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Apr 20 2020
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Yo Tech Initiative

By Atlanta Jewish Community, Global News

Yo-Tech Opens Doors to Tech Careers in Yokneam

Across the road from a residential neighborhood in Yokneam lies Hi-Tech Park, the shining economic jewel of this northern Israel community, and home to roughly 160 successful tech firms that generate approximately $6 billion in revenue annually. For some young people in Yokneam, their professional future may happen there. For others who lack digital skills, jobs in technology seem impossibly out of reach. That’s about to change.

Coming out of Federation’s 2019 Partnership visit, a commitment was made to establish a formal relationship with the Hi-Tech community to support local youth in need. The vision  is to leverage Yokneam Hi-Tech park as a platform for Ethiopian and at-risk youth to gain the skills that will lead to success in the technology job market.

Federation’s Global Jewish Peoplehood Committee has given the green light to invest in Yo-Tech, an applications development and technology course for youth in Yokneam. Working with our partners from Machshava Tova, (a nonprofit that bring technological access and empowerment to underserved populations), and the city of Yokneam, a select group of 15 students will begin a year-long course that will culminate in an internship with one of the Hi-Tech companies at Yokneam Hi-Tech village.

“It’s really the first time that our tech community has partnered with the community in a formal way,” said Eliad Elyahu Ben Shushan, Partnership director, Jewish Agency for Israel. “It’s vitally important to build this relationship and create a shared sense of destiny and opportunity for our youth.”

Yo-Tech will address skill areas that are essential to a 21st century work environment: technological training, coupled with a mindset that fosters independent research and learning in a warm and supportive framework.  At risk youth will also learn equally critical “soft skills” of personal and social responsibility, teamwork and cooperation. Internships will provide practical experience in a sought-after technological field.”

Yo-Tech has already selected 15 local teenagers ages 14-18. The group will include 10 students from the Ethiopian community and 5 from the general population. We’re excited to update you on their progress as the program moves forward.

Apr 20 2020
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Camp Szarvas

By Atlanta Jewish Community, Global News, Jewish Camp Initiative, Jewish Journeys

They’ll Never Take Being Jewish for Granted After Camp Szarvas

Gefen Beldie, who is a junior this year at Atlanta Jewish Academy, has spent most of her life in Israel and in the security of her Toco Hills community, where there are six synagogues within a mile of her house and where being Jewish is as easy as breathing.  Gefen never imagined the kinds of conversations she’d have as one of 19 U.S. teenagers accepted to attend Camp Szarvas, an international Jewish summer camp run by the JDC in Hungary and supported by Federation. Campers attend Szarvas from all over the world and for most of them it’s the most Jewish experience they’ve ever had.

“At Szarvas I found myself getting into intense conversations about identity, and I was up for it. I became friendly with a Czech girl who had very little exposure to Judaism. There are only two kosher restaurants in her whole country and her parents were actually reluctant to reveal their Jewish identity to her.  I could see that it was powerful for her to have an opportunity to live in a community of Jews for the first time in her life.”

For Shani Shapiro, one of this year’s Shinshinim from Zichron Yaakov, Israel, the experience of attending Camp Szarvas several years ago motivated her to apply for the Shinshinim program. At camp, where so many kids were getting their first taste of Judaism, she began introducing herself by saying, “Hi, I’m Shani, I’m Jewish.” Shani told of meeting a girl from Turkey who was sent to Szarvas by her parents. “She didn’t even know she was Jewish until she called them up and asked, ‘Why are things written in Hebrew here?’ This girl was shocked to learn about her identity. In Turkey it’s dangerous to be Jewish, she was literally starting from scratch.”

By contrast, Shani met kids from Moldova, a tiny country between Romania and Ukraine, who were strong in their Judaism and proud of it. That made an impression on her, too. “No one needs to tell me I am Jewish, but now I appreciate that some kids are afraid. I always dreamed of doing something bigger outside of Israel after high school,” Shani said. “Being part of Shinshinim Atlanta is opening my eyes to the American way of being Jewish.”

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