Not Your Grandpa's Jerusalem: Heart to Heart; A Women's Philanthropic Visit to Israel Day One

Definition of PHILANTHROPY

1. Goodwill to fellow members of the human race : active effort to promote human welfare

2. An act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes: an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes.

There are millions of reasons to visit the land of Israel; to study, work, learn, see friends and family, or just chill out in some of the most beautiful places in the world. But this "Heart to Heart Mission" was something else again.

Organized by JFNA (Jewish Federations of North America) - in particular JFNA's female fundraising arm, Women's Philanthropy, Heart to Heart was billed as a "Mission." But we were no missionaries.

As witness to the way JFNA funds have changed lives for the better "on the ground" in Israel, what we were was blown away; and not in that violent, explosive sense that many people who have never been to Israel ascribe to life there. No, we were blown away by the passion, determination, strength, spirit and warmth of Human Service personnel who make the most of our dollars collected to enhance humanitarian programs in Israel. Not one cent is being squandered.

A Pensive Moment Outside Jerusalem's Old City Walls
Jerusalem, Israel

This was the third Heart to Heart Mission in so many years and the largest. Last year, 90 women made the trek to Israel to see Women's Philanthropy dollars in action. This year, there were 155 of us - four buses worth.

As a point of pride, though Philadelphia had the largest contingency of 35 women, followed by New York City with 26, the Greater Stamford, CT area sent NINE! That's quite a large percentage of women from a relatively small city of 120,000. We were assigned to Bus #3 with others from Connecticut and New England - and of course, we believed our bus to be the best (meaning no disrespect to Buses 1,2 and 4). Four buses filled with strong, intelligent, giving women rolled from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to Haifa and Tzefat and many points in between, stopping to see, hear, smell, taste and feel the ways women are making an impact in Israeli society. Our hearts ranneth over.

The Best Bus (OK, I'm biased)
JFNA Women's Philanthropy Heart to Heart Mission to Israel
Feb. 5-9, 2012

Each day, the 155 of us were chosen either by bus or random selection to visit different programs. Most days we had a 6:15AM wake-up call and didn't get to sleep before midnight (sometimes later depending on the loquaciousness of one's roommate), causing one exhausted Israeli participant to exclaim, "even in the Army, we we could sleep six hours a night!" This allowed our group maximum coverage; we could spread out and listen to different testimonials and heart-swelling stories, then report back to the others. One group visited the office of a woman pediatric cardiologist who goes to African countries to find children in most need. She brings them to Israel for pro-bono surgery and treatment, then sends them home happy and healthy.

I spent the first morning in the second oldest settlement in the Tel Aviv area, Neve Tzedek (the first, at 4,000 years old, is Jaffa). Neve Tzedek bursts with boutiques, funky restaurants and jewelry and clothing designers; an Israeli SoHo. Our host, who lives in an exquisitely renovated courtyard home, collects and imparts information about Art Nouveau. Her home is a museum, and she invites groups (mostly Israeli) to come and learn about this precursor to Art Deco. I was just happy to step foot inside one of the places I'd wondered about when meandering the streets of this old neighborhood years before. Quiet and charming, our host and her home is but one example of the rich tapestry that is Israel.

Inside a home in Neve Tzedek
Tel Aviv, Israel

A peek through Art Nouveau doors
Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, Israel

Learning about Art Nouveau
Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, Israel

Our next stop was in Bet Shemesh - in the news recently as the town where an Ultra-Orthodox man spit on an 8 year old Orthodox girl. Like most free societies that encompass a broad spectrum of people, Israel is complex and ever evolving. It has always been a melange of cultures - even back to Greek and Roman times - and now with growing religious, Arab, Russian and Ethiopian populations, it's even more so. But the Heart to Heart Mission wasn't about politics. It's about Social Action. So here's what we saw in Bet Shemesh; a Head-Start-like pre-school program for economically disadvantaged kids who are recipients of the Israeli version of PJ Library (a charitable organization, funded in part by JFNA that distributes one book per month to 120,000 kids), called Sifriat Pijama.

Art Activity with kids at Gan Hadar
Bet Shemesh, Israel

JFNA Heart to Heart Women with kids of Gan Hadar
Recipients of Women's Philanthropy Funds
Bet Shemesh, Israel

One of the best ways to experience Israel is to taste it. As I mentioned, Israel is made up of many cultures - each with its own accumulation of stories, recipes, songs, clothing and history. A case in point: Yemenite Jews - those who came to Israel from the land south of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Sea. Until recently, it was bad form to call attention to one's ethnicity in Israel - you were Israeli. That's it. But lately, groups have been reconciling their various heritages and bringing the best of each to an eager-to-learn populace. The Jewish Agency in Israel - funded in part by our JFNA dollars through what was formerly Partnership 2000 and now Partnership Together (given the amusing nickname "P-Together") lends funds to some of these small initiatives; empowering women to launch their own businesses. About 45 minutes from Tel Aviv, we stopped at the terrific Moshav Yish'i where Yemenite-Israeli, Gila Bashari moved us to the core with her songs (she has performed at Carnegie Hall) and where cooks taught us all to cook Yemenite food, then eat it, of course!