly partner to help Israel
to grow and flourish. These are the
two projects they headed:
The Ramat Negev Agriculture Research
Center is a crucial component of
Mayor Rifman’s plan for economic
development and population of the
Negev. The estate of Henry Shweid
provided $500,00, which enabled the
completion of this $1.6 million
facility. The new center, with its
façade of beautiful Jerusalem stone,
stands in stark contrast to the
dilapidated 50 year old temporary
structures that it replaced. The
ongoing research in this center has
contributed significantly to the
development of Israel’s commercial
agricultural base, utilizing the
underground brackish water supply in
the Negev to grow cherry tomatoes,
almonds, and a variety of leafy
vegetables for export to European
markets. Advances in growing
techniques in its desert environment
have helped to establish Israel as
an acknowledged world leader in
agricultural innovation.
When we first met Roni Flamer and
Ofir Fisher, co-founders of the OR
Movement, we were immediately
reminded of the early pioneers who
created the state of Israel by their
own blood, sweat and tears. Roni is
a reservist in a commando unit and
Ofir served as a submarine officer
in Israel’s navy – so both know
about challenging assignments. Among
many daunting jobs they have
undertaken: they are building
communities from scratch in the
Negev. We decided to join them,
funding the construction of a 5000
square foot daycare center in the
new community of Gavot Bar, using
funds from the Shweid bequest and
our annual campaign, totaling
$500,000.
Our first visit to Gavot Bar
required us to use our imaginations
to envision the shape of a community
that consisted mostly of temporary
dwellings and not much
infrastructure. Now, two years
later, a town is taking shape. Many
of the beautiful permanent homes are
well on their way to completion, the
shul is up and running, the entrance
to the development is finished, the
roads are paved, there is a waiting
list of families desiring to acquire
homes in the next phase, and a
beautiful new daycare center is
nearly complete. By summer’s end,
the center will be finished, serving
the needs of 70-80 children up to
the age of three. It will house
three classrooms, each with a
kitchenette and bathing facilities,
a main kitchen, storage rooms,
hermetically sealed security rooms,
a special-needs classroom, three
playgrounds and shaded balconies on
the second floor. For the young
couples who will constitute the
majority of this 500-family
community, the daycare center is a
vitally important facility.
While these two projects represent
the largest of our direct grants,
there were others that we were able
to assess on this trip. Your
donations to our Federation funded a
$50,000 renovation of the social
hall at the Ulpan Etzion Absorption
Center in Jerusalem, a center that
has served the needs of new
immigrants for over 50 years. We sat
with a group of young olim from
around the world as each told us
their personal stories and why they
decided to make aliyah. As we
listened to the words of the young
men and women from the United
States, France, England, Brazil and
Turkey, we looked around the table
and there was no doubt among us that
the Jewish Federation of Palm
Springs had provided a gift that was
already making a difference in the
state of Israel.
We made other visits – to a soup
kitchen in Jerusalem, and to the
Chabad Rabbi of Hebron who serves
the soldiers patrolling in the midst
of Hamas territory – and we were
very pleased that our Federation has
supported these worthy enterprises.
But as I mentioned at the beginning
of this article, I like to get to
the bottom line – and the bottom
line for me is that without the
generosity of our donors in the
Coachella Valley, much of what we
witnessed would not have
materialized. I wish everyone who
contributed to our Federation
campaigns over the years had the
benefit of seeing the fruits of
their giving as Allan, Stuart and I
have been so fortunate to have had.
I know it would bring a smile to
their faces – it did to ours.
Jim Levitas,
Allan Nyman and Stuart Goldfine’s
trip to Israel on behalf of our
community was at their own expense.
As members of the Jewish Federation
Board, they have committed their
energies and resources to identify
projects where our community’s
dollars will make a significant
difference. – ed.
