My unforgettable month in Israel's desert watching hope bloom for people with disabilities

By Rhonda Forman

The dry, unrelenting heat of the Negev awoke me as I reluctantly arose, having arrived in Israel the day before. Twenty hours earlier, the reality of what I was about to do had sunk in. Was I really about to spend an entire month in the Israeli desert, away from the creature comforts and familiarity of my home and family in Boston?

For the last 12 months, I’d been taking Hebrew classes to prepare myself for a once-in-a-lifetime experience volunteering at Jewish National Fund-USA affiliate Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitation village for children and adults with disabilities in Israel's Negev desert.

As a proud Zionist and supporter of JNF, being afforded the opportunity to volunteer at Aleh Negev meant so much to me on so many levels. I was playing a small part in helping to fulfill the dream of Israel's first prime Mmnister, David Ben-Gurion who famously said, "It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigor of Israel shall be tested." And tested I would be.

Top 5 reasons to join JNF's first ever Negev Adventure Mission to Israel

By Don Wong, Negev Adventure Mission co-chair

Looking for a travel adventure? We have something amazing for the active and non-active alike.

Please tell your family members and friends to save the dates April 21-27, 2020 for fun and adventure in Israel's Negev. Below are the top five reasons to join the Modern Israel Negev Adventure Mission.

The poetry of Israel: A JNF housing mission, recounted in rhyme

The author, second from right, with other members of JNF's Housing Development Task Force.

By Scott Nadler

We loaded up the van with our luggage,

And our leaders discussed the day's plan.

Traveling south from Ashdod to Sderot,

The housing mission began.

We hit the road bright and early,

It was a 30-minute ride -- 

Zest and excitement filled the air,

Our hearts filled with pride.

There were eight of us volunteering

From different states, all with bravado.

From New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania,

To Arkansas and Colorado.

Brave, resilient Israelis in embattled Gaza Envelope give us strength

JNF CEO Russell Robinson with a Sderot resident whose car is riddled with holes. 

By Russell Robinson

As I'm packing to go to Israel to meet with five different Jewish National Fund-USA missions consisting of over 200 participants, my phone's tzevah-adom (red alert) app suddenly starts blaring "Red Alert! Red Alert!" Immediately, I check to see if it's one missile or more. It's more. I watch as one missile after another is launched from Gaza into the Israeli communities surrounding the border.

Our Israeli friends who live in the GazaEnvelope describe life there as 99 percent heaven and 1 percent hell. The 1 percent hell was beginning again, as it has from the day Israel withdrew from 100 percent of the territory in Gaza.

Advice for jump-starting a career in Israel after aliyah

Rachel Gang, living her dream as a therapist in Israel.

By Megan E. Turner

It was the need that attracted Rachel Gang to Be'er Sheva. The need and the opportunity to answer it. "I really liked the southern part of the country, and I saw that Be'er Sheva was lacking resources for mental health services," said Gang, 29, a social worker and educator who made aliyah from Baltimore in the summer of 2018. "I’ve always been social justice-oriented, so I didn’t want to go to Tel Aviv or the center -- I wanted to go where there’s a need." And that’s exactly what she did after spending summers and an academic year teaching English in Israel's north and south.

"Even in the U.S. I always worked in 'the frontier,'" Gang said, "usually in an education-related field, whether it was as a teacher or a social worker." When deciding on where to live in the south, community life was an important factor in Gang’s decision, and Be'er Sheva's revival as an attractive, hip city for young people -- thanks to projects spearheaded by Jewish National Fund's Blueprint Negev -- made it the perfect place to call home. "It’s also more affordable than the center," she said.

Saving lives in Israel's Negev desert: U.S. doctor settles in to new life

Dr. Michael Star, a neurologist in the Negev desert.

By Megan E. Turner

As one of only two stroke specialists in the entirety of Israel’s Negev Desert, this Indianapolis-born neurologist is a coveted gem. With that status, the glaring question is: why did Dr. Michael Star, 34, and his young family make aliyah and decide to live in Yerucham, a once dusty development town that is now experiencing a revival and building boom thanks to Jewish National Fund?

"We knew we didn’t want to live in the center of Israel," said Star of his and his wife's choice to make their home in the south in 2016. "We started out in Be'er Sheva, but we didn’t find a community that fit us," he said. "I was happy with my job at Soroka Hospital, so, we decided to start looking for communities around Be’er Sheva, and that's how we found Yerucham."

These moments touched me most deeply on JNFuture mission to Israel

The author (top row, in blue shirt, third from left) and other volunteers on the JNFuture Leadership Institute Mission.

By Matt Franzblau

To say my JNFuture Leadership Institute Mission trip this summer was impactful and meaningful would be an understatement. Through a jammed-packed five-day tour filled with meetings, greetings, activities, and introductions, our group, comprised of nearly two dozen young professionals, got a true bird's eye view of Jewish National Fund's operations on the ground in Israel.

