Israel
Adventures in Jerusalem
By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT
Jerusalem
When I call this piece ‘Adventures’, you have to realize who I am. I’m an elderly Jewish woman. Even before this happened to me though, I was not into bungee jumping, mountain climbing, deep sea diving (not even light scuba diving), canoe trips, stock car racing, or anything like that. Buying myself an apartment in Jerusalem is as adventurous as I’ve ever been. That’s a long story, and it’s not one that I’m going to tell today. But, I was gradually beginning to travel here more than once in twelve months, and I wanted to stop feeling like the meter is running and you have to keep doing something because otherwise money is going down the drain.
What would it be like to live right here? I would think – wherever in Israel I was. Looking out the windows of the tour buses, seeing people in the villages and countryside, wondering who they were and what they were doing, would set my imagination in motion. So I bit the bullet and bought. Now, for five months a year, (the winter months of course), I live here.
“What do you do when you’re in Jerusalem?” I am frequently asked. Well, here’s what: I explore! Hey, that sounds a little like an ‘adventurey’ activity, eh? In my meanderings I come across places not on tourist guide lists, though they ought to be. For instance, one day I was wandering along Helena HaMalka Street, contemplating its name. It is not named after Constantine’s mother, Saint Helena (circa. 300 CE), but an earlier Queen Helena (circa. 30 CE), ruler of an area partly in today’s Iraq. This Queen Helena and her two sons converted to Judaism and brought generous gifts to the 2nd Temple, as well as food during famine for the destitute Jewish community. Remains of her palace have been excavated in the City of David, and she also built a mausoleum that was named Tomb of the Kings. That is where she and her sons are believed to be now buried.
Anyway, I turned onto Shivtei Israel Street, which would bring me along behind City Hall, and on it I found the darlingest gift shop, named Yad LaKashish, meaning ‘lifeline for the old’. This has an interesting back story too. Early in the 1960s a small group of bookbinders were set up in a little shop, in an attempt to give them back a sense of usefulness. They began to do a lively business restoring old books, and very soon the skills of other destitute elderly were reawakened and put to use. This endeavour has grown to 10 workshops and 300 elderly artisans. Every item in the shop at the front of their refurbished building is an original, handmade item, lovingly crafted like your grandparents used to do, but with a modern flair. I now make an annual beeline to pick up one or a few gifts, and of course I take out-of-townees there. They’re always delighted and thank me profusely. Say, if interesting shopping isn’t an adventure, I don’t know what is!
Last year I was encouraged to go and see Canada House! What? There’s a Canada House in Jerusalem? Much to my surprise, it was next door to the Yad LaKashish gift shop. It seemed like a construction site, and I had trouble finding the entrance (always a challenge in Israel leading to many conversations with strangers). I was shown around inside and immediately fell in love with the concept. It was a state-of-the-art centre of every kind of supportive activity (except for an outdoor sports and entertainment area, which is what was going on behind the construction barrier). The building itself, formerly the Morasha District Community Centre was named Canada House at a dedication in 2013, and renovated in 2014. What struck me the most, besides the beauty of the design, was the unity of the vision, rising from what could have remained a seriously troubled community. (Consider this, that the street itself is the old Jordan occupation border, where Jews and Arabs lived cheek by jowl, battling from building to building during the years culminating in 1967, and afterwards, as the newspapers of the 1970s indicate.) Yet here they are, from the littlest children, through high school, waiting, needing encouragement in their gap year before the IDF experience, then, after IDF, on to career development, trauma assistance, working through issues in group and individual counseling, raising families in troubled times, evolving to seniors, who have passionately stayed, and many who have joined, this unique community. The vision is now so strengthened that it is reaching out to the youth and young adults of the entire city. How fitting that it is tucked in right behind City Hall.
This year I rushed back to see what had gone on behind the construction fence. A thousand words would take too much space, so instead I’m using pictures.
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
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