Normally, a week’s notice is required to find an interpreter. In this case, Chaim worked wonders – he managed to find an appropriate, available, local interpreter who could do the job and she too sprang into action. She went immediately to meet with the Deaf man and accompanied him in the ambulance from the city he lives in to the hospital in another city. From 8:00 pm until 2:00 am she stayed by his side, enabling him to receive all the information about the transplant and the risks involved, to answer his questions and concerns which ultimately allowed the operation to take place. Later that morning she was back – from 7:00 am to noon continuing to interpret for him and for his deaf wife as well.

For this Deaf man, who had waited over two years for an appropriate kidney to be available, this service meant the difference, literally, between life and death. His situation had deteriorated to a critical point, and the transplant, which was successful, came just in time.

Events like this are just one facet of the institute’s government awarded mission to provide support services for all Deaf and hard of hearing Israelis.  Services facilitated include Israeli Sign Language interpreting, computer assisted note-taking and reimbursement for the purchase of vital equipment. Practically speaking, this means that all Deaf or hard of hearing Israelis who need (and are entitled to) interpreters for any purpose, contact Chaim and he matches them up with an interpreter. The volume of requests is staggering – in 2009 there were over seven thousand requests. Interestingly, about a third of these interpreting assignments met needs in the field of access to health care. From 2008 to 2009 there was a 40% increase in the number of interpretations. There was also an increase in the number of requests for equipment.

* A capital D for Deaf indicates that the man is culturally Deaf and is a sign language user.

Affiliated with Limmud International, Limmud-Negev boasted more than 70 presenters, who gave workshops, lectures, and performances. There was a mind-boggling spectrum of topics in Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish, ranging from dance midrash and Jewish identity in films to solar energy in the Negev, and from halakhic rulings of North African rabbis to changing interpretations of Hannukah as reflected in songs through the ages. After a hot soup and couscous supper that warmed heart and body, more than 300 participants from the Negev, Arava, and well beyond, gathered together to light the third candle of Hannukah. The full program ended with a panel on culture in the Negev, highlighted by Kobi Oz singing some of his new songs. All participants cited the incredibly energizing and welcoming atmosphere.

To see additional photos and write-ups about this amazing event, go to the Limmud-Negev websitewww.limmudnegev.org.il or to Facebook.

In many places around Israel various drop out prevention programs and models are operated by multiple players – the Ministry of Education, the local municipality and non-profit organizations. MENIFA’s unique initiative emphasizes the importance of coordinating all these different programs and solutions. The main goal is to train agents of change within the educational system. These agents can then focus on the teen and his or her needs and on how to better use the resources of the educational system and municipality to help the specific needs of each teen. The training program meets once a week for 12 weeks and offers participants a full and rich program including group work (in small groups) and practical work with a teen. More detailed information can be found on our website in Hebrew and will soon be found in English as well.

ICAR has initiated a Study Day throughout Israel on the subject of agunot and mesuravot get, on and there about International Agunah Day that is marked on the Fast of Esther every year. ICAR sees great importance in exposing the public to the halakhic sources that refer to the problem of the agunah and the mesurevet get and to the varied solutions that appear within these sources to this difficult problem.

In this booklet the halakhic sources are organized by topic. Within each topic the sources are cited chronologically reflecting their precedence according to the halakhic era of each source.

In addition, at the end of the booklet a is sample lesson plan, which is useful for study groups that covers a number of sources that relate to the problem of the agunah from the large variety of sources  included in the booklet, as well as the various solutions that appear in the halakhic sources.

The booklet can be downloaded directly from the following link

Take for example Efrat Revach, as a divorced mother of 4 she was overwhelmed and scared.  She felt alone, and unable to handle the responsibility of earning a living, paying the bills, being a mother a friend, and somehow building a career for herself.  One thing was clear to her – fear and feeling sorry for herself were not going to buy groceries.

“I was introduced to Ruach Nashit through my family social worker.  What is nice about Ruach Nashit is that they are concerned with the present and the future and are not hung up about the past.  The amuta helped me grow through empowerment and business skill workshops, and by providing me with a mentor.  Eventually, I joined a course on building my own business and received business mentoring and participated in a networking meeting for business women.

Efrat Revach – Food from the Heart is now off the ground and provides catering in private homes as well as offering prepared foods, cakes and other baked goods.  If I would have continued to pity myself I would never have gotten to where I am today – I often remind myself that adversity and even great adversity can be overcome, and that I can grow and even grown more”.

The exchange, funded by Partnership 2000 and the UJA-Federation of New York, is a three-semester joint program through the Bronfman Center at New York University, Memizrach Shemesh-The Center for Jewish Leadership in Israel and Marom Budapest.

