From Camp Miriam to Dror Israel: A Journey of Aliyah

Thursday, March 7, 7 pm at JCC Victoria — The Jewish Federation of Victoria & Vancouver Island (JFVVI) – United Jewish Appeal presents From Camp Miriam to Dror Israel: A Journey of Aliyah with Hannah Faber on Thursday, March 7, 7:00 pm at the JCC Victoria, 3636 Shelbourne Street.

Though she grew up in Calgary, Hannah attended Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror summer camp on Gabriola Island, each summer since the age of ten. She was first exposed to Dror Israel during a gap year leadership program, while working as a youth leader for 4th graders in Tel Aviv. Over the next 4 years while studying at UVic, Hannah remained an active member of Habonim Dror North America, led a youth group in Victoria, and took on various leadership roles at Camp Miriam, including educational director for summer 2018. Hannah decided to make Aliyah and join Dror Israel, where she is currently responsible for the youth movement branch at Kiryat Yam.

Hannah is a great example of how Jewish Federations influence community developments at home and abroad through investments in youth and young adults.  JFVVI’s United Jewish Appeal contributions support Dror Israel’s after-school program for at-risk youth in Haifa, Jewish Summer Camp Scholarships, and provided Hannah with an Israel Experience Grant.Please join us for Hannah’s talk on her work with Dror Israel, her choice to make Aliyah, and how her journey has led her to become meaningfully engaged in Israeli society and living what she views as an authentically Jewish life.

All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Yerus project: can you help push us over the top?

Campaign deadline December 2, 2017 — Jewish people everywhere aspire to achieve Tikkun Olam. A few sparks of this great task of repairing the world can be found in the Yerus project, which helps the Ethiopian community in Israel and tells the dramatic story of their Aliyah 30 years ago. We can only achieve Tikkun one step at a time. I invite you to take a small step by contributing to this crowdfunding campaign before it ends this weekend.

Thanks to a substantial anonymous donation reportedly from a Canadian contributor this week, we are very close to achieving our funding goal of $25,000. Today, you can be the person who puts us over the top. Only $20 will reserve one of the first copies of Yerus Goes to Jerusalem published in English, for your children, grandchildren or our Hebrew school.

The saga of the Ethiopian Aliyah to Israel inspired people around the world when it was first revealed in the 1980s. Yerus Goes to Jerusalem recounts the story of a girl making the difficult journey with her family from a village in Ethiopia to Eretz Yisrael.

The money raised in this campaign will serve to translate the book into English and make it available to Jewish schoolchildren everywhere. Proceeds from this project will also help the Ethiopian integrate into Israeli society. This campaign is led by Dror Yisrael, a service organization with a record of achievement in social service and educational projects in 158 locations in Israel.

Todah rabah and Shabbat shalom.

Sid Tafler

Help share the story of the Ethiopian Aliyah

Deadline December 2 — When it was first revealed in the 1980s, the story of the Ethiopian Aliyah to Israel inspired people around the world. Today there are more than 125,000 first, second and third generation Israelis from Ethiopia. Now you’re invited to help tell the next chapter of this remarkable saga of a community returning to Eretz Yisrael after 2,000 years of isolation from the rest of the Jewish world.