Machanaim, was established in the Soviet Union in the 1970’s as an underground educational center.  With the move to Israel in the late 1980’s, after years of refusal, the leadership of the organization recognized that their experience in Jewish education and that their open minded attitude would be crucial in creating a vital link between the hundreds of thousands of Russian immigrants pouring into Israel and Israeli society.  Over the years, Machanaim has created a variety of programs that address issues of Jewish and Israeli identity in Israel, as well as a series of programs and materials aimed at assisting Russian speaking Jewish immigrants around the world to connect with their Jewish identity.  Our aspiration is that these immigrants will be connected to their Jewish heritage, and the Jewish community wherever they are and to the State of Israel.

photo by: Mona Ostby Beck

Born in Kharkov, Ukraine, Ariel was involved in the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement after the fall of the “Iron Curtain”.  For Ariel, the emissaries who came to the Ukraine from Israel and the US were his earliest role models and a source of inspiration. It was clear to him that he would follow in their footsteps – working in Jewish Zionist education both in Israel and in Diaspora Jewish communities.

Ariel made aliya in 1992 at the age of 16 with his family.  The family first lived in Kfar Adumim and a few years later moved to Jerusalem.  Ariel finished high school in Jerusalem, and then continued his studies in the Hesder program of Birkat Moshe Yeshiva in Ma’ale Adumim, serving in the paratroopers in the IDF in the framework of the program.

From the age of 17, Ariel began serving as an emissary and continued to do so for years to come.  His first trip back to the FSU was to work in a Jewish summer camp.  This was followed by participating in the interview committee for Na’ale for the Israeli Ministry of Education, taking part in Zionist Seminars through the Jewish Agency, working for Bnei Akiva, serving as summer camps coordinator in the Ukraine and finally serving as the central Bnei Akiva “shaliach” in Argentina.

Ariel studied Education and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University and continued to serve as an emissary.  During his studies, he traveled for a variety of Jewish organizations such as the Lauder Foundation, Bnei Akiva and the Jewish Agency to many different communities worldwide – Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, Mexico, etc. in diverse roles and capacities.

In 2002, Ariel met Rachel, a nurse who had made aliyah from the United States in 2000.  They were introduced by a common friend, and already on the very first date, Ariel mentioned to Rachel that as soon as he finished his degree he was planning to take a position as a “long term shaliach”. From 2005, the couple spent 3 years in Uruguay where Ariel was the rabbi of the local Sephardic congregation and the coordinator of Jewish studies in a local Jewish school.

Upon Ariel’s return from Uruguay, he began to work as the CEO of Machanaim, a veteran Russian Jewish Education Network. Machanaim works to promote Russian Jewish education in both Israel and the Diaspora.  Its wide range of programs includes formal and informal education for all ages as well as distributing educational materials, both on and off line.

While serving in Uruguay, as the rabbi of a non-observant community, but one that is deeply connected to its culture and tradition, Ariel realized that the “community” in Uruguay had a lot in common with Russian-speaking Jews in Israel and worldwide. Just as the “community”, in its wide meaning (not only a synagogue), is a framework for maintaining Jewish life for the Jews in the Diaspora, in Israel it can be a supportive framework and a link to the Israeli society, its tradition, culture and actuality.

Due to their historical background, many of Russian-speaking Israelis lack a clear Jewish identity; they have little if any Jewish education and feel little connection to Jewish values and Israel. The result is that many of them have had serious hardships integrating into Israeli society and that they have difficulty identifying themselves as Israelis and even as Jews. Tens of thousands of these immigrants have left Israel – either to the US, Canada or Germany or back to the FSU.  According to research conducted by the Israeli Institute of Democracy in 2009, only 28 percent among FSU immigrants gave a positive answer to the question “Would you want your children and grandchildren to live in Israel?”.

Through the Supportive Communities Project, Machanaim proposes to build on and create new community centers for Russian-speaking Israelis – both new and veteran immigrants and their families. Members will have the opportunity for learning and experiencing Israeli and Jewish values and Israeli culture, which will be the base from which they can grow and develop as full and committed citizens of the State of Israel. The project  supports Russian-speaking Israelis in a manner which helps them to form a strong sense of identity as Jews and Israelis and develop a sense of belonging and shared values.

Activities offered include:

Formal and informal classes on Jewish subjects, Israeli history and current events, as well as in music, theater, cooking, etc.; preparation for Bar-/Bat-Mitzva classes; preparation to wedding for young couples; experiential and learning workshops; preparation to the army service for youth; festival celebrations, including preparatory workshops for every Holiday; Kabbalat Shabbat with families, once a month; educational tours; Shabbat seminars; cultural events (concerts, performances, etc.); and more.

The project was initiated in September 2010 thanks to the generous support of Cyril Stein z”l, whose family and friends are continuing to carry on the project and its vision. Since then, the program has expanded from one community center to four, and now involves thousands of people.  Plans are currently underway to expand to additional communities.  The project has been successful in involving new partners including the Ministry of Absorption, municipalities and local and foreign-based foundations.

