The Heat is On
Lone Soldiers in Kfar Saba get into shape.
Over 2500 lone soldiers are currently serving in the IDF. They come from the world over, alone and with no family.
At the start of the winter, local volunteers provided a large group of the Kfar Saba-based soldiers with space heaters and blankets. The Club is a venue for socializing, educational programs, and sometimes even a place to share a Shabbat meal. “The soldiers often get back from a grueling week so late on Friday afternoon, that they barely have time to change their clothes, let alone go shopping and prepare a meal in their own apartments,” says Absorption Center Director David Musafir. As the Kfar Saba Absorption Center’s Soldier’s Club enters its third year, its honorary president, Mr. Boris Gerstein, officially opened a renovated fitness room which he personally equipped. After a short ceremony, Mr. Gerstein also treated the soldiers to a festive meal. •
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 in the pipeline:
Young immigrants and tourists may soon find a ‘Meeting Place’ in the vibrant center of Tel Aviv, courtesy of an Aliyah and Integration Department initiative. A nexus for social and educational activities, social and counseling services, employment training and subsidized temporary housing for new immigrants, the ‘Meeting Place’ will bring together immigrants and potential immigrants in a supportive and spirited community. |
Tree Time
Absorption Centers celebrate Tu Bishvat
The significance of Pomegranates, Olives and Dates, three of the seven species, are explained to the residents of the Beit Canada Absorption Center in Ashdod by new immigrants. |
New immigrants in Absorption Centers countrywide learned about the Seven Species indigineous to the Land of Israel, as celebrations were held for Tu Bishvat. Whereas this season, in the Jewish sabbatical year (shmita), the New Year of the trees was not celebrated by tree-planting, newcomers were treated to festive gatherings and hikes as they learned about the holiday tradition and Israel’s flora. They wondered at the beauty of the same graceful almond trees, twisted olive trunks, shady fig branches and braided grapevines which were admired by our ancestors. •