For a week in July, Bev Jacobson and I had the amazing privilege to go on the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Campaign Chairs mission to Belarus and Israel. This was not your regular mission to tourist sites and famous landmarks. Instead we learned the history of Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union, met Holocaust survivors, delivered care packages to elderly Jews in need and danced with Jewish kids of all ages at the JDC community center in Minsk, Jewish summer camps in Belarus, and then Birthright Israel participants and IDF soldiers in Israel.
JFNA funds programs in Israel and our overseas Jewish communities to enhance the well being of Jews through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedekah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning). We visited communities in Belarus and throughout Israel to learn about some of these programs and talk with the participants. What struck me through our travels and busy schedule was no matter who we met or where we were, individual people were doing incredible things to help each other and help their communities. One particular visit really resonated with me.
It was a beautiful sunny morning in Haifa, when our small bus arrived at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the premier Israel security and defense equipment company in Israel (http://www.rafael.co.il). The company employs more than 7,000 people worldwide and is the company that developed and built the Iron Dome missile defense system Israel now uses. Because of the top security required, we willingly turned over our cell phones and cameras before the briefing. In a modern, smoky-blue-glass-walled conference room, we met with the company marketing and chief information leaders, as well as three ultra-Orthodox Jewish haredi women who now work there.
One woman, Rivka, told us that at a young age she liked computers and knew she wanted to be a software engineer. In her haredi community the seminary training focused on Jewish learning and teaching careers. When I asked Rivka how she and her family felt about her job, she gave us the biggest smile and said “I’m so happy to do what I love and be able to provide for my family, and my parents and husband are so proud of me that I work for such a prestigious company that helps protect Israel”.
It was through Jewish Federation funded programs and counseling services (with partner agencies and other companies in Israel) that she was able to get the continued education and corporate skills training to compete and be offered a job at Rafael. Federation funded programs also helped Rafael human resources and managers understand and accommodate the special needs of ultra-Orthodox women employees. As a working mother, it was inspiring to hear about the program and how Federation helps people fulfill their potential while still honoring their religious beliefs.
Our trip concluded in Jerusalem, where we learned about social service and educational programs in Israel, celebrated Shabbat, and met with members of the Knesset, (including the new Yesh Atid party, founded in 2012, that seeks to represent what it considers the center of Israeli society: the secular middle class). Throughout our trip we met Jewish people of all ages who shared their stories with us. Many of them, like us, had parents or grandparents who left Eastern Europe and began new lives in a new country. It reminded me how we are all connected by our common heritage and how we each have the opportunity to make a difference for our families, our local communities, and for Jewish communities all over the world.
Amanda Palan serves as Jewish Federation Women’s Philanthropy campaign co-chair.