Using traditional texts as their basis, participants spent their first semester understanding what poverty is, how it is measured, and why it is important to break down related stereotypes. At the end of the semester each group is intended to spend time learning specifically about poverty at the partner city of the exchange.

When asked what the greatest social problem facing each country was, Israeli participants were united on one issue: the working poor. “People work a lot,” said Israeli participant Sara Levinger, “and they still don’t make enough money to survive.”

Through the course of the year, the groups will focus on issues related to education and leadership and rejoin in Budapest and New York to familiarize themselves with how these communities are individually affected by these issues.

For the full text written by Memizrach Shemesh volunteer Lauren Wilner, please see the article published on eJewish Philanthropy.

We debated long and hard before filing this lawsuit. Mostly, because we know that the problem is not mutual. Women suffer much more. Let’s face it. The halakha is gender-biased. It gives men almost unfettered power to determine their wives’ destiny, recognizes little grounds for divorce, and exercises almost no force over recalcitrant men, and when it does, it is often too little, too late.

All that said, men still suffer from the current way that the halakha allows for the dissolution of failed marriages.Thanks to Rabbenu Gershom, they too can be held hostage to their wives. Religious men, and even men who are not religious, want closure. They want to get on with their lives, correct mistakes, find new love. Sometimes the rabbis in Israel, bending backwards to prove that the halakha is mutual, will refuse to issue any order whatsoever against recalcitrant women. The husbands of these women, like the wives we represent at CWJ, can spend their entire lives in the rabbinic courts.

So we debated for about 6 months whether or not to represent a man in his claim for damages against his wife. Finally we took the case and filed it 2 months ago. At the pretrial hearing, the wife agreed to accept the get and the parties were divorced last week.

At about the same time that out client got divorce, Judge HaCohen –who gave CWJ its first damage award against a get recalcitrant in the amount of 425,000 NIS — issued the attached decision (in Hebrew) that also awarded damages to an 83 year old man (not our client) whose wife refused to accept a get.

Bottom line: The halakhic divorce regime does not work. Certainly not for women, and not really for men. We need to be able to have a third party declare a failed marriage over if the parties, for whatever not very healthy reason, are not able to.

For the full article

The Einat Project involves not only 25 members of Kehillat Ramot Zion, but also volunteers from the Nechama Branch of Hadassah Women, Haverot and Hadassah Hospital.

Volunteers run activities at the hospital for rehabilitation patients and their families on a weekly basis, including music, games, discussions, study groups and more.

In preparation for this activity, volunteers participated in four intensive workshops led by members of Haverot and the hospital staff.  The sessions covered issues such as interpersonal communication, how to communicate with rehabilitation patients and the rehabilitation process.  Volunteers continue to receive guidance on a monthly basis.

Ramot Zion’s activities in the Rehabilitation Unit have now expanded to include young children from the kehilla preparing Hanukah decorations for the Unit, NOAM (Masorti’s youth movement) members providing other decorations and the Ramot Zion choir singing in the unit on Fridays.

Kehillat Ramot Zion is a member of the Masorti Movement in Israel.  Kehillat Tzedek is a joint project of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the Masorti Movement.

The Ziv Neurim non-profit organization (named after Ziv Levi, a fighter in the Israeli marine commando who died in office) was established in order to give youth at risk of dropping out a true experience of success. Using various marine vessels, Ziv Neurim is a leader in developing participants’ personal and social abilities, and ensuring their successful integration into educational and social frameworks.

Beginning in 2007, Ziv Neurim worked towards the establishment of an income generating project.  The need for a Sea Center of their own grew out of the hardship placed on the organization in the rental of facilities for their activities up and down the coast.  By establishing their own marina, this hardship was reduced.

During 2008 a business plan was created for the Marina and a firm partnership was established with the Ashdod Marina and the ORT School for Marine Officers.  More than 50 marine vessels were donated to the Center allowing it to both have the equipment needed for its own activities as well as offer a range of activities to outside groups.

Today, Ziv Neurim is proud to offer at its Ashdod Sea Center a wide variety of activities to business, community centers, educational institutions and the public.  These include fun and challenge days for companies, businesses, schools, and boarding facilities, end of the year events, sea activities for sports matriculation students, Outdoor Training Seminars, sailing courses, physical education for college students in the south, activities for youth at risk, etc.

Although the marketing of the project is only beginning, the center has already earned significant income for Ziv Neurim during 2009 and helped the organization cut down its expenses.

For more information about this and other Mavoi Satum’s legal precedents, contact Gitit Nachliel.