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Showing posts from 2013

A Daily Inspiration

By: Rachel Gerber ENP Volunteer Coordinator Just over a year ago I made Aliyah and I stumbled upon ENP. Well, it's more like ENP was a gift that came into my life at the perfect time. As I learned hebrew in Ulpan most mornings I spent afternoons in the ENP offices. I arrived with no hebrew comprehension, and with much patience and understanding the Staff at ENP welcomed me and took the time to try to teach me as we worked. Although the language barrier was evident, I never once felt that my Hebrew (or lack thereof) was met with anything but patience and understanding. In May I began my position as the Volunteer Coordinator at ENP, yet another blessing in my post-Aliyah life. Over the last eight months of working at ENP I have been blessed to witness the daily inspiration that is ENP's work; to hear the phone calls and read the emails for requests for assistance and watch them transform into success stories, smiles on kids faces, and good grades on report cards, is nothing

ENP: Home Away From Home

By: Benji Bernstein Intern, Rothberg International School My name is Benji Bernstein and I've been volunteering at a youth center sponsored by the ENP this semester. I've been having an incredible experience working with the kids there these past couple months. To be honest, I did not really know what to expect when I first walked into the underground youth facility in Beit Shemesh. However, as soon as I arrived, the staff and teens there made me feel at home. "Do you want to play me in ping pong?" I was asked in Hebrew by one of the 14 year old kids. As a huge table tennis fan, I naturally jumped at the opportunity. After we started playing, about five other kids lined up around the table. "Can I have next game?" one asked. As they determined the order of who would play after, I began to talk to the kids, and to really get to know them. I've learned a lot from them since. For instance, each time I go, I have a great time learning about new I

Breaking through Barriers

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By: Penina Romanek Intern,  J-Internship Program             While interning for ENP, I have learned how forming meaningful relationships can break through any type of barrier. I was apprehensive at the beginning of interning because I thought only speaking a little bit of Hebrew would hinder me in forming connections with the children. However, I have not felt that at all. Sharing a common language is not the foundation in which relationships are built upon. When I communicate with the children, I smile and show through my body language how much I care about them. They do the same onto me. One of the best parts of my day is when I enter the youth center and then hear, “Penina!” coming from the voices of the girls. The girls then run up to me and give me a hug and even the boys make a point to show me they remember the songs I taught them on the piano.                   I am so grateful for the opportunity ENP has given me to be a positive role model and to see the bea

My Favorite Day of the Week

By: Abby Mandel Intern, Nativ College Leadership Program Sometimes volunteering can seem overwhelming. But then, you experience its many rewards. Read about Abby’s journey with ENP at the ENP Scholastic Assistance Program in Beit Shemesh supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the BIG Corporation, and at the ENP Youth Outreach Center in Beit Shemesh supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington DC, its United Jewish Endowment Fund and Beth El Congregation.  One Sunday, about a month ago, I began my long bus adventure from Jerusalem to Beit Shemesh. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into; I heard about volunteering with ENP from a friend on my gap year program, and on a whim, signed up. I knew no one else going, and had no clue how to get there. Honestly, it was impossibly easy to see my nervousness through my brave faƧade. After asking countless Israelis which stop is mine, and to warn me when it was time to get off the bus, I ma

Kol Ha-olam Kulo

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By: Penina Romanek Intern,  J-Internship Program I was once told, “The wisest teacher is forever a student.” As a social studies teacher, ENP has shown me the importance of this statement. When I decided to intern for ENP, I had no idea the extent of the difference it would make in my life or the new perspective it would give me. Not only are the Ethiopian-Israeli youth learning from me, but I am learning even more from them as Pirkei Avot states, “Who is wise? He who learns from every person.” I have gained so much from my time working with children at the youth centers and Branco Weiss High School in Beit Shemesh. It was this past week, though, that really opened my eyes and gave me so much strength.                 Last week, a mission trip from the Jewish Federation of Washington D.C. came to the youth center in Beit Shemesh. Micha Feldman, who was responsible for carrying out Operation Solomon in 1991 that brought Ethiopians to Israel, opened my eyes to the pride

