Organizational Background

Friends by Nature - Community Empowerment is a non-profit Israeli organization that was established in 2005 by a group of young Israelis working in the fields of multiculturalism, education for tolerance and acceptance, at-risk youth, community renewal and informal education. The founders of "Friends by Nature" represent a diverse mix of Ethiopian-Israelis and veteran Israelis, religious and secular, all sharing in the understanding that the success of immigrant communities within Israel is dependent on a strong sense of identity, the family unit, and appreciation for their unique cultural background.

Friends by Nature’s goals are: 

• To allow the full integration of immigrants into Israeli society, respecting cultural diversity and the contributions they bring to the country,
• To develop community involvement and responsibility in Israel’s new generation
• To help youth and youth at risk find their place in Israeli society as contributing members to their community
• To strengthen the love for the land of Israel and its environment.

Gedera - A sample Gar'in
Gedera Community Gar'in includes 16 families and 15 young adults (Ethiopian- and veteran- Israelis) with similar educational values, who all live in Gedera and take social-educational responsibility in the Shapira Neighborhood in town. Every Gar'in member is involved in community action and programming, including at least two hours of volunteer work. The Gar'in operates a Multicultural Community Beit-Midrash (Learning Group), as detailed above.

Approximately 1,300 Ethiopian Israelis live in the neighborhood, comprising 90% of its residents (~260 are aged 6-18). Altogether, there are approximately 1,800 Ethiopian Israelis in Gedera (10% of its 18,000 residents); at school age, Ethiopian Israeli students are 20% of all students. 170 Ethiopian Israeli teenagers and young adults take part in the Gar'in's educational programs.

Until 2006, Ethiopian-Israeli high school students were usually referred to boarding schools; however, many had not survived there for a long time. These students found themselves going from one boarding school to another, with the majority of the boarding schools having an insufficient scholastic and social level. While in the neighborhood, these youth wander the streets, bringing with them risk-habits. Many students drop out of all educational frameworks and do not enlist in the army, thereby causing the problem to continue and worsen over the years.

Since the end of 2005, the Gar'in has been working in the Shapira Neighborhood, and started a youth center and a tutorial program, and an excellent cooperation with the regional high school. After two years, school drop out rates decreased to ZERO.

Evaluation: 

These are the parameters that determine the success of the program:
1. 75% of the Gar'in members will be involved in the community (at least one person per family)
2. 80% of the Gar'in members will be present at the Gar'in meetings (beit midrash, meetings, weekends)
3. Gar'in Members: 16-18 families / singles; 50%+ Ethiopian Israelis; at least 4 families from the Shapira neighborhood.
4. The Gar'in will work with 150-200 Shapira neighborhood residents.
5. Gar'in representatives will join 1-2 steering committees in Gedera (Matnas, Welfare department etc.)


Programs and Activities

Each Gar'in operates a number of programs, with the goal of making them become part of the regular services in the community. Each Gar'in works in cooperation with the local institutions, including: high schools, Welfare Department, and more; some of the programs operate jointly with the municipalities.

Among the Founders

 
Yuvi Tashome: Yuvi made Aliya to Israel from Ethiopia with her extended family in 1984, as part of Operation Moses through the Sudan, when she was five years old.
When Yuvi completed her military service in the IDF Education Corps in 1998, she was recruited to work as a summer camp counselor at Camp Ramah in New York - which she did for two sequent years.
Upon her return to Israel, she joined a special Multicultural Orienteering Program for Ethiopian Israeli youth, and worked as a youth counselor and regional director for 7 years, directing dozens of staff members and developing culturally sensitive educational programs.
Yuvi, mother to Shaked, completed her Bachelor Degree in Israel Studies and Education, and is continuing her studies as a Parents Group Counselor in the Adler Institute.
In 2005 Yuvi initiated the Community Gar'in in the Israeli town of Gedera, and is directing it. The Gar'in includes a group of families and young adults, whom Yuvi joined around common vision and goals, through community action and discussion on personal and Jewish identity.
The Community Gar'in Yuvi directs works with approximately 200 youth and young adults - most of whom are Ethiopian Israelis.

Nir Katz: A native Israeli, Nir happened to reach the remote Quara region in Ethiopia in 1997, while travelling in the country, and meet its forgotten amazing Jewish community. He then continued to advocate for their Aliya until it became a reality in 1999.
As a result of this unique encounter, Nir founded and directed a special Multicultural Youth Orienteering Program, which worked annually with over 1,000 Ethiopian- and FSU-Israeli youth-at-risk, giving them pride in their diverse Jewish heritage and in the Land of Israel (1998-2005). Nir trained dozens of youth volunteers as well as dozens of Amharic speaking counselors, as part of the program, and developed a whole new approach to working with parents.
In 2005 Nir founded with a group of friends the Israeli NGO Friends By Nature - Community Empowerment, and became part of the Gedera Community Gar'in - a group of families and young adults, who chose to live in the impoverished neighborhood in this town, unite as a group with common vision and educational goals, and take responsibility for the community.
For Nir, father to Itamar, Friends by Nature - Community Empowerment is a direct development of his work with the community since his visit to Ethiopia in 1997. He is the director of Friends By Nature, and copies the model to more locations.

