by Gail Lichtman http://www.emunah.org/ February 3, 2005

With the exception of Jerusalem, no other city in Israel has borne the brunt of Palestinian terror more than Netanya.

Located at the narrowest part of Israel’s pre-1967 waist, less than 17 km (10 miles) from Palestinian Tulkarem, this seaside resort of some 185,000 has had terror and death strike at its shopping mall, open-air market (shuk), downtown area, hotel area and ‘ in the most infamous and murderous attack of the last two years ‘ at the Passover Seder in the Park Hotel which left 30 people dead and hundreds wounded.

But despite it all, the people of Netanya, like those of the rest of Israel, are adamant in their determination to continue on and not give in to terror. While Palestinian terrorists have embraced human sacrifice, Israelis, following the Torah commandant, have chosen life (’that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: choose life'’ Deuteronomy XXX, 19).

EMUNAH, through its various programs and dedicated volunteers, is helping Netanya in this endeavor. From infants and toddlers, to children at risk, to young brides, to growing families, to elderly new immigrants, EMUNAH programs and volunteers are enhancing the quality of life in Netanya and contributing to strengthening the resolve of the city’s residents.

Daycare

EMUNAH has seven daycare centers in Netanya, serving some 700 infants and toddlers from six months to three years. Three of these centers cater to the children of new immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia. Some 200 children deemed ‘at-risk’ take part in special programs within the centers.

‘The situation is not an easy one at present,’ explains Rivka Klein, educational inspector for EMUNAH’s Netanya region daycare centers. ‘On one hand, there is a lot of trepidation on the part of the parents because of the security situation. And on the other hand, the economy has been hard hit in Netanya, which depends heavily on tourism and the diamond industry. More and more we are seeing families, especially single parent ones, who cannot afford daycare and also often literally do not have food at home. Many of our centers have begun sending leftover food home with the children for their families.’

EMUNAH, together with the Joint Distribution Committee - Israel, is providing a special program for 150 Ethiopian children and their mothers aimed at improving educational opportunities. ‘Ethiopian children generally come to first grade lacking many of the basic skills necessary for reading readiness,’ Klein notes. ‘We believe that if we can begin dealing with the children and their mothers from the age of six months, we can effectively close this gap.’

Klein feels that the fact that EMUNAH provides secure facilities with quality care for infants and toddlers has done a lot to give working mothers peace of mind. In addition, the at-risk programs are keeping many children and families from falling into the abyss of poverty. She is proud that four of the EMUNAH daycare centers have begun mainstreaming Down Syndrome children. ‘Their progress has been amazing and they have advanced wonderfully. This program is a boon to both the children and their parents.’

Bet Elazraki

During the past two years, in addition to the actual terrorist attacks, there have been hundreds of warnings of potential terrorists on the loose. One of the first places alerted when these terrorists are suspected to be headed for the Netanya area is EMUNAH’s Children’s Home ‘ Bet Elazraki. With 145 children, ranging in age from infants to 18, the home is a prime target.

One of the first things that director Yehuda Kohn does when this happens is to lock down the home. ‘There are often days when the children literally cannot leave the grounds even to visit friends in the neighborhood,’ he explains. ‘This takes its toll. All the kids know about terrorist attacks because they are so often aimed at killing children who eat pizza, go to the mall and do just what our children like to do. We have drills in case of terrorist attacks. When I see the kids running for the shelter, I think ‘ how many times do these children have to run? First, they had to run from abusive homes where they lived in fear and now they are threatened again.’

Bet Elazraki has always striven to make its children feel loved and secure. But now, this is even harder as the children bear the extra burden of security concerns on top of their personal stressful histories.

‘Fortunately, we have in place both conventional and non-conventional therapies,’ Kohn notes. ‘We don’t have to start to look for different ways to cope. We also have a rich program of on-site after-school activities to offer the children. These are extras supported by EMUNAH and they have become all the more critical to the mental and emotional well-being of our children over the past two years.’