ENP= Social Justice to Me

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By: Destiny N. Dixon University of California, Berkeley ENP Rothberg International School Intern, Hebrew University of Jerusalem How can I forget October 9 th , 2013? I can’t. This was the day I experienced real Israeli love; my very first day volunteering with the Ethiopian National Project. I spent this day in Ashkelon with a group of wonderful Ethiopian women. I felt like I was around my mother and her sisters. I had the pleasure in helping them pick chili peppers and other spices and veggies from the community garden in order to cook a range of delicious original Ethiopian dishes. We enjoyed this food with other ENP volunteers, staff, and donors. IT was amazing. Although the majority of these women spoke Amharic, I felt the love as we converses in our limited Hebrew. We ate, laughed, ate some more, hugged, kissed, drank amazing Ethiopian coffee, and shared our desires. One of them even invited the volunteers and I to her home for a Shabbat dinner. Such genuine hospit

Love at the first sight

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Written by Leoni Groot Actually I have so much to write, because so much happened since the last time that I wrote. And yes, I could have made time, but I didn’t. I enjoyed my life in Israel and the volunteer work with ENP so much and all the time I kept saying to myself: I will write a blog post soon. But I didn’t. Now here I am, back home in the Netherlands. I remember that I came into the ENP office for the first time about six months ago, thinking how much time I would be with the Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers and about the many meaningful things I could do for ENP. Time has gone so fast. It’s funny that I only really realize what I learnt and how wonderful everything was now I am back home. I remember my last day with ENP: Instead of feeling like these were my last hours with ENP, I felt like I would be there the next week again. Why? Because ENP gave me such a welcome and happy feeling! During my ‘fieldwork’ I went twice a week to Fidel, the

Gardening Project with Camp Ramah!

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-Written by Diane On Monday, July 29, a group of teens ages 16-17 from the Camp Ramah Israel Seminar participated in a gardening project with Ethiopian youth from Beit Shemesh.  First, everyone met at the Havat HaNoar HaTsioni Youth Village near the German Colony.  After playing a few “ice-breaker” games, both kids from ENP and Camp Ramah walked over to the gardening site in Maaglei Yavnei.  We met with representatives from the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel who explained different gardening techniques and the work they had done so far in the garden.  The kids were broken up into two groups and were given various gardening tools and began to work!  Everyone was very enthusiastic and came with a positive spirit.  Both the teens from Camp Ramah and ENP helped to pull out weeds, rake, pick up trash around the area, and much more.  Everyone worked together to make the garden a more beautiful place.  It was very hot so we all drank a lot of water!  I am really grateful t

Two Ethiopian Communities. One Israeli Identity.

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- Written by Amber  Replicas of Falash Mura homes found in  Ethiopia stand at the absorption center in Mavassaret Zion to give new olim a sense of familiarity in their new surroundings in Israel By the end of this summer, several thousand members of the Falash Mura Jewish community in Ethiopia will have made aliya to Israel, closing the chapter on their two-millennia existence in the ancient and biblical kingdom of Cush. Jewish history in Ethiopia is as beautiful and complex as it is long, and Ethiopian Jewry have seen the kingdom transform into the predominately Christian country of Ethiopia today. As ENP gears up resources to track the integration progress of this incoming community, ENP Director General Roni Akale found time to sit down and explain the rich and complex culture of the Falash Mura . The ambiguous etymology of this term is as complex and fascinating as the culture the Falash Mura are bringing to an already diverse Israeli society. The aliya stories

My Experience Volunteering

My group was placed in an absorption center in Mevaseret Tzion. I had never been to an absorption center of any kind, so I didn't know what to expect. The building was smaller than I thought it would be, and when we got there, the girls had just finished a morning prayer session and were about to begin a Hebrew lesson. The first day was a little hard for me because my Hebrew is not good, so I had some trouble understanding the teacher as well a connecting with the girls. The day got better as it went on because we spent the first day just having conversations with the girls about their family, their lives, and things they like to do. We practiced asking questions and giving responses in English. From then on, or group of 4 volunteers from ENP spent our time at the center working with the same group of 3-6 girls. Since the classrooms were already being used by other groups, we moved our lessons to a picnic table outside. We kept our activities short, so that the girls wouldn

Beit Shemesh Recital

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Last Wednesday, the Joseph and Rebecca Myerhoff Community Center threw an end of the school-year party/recital for the Beit Shemesh community. Many ENP participants performed for their parents, teachers, and friends. It was a sweet evening with lots of giggling voices and the consumption of way too much popcorn!  -- Lily

Dege in Action!