Moshe Solomon: In 1983, when Moshe was 8 years old, he made Aliya to Israel from Ethiopia through Sudan. Ten years later, he began the Yeshivat Hesder program which combines military service and religious studies. He studied at Etziyon Hesder Yeshiva and became an officer (Company Commander) in the Paratroopers.
Moshe initiated the Community Gar'in in Kiryat Gat, which includes families (mostly Ethiopian Israelis) who moved to Kiryat Gat out of a feeling of community commitment. As part of his job, he works on developing new Community Garinim.
For two years, Moshe directed the Multicultural Program, and there were approximately 50 counselors and 1,000 immigrant Israeli youth under his supervision. Consequently, he directed the Bnei Akiva youth movement's Community and Absorption Department, where he led approximately 200 coordinators and counselors and 4,000 youth.
Moshe also coordinates a program for Ethiopian Israeli students at the NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education (at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem).

Qess Samay (Shimon) Elias: Samay made Aliya to Israel from Ethiopia with his family in 1987 through Sudan when he was 16 years old. On their way to Israel, the family stopped for three years in a remote area in Ethiopia, and Samay's father served as Qess (Ethiopian Rabbi) of the Jewish community there. "My father's self sacrifice made a great impact on me", says Samay, who himself became a Qess in 2004 - one of the very few Ethiopian Israeli immigrants who became Qesses in Israel.
Samay, who completed a Bachelor degree in Sociology and Education, works at Atzma'ut Program in Rishon LeZion (a joint venture of JDC and Metro West, New Jersey Federation) and volunteers as Qess.
For many parents and youth he represents a successful integration between Ethiopian Jewish tradition and Israeli life.

Community Renewal - Ethiopian-Israeli Community "Gar'inim" 

Successful Ethiopian Israelis move back to the neighborhoods, form groups of activists who are aware of their identity and strengths, and assume social-education responsibility on the community.

Ethiopian Jews began to immigrate to Israel in the late 1970's, with the largest waves of Aliya taking place in 1984 (Operation Moses) and 1991 (Operation Solomon). Today, after the children have become adults, the Ethiopian-Israeli community as a whole is going from the stage of "absorption" to the stage of initiating and taking responsibility of its own future.

Nevertheless, globalization has greatly affected this community, causing its traditional structure of mutual caring to begin to disintegrate and resulting in economic and social polarization of the community.

The Community Renewal program addresses these needs:
1. The need of young-adult Ethiopian-Israelis (ages 20-35) to strengthen their Jewish-Israeli identity,in a way which will connect them both to mainstream society and to the strength and pride of their parents' generation.
2. The desire of young-adult Ethiopian-Israelis to get involved in community action. Many who are interested in expressing themselves in this way abandon the great contribution that they can afford their community as a result of everyday difficulties and the nonexistence of suitable frameworks. The Community Renewal program provides the necessary framework.
3. The need to provide long-term and responsible solutions to Ethiopian Israelis, in a sustainable and professional way, with true understanding of the challenges - which are mainly a result of an identity crisis.
4. The establishment of informal security networks in the community in an era of globalization and disintegration of such networks. This is especially true among the Ethiopian Israeli community that, until recently, knew how to provide this security network for itself.

With a desire to become an integral part of these positive changes promoted by this organization, in 2006 a group of families and young adults, mainly Ethiopian-Israelis, established the "Community Gar'in" in the Israeli town of Gedera. The group includes approximately 45 people; they work and volunteer with about 190 youth in the city.

As a result of its great success, the organization is establishing similar "Community Gar'inim" in additional cities based on the same model, aiming to create 3 new Community Gar'inim every year. Our goal is that within 2-3 years, these Gar'inim become completely independent organizations, maintaining a connection with Friends by Nature based on choice, not on need. Today, Community Gar'inim exist in Gedera, Kiryat Gat, Yavne, Be'er Sheva and Beit Shemesh. In addition, we are establishing Gar'inim in Ashkelon and Rishon Le'Tzion (Ramat Eliyahu).

Each Gar'in constructs its own program to unite itself as a group, and determines which activities and programs to incorporate into its city. The group activities for the Gar'in members include a "Multicultural Community Beit-Midrash" (Learning Groups, see below); joint weekends; meetings; and more.