From the very first day when we stepped foot onto Ammunition Hill, where JNF's support helped revitalize an important memorial site, to our final meal with Halutza community representative Yedidya Harush, who is now thriving in his new home after having to leave his old one in Gush Katif on the Gaza Strip, our group became more knowledgeable and passionate about the organization we were in Israel to represent. 

Zionist spirit of Halutza pioneers is highlight of JNFuture Israel trip

 Photo: Joshua Robbin Marks

The new JNF-Halutza Medical Center serving the residents of Shlomit.

By Joshua Robbin Marks

The highlight of the action-packed JNFuture Ultimate Israel Experience tour this May was visiting the amazing communities of Halutza in the northwestern Negev. 

Seeing these modern-day Zionist pioneers flourishing right next to Gaza and Egypt was proof of the success of Jewish National Fund's Blueprint Negev initiative to improve the quality of life in southern Israel and attract new residents to the region.

The communities of Shlomit, Bnei Netzarim and Naveh were built for the Gush Katif residents evacuated from Gaza during the 2005 disengagement. These communities are rapidly developing to accommodate more families. We saw new homes, a synagogue, a community center under construction, greenhouses, crop fields, and solar farms. We also went on a tour of a new medical facility and took advantage of new trees recently planted to provide shade from the intense desert heat. 

What I learned about life pruning pomegranate trees in Israel's desert

By Arielle Levy

I had the time of my life working on a farm in southern Israel along the border of Egypt pruning pomegranate trees. I contacted HaShomer HaChadash looking to volunteer on a farm so I could have a "pioneer" experience. I can't even express how much my week of manual labor far exceeded my expectations in the best possible way.

Medical pair spends vacation sharing expertise in Israel's desert

 (L-R) Central Arava Resource Development Associate Samatha Levy,
 nurse Annette Vaccaro, Dr. Dana Sless, and JNF Central Arava liaison Noa Zer,
 following a lecture on early childhood development.

While many would choose to use their vacation time to go to Europe or lounge on a beach, one medical duo decided to head to Israel's desert and give back.

Dr. Dana Sless, who specializes in pediatric and adolescent health care in Atlantic City, NJ, and nurse Annette Vaccaro, based in Troy, NY, went deep in the heart of the sandy Central Arava, a region that sits between the Dead Sea and Eilat along the Jordanian border and is home to some 8,700 people. They spent a week giving lectures and seminars at Jewish National Fund's Danielle A. and Irving J. Grossman Arava Medical Center.

What I saw on the ground in Israel as the Gaza border crisis rages on

Ariel and Aleta (left) at the inauguration for the delivery of the first fire wagon funded by JNF.

By Ariel Grunberg

My wife, Aleta, and I were in Israel this summer and able to experience firsthand the tragic eco-terrorism being brought upon those living on the Gaza Envelope over the past few months. As members of the Jewish National Fund Gaza Envelope Task Force, we had visited the area many times and grew to know and care for many living on the border. With trepidation, we looked forward to visiting our friends to see for ourselves what had occurred.

Yedidya Harush, our guide and amazing JNF liaison from the Halutza communities, picked us up at at the Ofakim railroad station and took us to Gama, an area that had been consumed by fire. I was so saddened to see this and then I became angry. I asked myself how people could do such a horrible thing as to destroy wildlife and their natural habitats, forests that purify the air we need to breathe, and agricultural lands that provide food for a hungry world. The sheer cost just to replace what was burned is in the millions. Farmers lost so much -- land that was ready to yield crops and trees that took years to grow were gone, destroyed.

In Israel, artsy bomb shelters bring comfort, beauty to kids in crisis

The painted bomb shelters in Israel's Negev desert create beauty from trauma.

Chaya, 9, used to get off the bus one stop early on her way home to Yated, a moshav in southern Israel. 

One day, her mom asked Chaya why she got off at the bus stop farther from home. The stop closer to her house, Chaya replied, houses an ugly gray bomb shelter, and looking at it made her feel bad. The shelter at the previous stop, on the other hand, looks pretty, she said: "It’s painted and gives me a better feeling." 

A local artist, along with local kids, painted a mural on the bomb shelter as part of a JNF project to beautify shelters and make them less threatening to kids in the communities along Gaza's border. Since March, more than 450 flaming kites, balloons, and rockets have been launched from Gaza at the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions of Israel. The devices have terrorized residents and scorched thousands of acres of agricultural land and forests. 

Fast fire wagons from JNF aid Israelis under siege along Gaza's border

Credit: Israel Fire and Rescue Services

Fires from incendiary devices shot across the border from Gaza have scorched thousands of acres in Israel's south. 

The families who call the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions of Israel home have had an extremely traumatic few months.         

