Background

It is often said that the Upper Galil community is the Federation’s family in Israel. Indeed, for more than 25 years, the Federation has been involved both in supporting projects in the region and in developing relationships between people and organizations in our two communities.

Today, the Federation is linked up with the entire region, including the “development town” of Kiryat Shmona, the Upper Galil Regional Council (28 kibbutzim), the Mevoot Hermon Regional Council (13 moshavim), the veteran moshavot of Metula and Yesod Ha’Maala, and the Bedouin village of Tuba. The fact that this relatively small geographical area, whose total population numbers about 40,000, includes so many different types of places of residence hints at how complex it is socially and economically. It is indeed a microcosm of the Israeli mosaic, including peoples with very different backgrounds whose need to “co-exist” often raises serious challenges.

Kiryat Shmona, whose current population is about 25,000, has seen about 200,000 people come and go throughout its history. The years of serious security threats, katyusha rockets from Lebanon and a requisite lifestyle that has included frequent stints in underground shelters have left their mark on the town. The town faces serious challenges to retain its stronger populations, attract industry—particularly high technology—and upgrade its schools. The kibbutzim, whose members until recently were financially secure, have undergone a “revolution” — privatization of their economic and social structures. For many, this change was the only path to survival, but it created new needs for the communities and requires the residents to cope with family, social and economic challenges.

Federation’s commitment to the region is long-standing and deep. Tel Hai College is one of our major funding anchors in the region. Tel Hai is viewed as a highly significant lever for regional development; it already is the region’s single largest employer. At Tel Hai, we provide support for the Student Scholarship Fund, which is both a powerful magnet for bringing students from outside the region to study at the College, while helping needy students living in the region gain access to a college education. Currently, we are in the process of developing a Center for Jewish Pluralism at the College, which will be the first of its kind in any Israeli institution for higher education.

An additional major focus of our activity is the “B’Yachad” (“Working Together for Education in the Galil”) program, which brings together the Israel Venture Network (philanthropists from the Israeli business community), the Sacta-Rashi Foundation, UIA Canada and the Federation. This program is a unique and innovative effort to zero in on the educational and social welfare needs of the region’s children and youth. It works directly with children and families to address these needs, as well as to train educators and other professionals so that they can better cope with the challenges facing their students. The B’Yachad initiative’s array of programs focus on early childhood development, improving English skills among elementary school kids, providing counseling services for troubled youth, direct training of school staff to introduce a new management culture in the regions and ongoing evaluation and follow-up of student achievement.

In the area of “Living Bridge” programs targeted at developing and enriching the personal ties between people in our two communities, we can point to significant numbers of exchange programs between Bay Area and Galil youth, and especially note with pride the Manhigut Esre Leadership Program for teens, which is closely linked to the Diller Teen Fellows program in San Francisco. Other Living Bridge initiatives include sending youth from the region to Camp Tawonga, mifgashim (encounters) between Young Adult Division visitors to Israel and their peers from the region, programs linking professional peers such as early childhood educators, and more.