Hadassah Spotlights Youth Aliyah Program in Israel

Buffalo Hadassah members joined in celebrating Israel’s 75 birthday this spring and were delighted to have so many people stop by the Hadassah table at the community-wide Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration at the JCC. One of the programs that generated much interest was the Youth Aliyah Program, which was spotlighted at a Zoom event with Carol Goodman Kaufman, the Chair of Youth Aliyah for National Hadassah.

Hadassah members helped to form her strong identity… her strong Jewish identity.

The Youth Villages are currently absorbing many children from Ukraine and Russia. There is also a youth village that houses Jewish and Arab Israeli children from abusive homes. Since 80% of the children in some of the villages suffer from some kind of trauma and many have learning disabilities, each child is provided with an individual tutor to help them adjust and improve their academic skills. The program also uses animal therapy where neglected animals are brought to the village and are cared for by the children.

The Buffalo Hadassah chapter continues tabled at the Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration to hold board meetings and book club meetings remotely. Roslyn Bernstein, author of four books and recent recipient of a National Jewish Book Award, spoke to a well-attended book club meeting about The Girl Who Counted Numbers, her most recent novel. The author is a friend and former classmate of Sue Bergman, who arranged for Bernstein to speak to the group. For more information about Buffalo Hadassah, email mkatzel@ me.com or mseller@buffalo.edu.