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Summer Newsletter Leo Baeck Education Center, July 2016

University of Haifa Honors Rabbi Dr. Reuven Samuels z"l with the Carmel Award of Merit

Rabbi Dr. Reuven Samuels z"l, the former director of the Leo Baeck Education Center who passed away in May, was posthumously awarded the Carmel Award of Merit by the University of Haifa during its Board of Governors Meeting on June 9th. The award was given in recognition of his groundbreaking educational leadership integrating Zionist principles, community activism, democracy, and Judaism; for instilling generations of students and teachers with a strong moral foundation valuing community engagement, equality and human dignity; for his notable contributions to educational institutions and community organizations across Israel; and for his deep and longstanding friendship with the University of Haifa. Rabbi Samuel's wife Annette and daughter Tamar accepted the award in the presence of University of Haifa officials and faculty members, colleagues, former students and friends of Rabbi Samuels, and Leo Baeck educational and administrative staff.

Sizzling Summer at Leo Baeck's Community Centers

Our Arab-Jewish Summer Camp, in operation since 1991, will again bring together 50 Jewish and 50 Arab children on August 7-12 for a week of shared activities. Campers will enjoy fun-filled days in arts and crafts, music, theater, sports, field trips, and cross-cultural programs, all aimed at helping them explore cultural differences, break down fears and stereotypes, build trust, team work and friendships, in a safe environment. Summer camps run by our community center staff throughout July and August are already in progress at Leo Baeck's main campus sports center and at three other sport centers in Haifa, as well as a wide range of leisure activities for all ages taking place in our satellite centers throughout Haifa.

On July 27th, the Clore Center will host a Summer Festival for children and parents in a Haifa park in the multicultural Ein Ha-Yam / Wadi El-J'mal and surrounding neighborhoods. This event, organized in cooperation with the Haifa Municipality, will bring together Jewish and Arab families for a fun afternoon of music, bilingual theater, and arts and crafts.

Sauwa Center Staff Earn Leo Baeck's Employee Award of Excellence

The staff of Leo Baeck's Sauwa Center, headed by director Mary Jadaon, were presented with the Employee Award of Excellence for their outstanding programs and service at the school year closing ceremony that took place on June 27th. Among the staff of the Sauwa Center, a childhood development and therapeutic center for at-risk Arab-Israeli families of low socio-economic status, are the director, 3 social workers, 1 occupational therapist, 1 speech therapist, 2 teachers, 1 social work student, and several interns from the University of Haifa and volunteers who assist with child care and evaluation. The dedicated staff received a well-deserved standing ovation from all Leo Baeck educational and administrative staff in attendance.

"Peace Drums" Steel Band Troupe Performs in the U.S.

During April, 19 Leo Baeck Middle School Jewish students and Arab students from Ibilin in the Galilee, all musicians in the "Peace Drums" Steel Band, traveled to the U.S. for a 10-day East Coast performance tour that included eight concerts in New York, Philadelphia, Delaware, and a visit to Washington, DC. These youth are role models who show others that people can come together through music and by focusing on their similarities rather than their differences. [Read more…]

Leo Baeck High School Students Win Yad Vashem Prize for Excellence in Holocaust Education

On June 14th, four Leo Baeck High School students and their teachers traveled to Jerusalem to accept the Yad Vashem Prize for Excellence in Holocaust Education. The prize was awarded for an innovative and inspiring project, in which 27 Leo Baeck high school students participated, to translate to Hebrew testimonies by individuals who survived the Kindertransports. The survivors' stories were originally published in an English book called "I Came Alone" edited by Bertha Leverton and Samuel Lowensohn. The project was supported by Ms. Leverton's daughter who was delighted to be able to read the stories in Hebrew to her Israeli grandchildren. [Read more…]

Leo Baeck Student Wins World Championship in Kickboxing

Julia Satskov, a grade 11 Leo Baeck high school student, won the world championship in the Kickboxing World Cup competition held in Budapest, Hungary, on May 12-15. We congratulate her and agree with her classmates that Julia is a role model who has proven that determination, effort, and courage pay off.

YEDA-KIPP-Inspired Schools Expanding

YEDA-Leo Baeck schools are currently in operation in Kiryat Bialik and Petach Tikvah. Two more schools are scheduled to open in fall 2016 in the southern Israel towns of Yerucham and Kiryat Malachi. Leo Baeck is in discussions with the Ministry of Education to make the YEDA model a national project for schools in Israel's socio-economically challenged periphery.
At a Kiryat Bialik Municipality ceremony in May, YEDA school principal Itai Karin was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the mayor for his excellent educational and community activities. The municipality also announced that our YEDA school was ranked first in a comprehensive urban municipal survey conducted among residents of Kiryat Bialik. The survey examined the level of satisfaction with municipal services and the residents selected the YEDA School in first place as an educational institution that provides the best service to parents.

Leo Baeck Community Center Holds Democratic Elections for New Board Members

Elections were held in May to select public representatives for the board of directors of the Leo Baeck Community Center. The four candidates elected include Jewish, Arab and Druze members of the community. Leo Baeck is one of only two community centers in Haifa that holds democratic elections for their board. The Election Day events, ceremony and entertainment focused on Ethiopian culture and were organized by the Ethiopian students who participate in the University Leadership Training Program (ULTP), Leo Baeck's joint project with the University of Haifa to empower Ethiopian women. During the ceremony, awards were presented to members of the Ethiopian community who volunteered to participate in a project to document their stories of life in Ethiopia and their immigration to Israel. These stories were transcribed by the ULTP students and will soon be published in a book in Hebrew and Amharic.

Gay Pride Kabbalat Shabbat at Ohel Avraham Synagogue

On June 17th our Ohel Avraham congregation held, for the fourth year in a row, a colorful and musical Gay Pride Kabbalat Shabbat as part of the international Gay Pride month.

"Over the Rainbow" Campaign on Behalf of Children with Cancer

A happening of family activities, entertainment and sports took place on June 9th at the Leo Baeck Community Center to raise funds on behalf of children suffering from cancer. The funds will be used to grant these children's wishes through the Israeli "Make-a-Wish" organization. The event was jointly sponsored by the Leo Baeck Education Center, the Gay-Lesbian community of Haifa, and the Ministry of Culture and Sport.

Our Overseas Ambassadors

Ohel Avraham Synagogue delegations to Temple Shaaray Tefila, New York, NY, and Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley, Massachusetts (April 2016)

May Sharoni and Bar Argaman- CITs at Camp Haverim, Congregation B'nai Brith, in Santa Barbara, California (Summer 2016)

Friends Forever delegation from Leo Baeck Education Center and Sisters of Nazareth School in New Hampshire (July 1-16)

Our Recent Visitors

June 6

Protestant Parish Oberrieden from Switzerland (near Zurich).

June 15

Adelson School delegation from Las Vegas, Nevada.

June 16

ImDialog: Protestant Working Group for Christian-Jewish Dialogue in Hesse and Nassau from Germany.

June 18

Mickey Leland Internship Program delegation from Houston, Texas.

July 12

LJY-Netzer Youth from England.

To find out more about projects and activities at the Leo Baeck Education Center and how you can support us, please contact tel. +972-4-8300571 or dia@leobaeck.org.il

Visit our website: leobaeckhaifa.org

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