EMUNAH Chapters

Bet Elazraki and the daycare centers also benefit from the magnificent work of the EMUNAH chapters in Netanya. With some 500 members in three English-speaking and two Hebrew-speaking groups, the Netanya chapters support national EMUNAH endeavors as well as local initiatives.

The English-speaking Geula chapter is currently refurbishing a daycare center in one of Netanya’s poorest neighborhoods, where the children are third or fourth generation in poverty. It maintains a shoe fund that provides winter boots and summer sandals to needy children. It also paid for the furnishing of the new EMUNAH headquarters in Netanya whose opening has enabled EMUNAH to provide special counseling for brides, family counseling and personal counseling, a location for Bnei Akiva meetings, Torah studies for women, lectures by rabbis for women and various other activities.

The English-speaking Afula chapter supports the annual bar/bat mitzvah celebrations at Bet Elazraki. ‘We use 10% of the money we raise for local projects,’ states Tehila Chapnick, chairperson of EMUNAH Netanya. ‘We undertake projects that it would be hard to get an outside donor to support. These include maintenance of the daycare centers and Bet Elazraki as well as local efforts to help the poor and needy.’

Chapnick also stresses the importance of the activities EMUNAH provides for women. ‘Today, it is very difficult to get women out of the house for afternoon and evening activities. People are afraid to leave home. Every journey outside entails fear. But women constantly tell us how important our rabbinical lectures, Torah studies, Parshat Hashavua, etc. are in giving them the spiritual ‘chizuk’ to go on.’

Volunteers

The secret weapon in the EMUNAH Netanya’s arsenal is its volunteers ‘ women like Chapnick and Nina Ormonde who have become the ‘grannies’ of the children at Bet Elazraki. ‘For the past 20 years, my job has been to go to Bet Elazraki and hug and kiss the children like any good Jewish grandmother would do with her grandchildren,’ Chapnick explains. ‘I am pure TLC.’

‘Grandma Nina’, who has been involved with EMUNAH for the past 30 years, first in her native England and since 1983 in Netanya, not only dispenses hugs and kisses, she also teaches cooking to the older girls. ‘These girls do not have a mother to teach them what are healthy foods and how to cook for a family,’ she says. ‘So I come once a week and show them.’

Ormonde is also an incredible ‘pusher’ and fundraiser. She was instrumental in getting the funds for the construction of Bet Balant, Bet Elazraki’s dormitory for older girls. And she has initiated both a Hebrew-language ulpan and a social club for Netanya’s elderly Russian immigrants.

The ulpan, which has some 60 students, teaches not only basic Hebrew but also Yiddishkeit to elderly immigrants who otherwise would remain cut off from Israeli society due to lack of language and little understanding of the culture. The social club offers a place to meet, socialize and celebrate Chagim.

Eveline Lemberger, another EMUNAH member, has ‘adopted’ a young graduate of Bet Elazraki. ‘During my volunteer work at Bet Elazraki, I developed a bond with a young girl. I began to see her as my adopted daughter. When she completed Bet Elazraki at age 18, we continued our contact. Now she is 22, after her National Service, and in college studying to be a special education teacher. We talk at least once a week and she comes to our home for Shabbat and holidays. A bright young girl can always get scholarships and stipends for her education but where can she go for advice and love? We try to give her the emotional support and guidance she needs.’

‘EMUNAH volunteers like Nina Ormonde, Tehila Chapnick and Eveline Lemberger are totally devoted,’ states Kohn. ‘We are in great measure where we are today because of these women. Nina is especially remarkable. She not only fundraises but also is personally involved. She knows every child at Bet Elazraki by name. She is a true Eshet Chayil of EMUNAH.’

Netanya Mayor Miriam Fierberg is grateful for EMUNAH’s help and support. ‘During these difficult times in Netanya, it is reassuring to know that an organization like EMUNAH is helping us to care for every citizen who needs help, be it a small child in daycare, a young couple in marriage counseling, the elderly or new immigrants. EMUNAH gives us hope for our future.’

This entry was posted on Friday, February 4th, 2005 and is filed under opinion.