Since March, over 450 flaming kites, balloons, and rockets have been launched at their communities from Gaza. These terrorist devices scorch thousands of acres of agricultural land and forests -- resources the communities rely on as their main source of economic development.  

The fiery devices also spark emotional and physical damage, stoking fear and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children forced to flee to shelters.

From Hawaii to Yerucham: Don Wong on why he works to develop Israel's desert

Don, an evangelical Christian with a background in public health, first visited Israel in 2001 on a Bible teaching tour. He started planting trees through JNF, and felt his connection to Israel strengthen even more after he and his wife Vivien, a retired radiologist, joined the JNF Doctors for Israel Tour in 2014 (Vivien will return to Israel in October to teach radiology residents at the Galilee Medical Center.) We spoke to Don about his passion for Israel and his involvement with JNF and Yerucham. Here are his answers, lightly edited.

Multicultural agriculture school in Israel plants seeds of hope, diplomacy

The author, Ron, right, with his new friend Mohammad, at AICAT.

By Ron Werner

What would you say if you walked into a classroom in a remotely populated region of southern Israel to find the room filled with students from Africa and Southeast Asia learning and loving Israel? The majority of the students come from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel; so, if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you might not have believed it. This is hope, this is the future. This is AICAT: The Arava International Center for Agricultural Training.  

A few weeks ago I visited AICAT, and it was easily one of the most amazing places I have ever seen.

Under the acacia tree: Celebrating a rite of passage in Israel's Arava

Photo: Tamir Eytan

The bat mitzvah girl, Alexia, in the Central Arava.

By Barbara Bader

In 2013, my husband Abe and I were talking about taking our first trip to Israel. He remembered, as a child, collecting donations for Jewish National Fund, using the blue box. I did some research, called our Long Island, N.Y. branch of JNF, and thus began our relationship. During that trip, on the Spirit of Israel Mission in April 2014, we visited the usual amazing places: the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the modern city of Tel Aviv, the beautiful Galilee. As wonderful as this was, nothing pulled at our heartstrings the way our visit to the Arava region did!

Dispatch from the front lines of the devastating Israel floods

The Arava Search and Rescue Team on the ground.

The Jewish National Fund Arava Task Force spent the past week in Israel, and their time there happened to coincide with the devastating storms in the area. Below Task Force chair Rebecca Fischer shares her impressions of being there during this trying time. To help with rescue efforts sorely needed in the area, please visit here.  

By Rebecca Fischer, Jewish National Fund Arava Task Force chair

I just returned from Israel. This was my 17th trip to Israel and I believe my 10th time in the Arava. This trip was unparalleled. We had an incredible time in the Hevel Eilot Region Sunday through Tuesday and the Central Arava Tuesday through Thursday, where we saw the fruits of our time and money literally rising from the desert.  

We met as a Task Force to review the projects proposed to us by both regions on Wednesday afternoon at Nof Zuqim, and to decide which projects we want to recommend to Jewish National Fund for support. However, we soon found ourselves trapped in the dining hall as a result of the sand and rain storms brewing outside, the likes of which none of us had ever witnessed. 

On JNF Makor Mission, the thrill of seeing Israel's desert come alive

By Rachel Sofaer

There's no better way to start the day than overlooking the beautiful cliffs of the Negev desert, and that's how the day began for a group of dedicated American Jews visiting Israel. The group was in southern Israel on Jewish National Fund's Makor Mission, spending five-days exploring JNF sites and Israel's peripheral communities. As the desert breeze danced through the air, the group of lay leaders from across America learned about the community of Arad. Makor members generously donate to JNF and inspire their communities at events and conferences to open up their wallets, and more importantly their hearts, to help Jewish National Fund continue to develop Israel.  

Women's History Month: Working to have it all in Israel's Negev desert

Menucha Saitowitz, partnerships coordinator at Eretz-Ir.

We're celebrating Women's History Month all March long by sharing stories of the amazing women who make up Jewish National Fund! In addition, we're matching all donations up to a total $1 million during this time. Learn more: jnf.org/women

For cities in Israel's Negev to prosper and grow, young adults and families must see cities there as viable, desirable places to live, with ample opportunities for employment, high quality of life, and upward mobility. Jewish National Fund works with local residents to propel education and economic change from the bottom up, motivating new populations to settle in cities that now offer opportunities that match the crowded Tel Aviv-Haifa-Jerusalem corridor. Eretz-Ir is a local organization that helps us achieve these goals.  

By Menucha Saitowitz

As Eretz-Ir’s English-language grant writer, I regularly sit down with our entrepreneurs and social-change leaders to hear about what's going on in the field. A few months ago, I was catching up with Ilana Kwartin, director of entrepreneurship for Eretz-Ir, who had just celebrated the opening of "SifriHub," a shared work-space for residents of her small community called Eliav. The launch featured a panel of local business owners about entrepreneurship in the region. 

Negev 'pitch night’ for new start-ups also solves local problems