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On June 10, a group of new interns travelled to Beersheva to assist and document the visit of a Birthright group from all over the United States. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to learn traditional Ethiopian dance from Dege  Hanoch Levi (whose own amazing story was posted by  Nisha Khorasi below). It is absolutely as hard to do as it looks! ENP volunteers, Beersheva staff, and local students. -- Lily

Walk a Few Hundred Miles in Dege’s Shoes

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From a young age, we have all perfected the art of complaining—I’m starving; It’s so hot outside; I need water; When will we be home?—The list goes on. This past Wednesday, I had the wonderful opportunity to hear the story of a woman who knows not the meaning of a complaint. Dege Hanoch Levi was too busy trekking hundreds of miles from Ethiopia to Israel to have time to complain. Dege was born in 1976 in Wozaba, an Ethiopian village in the district of Gondar. Dege grew up in a Jewish community, working in agriculture and herding shepherd at a young age, while the rest of us were probably in preschool, swinging on monkey bars and dipping on seesaws. The Jews in her community practiced their religion with great devoutness according to the biblical law and never deviated to a different code of conduct. Their hearts’ desire was always to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, “the land of milk and honey.” In 1983, Dege’s family made the decision. They were going to make the journey to Jerusal

Yaffah = Beautiful

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Written by Amber It's early June, and I've been in the field three times since beginning ENP -- once at the youth center in Beer Sheva, and three times at the youth center in Beit Shemesh. Each time and while in commute, I worried how I would connect with the youth. My Hebrew is a work in progress, and I had heard that many Ethiopian-Israeli youth are not English speakers. People have told me various reasons for this. One, is that these youth are dual language learners from birth, with many hailing from Amharic-speaking homes. Their parents, too, might struggle with literacy in both Amharic and Hebrew. Therefore, having English-learning support in the home is difficult and rare. Also, these dual-language learning youth also may or may not receive adequate engagement and/or attention in schools to meet their unique linguistic needs, even in Hebrew acquisition. So, acquiring a third language is, thus, even more daunting. And finally, Ethiopian-youth may not get the opportunit

Planning and Expectations

By: Jessica Crowell Each Thursday, I travel to the youth outreach center in Beit Shemesh with fellow volunteer, Nisha Khorasi, to spend time with the Ethiopian-Israeli youth. During our first two visits, Nisha and I enjoyed meeting the kids and becoming familiar with the setup. On our third visit to Beit Shemesh, we were hoping to liven up the youth outreach center by incorporating our own activities and games to create a fun learning environment. We arrived with a plan. It was going to be an exciting and enriching experience. Contrary to our expectations, the third Beit Shemesh visit did not go exactly according to plan. While we expected a dozen or so kids to be waiting at the Youth Outreach Center, we only found one. Thursdays, equivalent to Friday afternoons in the United States, are slower than most days. When students are released from school on Thursdays, their weekends begin. Since our activities were meant for a larger group, we had to change our game plan a bit. We di

First Day Back. First Taste of Ethiopian Cuisine.

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- Diane Samuels It has been three years since I last was a volunteer at the Ethiopian National Project! Back in 2010, I was on a year-long study abroad program in Israel and decided to spend my Spring semester interning at ENP, where I learned about the rich culture and story of Ethiopians living in Israel. I am now a graduate student, studying in Jerusalem, and am very excited to start volunteering again for ENP. Not only was today my first day back at ENP, but it was the first time that I have ever tried Ethiopian food (and I recommend trying it to those who have not yet tasted it!) At the ENP office, we ordered two vegetarian plates that came with injera . The food was delicious and after eating I was interested in researching more about the kinds of traditional foods eaten in Ethiopia. Injera is a national dish in Ethiopia and eaten daily in almost every household. It is a flat bread with a spongy texture and a distinct sour-dough like taste and is made out of teff, a gra

Jerusalem Day and Remembrance Day for Ethiopian Jews: a failure of inclusion of Ethiopian-Israelis?

Written by:  Leoni Groot Before 1967 Jerusalem was a divided city: Jordanian forces controlled the eastern part and the Old City, Israeli forces the western part. Like it is today, the Old City was important back then for strategic and religious reasons, yet Jewish citizens of Israel were prohibited from entering this area. During the Six Day war, Israeli forces captured the Old City, which resulted in a reunification of Jerusalem as part of the state of Israel. Nowadays, citizens of Jerusalem and the rest of the country commemorate the reunification of the city every year on Jerusalem Day. During this day, memorials are held for those who died in the Six Day War. Every year, thousands of people come to the Old City to celebrate this important national day. This year, Jerusalem Day was held on May 8 th (the date changes every year, due to the Jewish Calendar) and I had the opportunity to experience this day--a day that has so much meaning to many Jews and t