Ariel believes that the Community Project can serve as a model for creating a more inclusive Israeli society, not just for Russian speakers, but for people of all backgrounds as well.

On Monday June 7^th, 2010, Ms. Lena Gurary, Supportive Community’s

The Bernice S. Tannenbaum Prize recognizes innovative contributions to advance the status of women and girls in Israel and the United States. It is named in honor of Bernice S. Tannenbaum’s lifetime of service to the Jewish People, the State of Israel, and Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. The Prize carries forward the mission of The Hadassah Foundation to make a difference in the lives of women and girls. The issues women and girls face often are relegated to the margins. The Hadassah Foundation is dedicated to bringing these issues to the center of Jewish concern by forming partnerships with and providing support for other social change organizations and individuals who share our goals.

Born in Uzbekistan, the former Soviet Union, Lena Gurary immigrated to Israel in 1992, the first member of her family to do so.  In 2003 Lena and three business women from the former Soviet Union initiated Supportive Community Women’s Development Center, and the following year Lena was named Executive Director.

Supportive Community: Women’s Development Center [Sviva Tomehet in Hebrew] started operating in the Herzliya area by giving services to a few dozen women who were new immigrants from the former Soviet Union.  Today, a staff of 7 professionals and more than 20 counselors and moderators serves thousands of women across Israel — new immigrants from the FSU and Ethiopia, native born Israelis (Jews and Arabs) from low income neighborhoods, women from agricultural settlements, Orthodox Jewish women, and multicultural groups.

These three organizations are working together for the sake of the encouraging business and community female leadership.

In the last two years, due to the global economic recession, many non-profit organizations have added profit making and business achievements to their agenda and have created collaborations with business organizations. Alongside those collaborations, we have also seen business organizations adding social, political and ecological issues to their agenda.

Together, businesses and non-profit organizations are opening “coffee shops” with the goal of coexistence and mutual learning which comes from an equal place. These “coffee shops” provide • income to families • allow business organizations to incorporate workers with disabilities • empower womens’ micro-businesses coming from different ethnicities and colors and creates cooperation which indicates a financial need and provides solutions to multicultural communities.

These instances demonstrate that economics motivates social change and connects between men and women coming from diverse background.

Speakers at the conference include:

Safa Younes, Founder and CEO of Arus al-Bahar

sviva_invitationProf. Benny Gidron, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Alisa Gutsman, Social investments Advisor

Panel participants include:

Esti Doron, National Supervisor of Community Work Service, Ministry of Social Affairs

Efrat Bekler-Kahana, CEO of Yoseftan Institute

Hagit Rubinstein, Manager of Micro-Businesses Area, Koret Foundation

Lena Gurary, Founder and CEO of Supportive Community

For more information regarding the conference contact:

office@svivatomehet.org.il

Implementation of the project began when Idan and the students put in two full days of work along with children who are active in the Ayalim sponsored community center. A few days later, the Deputy Director General of Amidar happened to be visiting the neighborhood, liked what he saw and made a financial contribution to the effort. The cooperation with Amidar is an ongoing effort, which involves the students, the long term residents of the neighborhood and Amidar, working together to improve the appearance of the neighborhood.

Establishing a micro-business is often the only way for women in Israel with limited job prospects to achieve economic independence and to mobilize themselves socially and personally. For thousands women who recently immigrated or come from less advantaged backgrounds, owning and operating a business opens the door to fuller integration into the Israeli society.

Many women, however, lack business experience and management training; they have great difficulty obtaining credit, suffer from low self-esteem and are fearful of marketing challenges. Where can these women turn for guidance and practical assistance? Most existing organizations are geared toward serving small and medium business owners; thus, Supportive Community was created in 2003 to address the unique needs of women who operate micro-businesses.

Supportive Community – Women’s Business Development Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping every Israeli woman who wishes to improve her economic and social status through establishing and operating a micro-business. Founded by a group of businesswomen, all recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Supportive Community serves women from many of Israel’s diverse backgrounds – immigrants from the FSU and Ethiopia, native Israeli Arabs and Jews, ultra-Orthodox women and others.

The model developed by Supportive Community has been successfully adapted to meet the specific requirements of women from each of these multicultural groups. Designed especially for women, the model enables them to obtain the vital knowledge, skills and management tools they need to set up and develop their micro-businesses. The resulting social and economic empowerment literally changes their lives, and the benefits of their newfound competence and confidence extend also to their families and their communities.

We conduct the following programs to achieve our goals: Women Empower Women; Business Development Services; Loans; Fairs and Trade Shows; Cooperation Projects for small groups of women in the same field who work together with a professional facilitator to develop new strategies for growing their micro-businesses; Businesses for the Community -Women entrepreneurs get involved in volunteer work in the wider community to enhance cooperation between businesses and communal organizations.

To date the organization has helped over 1,600 women. 15 of more than 100 businesses established in 2003, have an monthly turnover of more than 5 thousand NIS. In 2007, 80% of our graduates increased their income by 20%. 33% of our members created jobs for themselves and some times an additional employment opportunity.