July 14, 2010

By Simon Griver

“I didn’t like Yokneam I loved Yokneam,’ said Tali Sachs, one of three Project Otzma participants who has just completed the Jewish Agency’s eight month leadership program for American Jewish college graduates.

Tali Sachs, Atlanta, with Yokneam Daliyot schoolers

Sachs, 23 from Marietta, Atlanta, Georgia said that her positive experiences in Yokneam have helped persuade her that she would eventually want to live in Israel, although at present the graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts is heading back home to the US to look for work.

Sachs was one of three young Americans who spent the middle part of the Otzma program in Yokneam-Megiddo, which since the mid 1990s has been twinned with the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta as part of the Jewish Agency’s Partnership 2000 program.

In addition to her time in Yokneam-Megiddo, Sachs taught in Ethiopian immigrants in Ashkelon and worked as an intern making documentary films about the diversity of Israel’s population.

Tali Sachs, Atlanta, performs for the local elderly

A talented folk singer and guitarist, Sachs impressed both the children and elderly new immigrants in Yokneam-Megiddo with her musical skills. She said, “Teaching in the elementary school was especially rewarding because I had had bad experiences teaching previously. But teaching the kids in Yokneam was my favorite thing on Otzma.”

Kids write thank you letters to Otzma volunteers

Arkady Hasidovich, Regional Coordinator for P2K Yokneam-Megiddo said that hosting the Project Otzma participants is always an enriching experience for all parties involved. He said, “It’s a privilege to have them here in part because they feel it is a privilege to be here. The kids help them learn Hebrew and they help the kids improve their English and widen their horizons.”

Otzma volunteers with ArKady Hasidovich

One of the highlights of the program for Max Samis was receiving an award of gratitude from Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky, and Andrea Arbel, Director of the Jewish Agency’s Partnership Division, for his efforts as an intern in the Israel Department during the last leg of Otzma.

Max Samis receiving an award of gratitude from Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky, and Andrea Arbel, Director of the Jewish Agency’s Partnership Division

Samis, 23, from Chesterfield, St. Louis said, “Otzma in general and being in Yokneam in particular were amazing experiences I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Max Samis (left) with a local teen

One of the highlights of the program for Samis was working as a coach with the Yokneam Yankees baseball team. He added, “I’ve really got a lot from the people in Israel and learned a lot about myself and my Jewish identity.”

Yokneam Yankees Baseball Team

Dganit Jenshil, director of Project Otzma said that the three participants who volunteered in Yokneam-Megiddo were “unique and special” and said that altogether 48 Otzma participants this year spent three months in their different P2K communities.

She explained, “It is one of the most important direct, people-to-people links we have between Israeli communities and their partnership federations in the US. It is an opportunity for young Jewish people to see how much their federations are doing here while volunteering themselves.”

Andi Feldman, 23 who is also from Chesterfield, St. Louis, spent the last part of Project Otzma as an intern working for social justice with the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism in Jerusalem and plans remaining in Israel in the coming to embark on the rabbinical course at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.

Andi Feldman (left) with her students at Daliyot School in Yokneam

She said, “From March to May it seemed liked there was always a holiday in Israel and that was a great experience. Some of them like Lag B’Omer I didn’t even know what they were until I celebrated them.”

She added, “Yokneam was great. We even got to meet the mayor although we turned up late but luckily he was running even later than we were.”

Judy Yuda, the Jewish Agency’s Yokneam/Megiddo P2K Regional Manager said, “I’m always impressed when we meet each new batch of Otzma volunteers at the quality of these people. We worry about the future of the Jewish people but when I see young American Jews like Andi, Tali and Max and the enthusiasm they have for Judaism, Israel and their partner community, I realize the future is in very safe hands.”