Ronit Farkash
During 2015 the KIAH management decided to establish a new division – Welfare and Social Resilience. The division was established on the basis of the understanding that reducing social gaps is an essential principle in Judaism, fostering human dignity, equality and social justice. The Division for Welfare and Social Resilience will operate various programs in diverse fields for youth in at-risk situations in Israel’s geo-social periphery towards their empowerment for fulfilling and meaningful lives, thus implementing values of social repair and Jewish social action. In this sense, the division will provide our organization with complementary programing for its work in education to Jewish social values and educational excellence.
Last July the division integrated the network of Bayit Ham clubs for at-risk youth that were operated by the Bayit Ham NGO over a period of 30 years. Over these years, the clubs provided a professional response and a sense of belonging for some 25,000 teenagers. The youth workers staffing the clubs offered love and warmth, unconditional acceptance, emotional care and physical support so that the young people could regain their rightful place in the community on the basis of their self-worth and personal desire. Bayit Ham clubs led their participants to increased creativity and community involvement, and cultivated leadership and excellence in all domains of the young peoples' lives. Research shows a significant drop in the rates of self-harm, crime, violence and vandalism among those youth who participated in Bayit Ham club programs.
The Kol Israel Haverim management, following the events undergone by the Jewish community in France and its increasing rates of Aliyah, decided that the establishment of the Division for Welfare and Social Resilience had become of immediate importance. In view of these changes, the Division will have to initiate and develop a variety of responses to deal with the Aliyah crisis, and with French immigrant at-risk youth in particular.
Sam Pinto, Chairman, Kol Israel Haverim: "Establishing the domain of social welfare and resilience is entirely consistent with the Kol Israel Haverim vision of social responsibility and with Alliance - Kol Israel Haverim's long history in this field in Israel and in the Diaspora."
Dr. Yehuda Maimaran, CEO, Kol Israel Haverim: "For the Kol Israel Haverim management, providing a response for youth in at-risk situations and providing assistance for the young people of Israel's periphery is social repair in action and implementation of Jewish social values.
Eli Vaknin, VP, Division of Welfare and Social Resilience, Kol Isarel Haverim: "The new division serves as a platform for extensive and in-depth treatment of the issue of at-risk youth and operates to mitigate the negative factors impacting youth in particular and Israeli society in general. Treating the problem of at-risk youth is not only an ethical issue or the problem of a particular population sector; it is a problem challenging Israel's society in its entirety. The future economic stability, national security and social resilience of Israeli society depends on the healthy development of its youth – our next generation. Investing in the new generation is the choice avenue to promote prosperity and resilience in Israeli society."
You are invited to view the special video clip we produced to mark the Division's establishment:
