Kenya born Baltimore student Khadija Ismail on seminar with Givat Haviva

 

For almost a decade inner city youth from Baltimore have spent a month of their summer break in Israel as part of an innovative youth program grooming future leaders of their diverse communities in America.

Grounded in historic intent of improving relations between the black and Jewish communities, the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel’s mission is to foster positive relations between all ethnic communities in the 7thCongressional District.

The program has two distinct components, a four-week trip to Israel and the two-year Jerold C. Hoffberger Leadership Enhancement Program through which the students learn and develop skills that will help them become a cadre of future leaders who will promote interethnic understanding, racial and religious tolerance.

Through the program students assume new responsibilities, affirm leadership potential and learn the importance of cooperation and civic participation and we in the INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT at GIVAT HAVIVA have been honored to work with the Baltimore youth on the leadership path since the inception of the program during their stay in Israel.

Whilst in Israel the Baltimore youths live, study and go on tours with Israeli peers living at the Yemin Orde Youth Village near Haifa.  The Israeli peers mainly hail from the Ethiopian and Russian immigrant population and not without their own absorption and finding one’s place difficulties within Israeli society.

The present group of extremely bright young people, two of whom born in Africa, spent a day at Givat Haviva recently where they learned about the Arab citizens of Israel, met with Israeli Arab Muslim lawyer Amir Gara and were taken on a tour of the Katzir region.

“We are very proud of these students because of their strong leadership potential and their commitment to building bridges amongst all the diverse communities of the Baltimore region,” Congressman Elijah Cummings declared at a pre-Israel trip gathering of the teenagers.

Once back home the students will be volunteering as mentors to other students and will participate in other public service activities – whilst of course doing their own not so light school workload.

The students are accompanied in Israel by Judy Alter from Washington D.C. who volunteers during summertime at the Yemin Orde Youth Village.

“During the second intifada my husband – whom I met during a stay at Kibbutz Grofit in 1970 – and I participated in an American Jewish Committee solidarity mission and one of our stops was Yemin Orde,” explains Judy.

“Amid all the ugliness, Yemin Orde was an oasis of promise.  Chaim Peri (the director) spoke of the potential of the immigrant children of Yemin Orde and an approach of inclusiveness and acceptance.  Adolescents from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia inspired us with their stories and since then I have returned every year to help out with the youth programs coordinated by Susan Weijl of Yemin Orde,” a clinical psychologist by profession.

 

Baltimore teens committed to making a difference in their communities

Left to right: Gabriel Burgess, Roland Rubin, Joshua Wagoner, Blake Thompson, Alex Allard, Andrew Adekole,

 Khadija Ismail, Jaina Maultsby and Judy Alter.

Front row: Lena Long, Jerry MacKinnon Jr., and Shavanity Cooper

 

“My favorite is this program of Yemin Orde kids together with the Elijah Cummings Youth Leadership program members.  The kids from Baltimore are my neighbors and I have special affection for the Israelis from Ethiopia, Brazil, Ukraine and Kazakstan who live and study at Yemin Orde.

“The entire group learns about Israel and the history of this country, but most of all they learn about each other.  It is ironic that I feel most optimism about the future when I am in Israel – with this group,” explained Judy.

With regard the seminar at Givat Haviva Judy commented that the program had an impact on the Yemin Orde students as well as those from Baltimore.

“Doing something like this makes them feel like Israelis rather than “the other” even while they explain to Amir that they know about discrimination,” concluded this rather special lady dedicating her summers to helping her American neighbors and new immigrants in Israel struggling with common issues although living in very diverse countries and societies.

 

Overlooking the divided village of Barta’a from Katzir

 

JULY 2008

Photos and text: Lydia Aisenberg