Temple Emanu-El

Israel Trip Reconnects Troubled Youth with Heritage October-27-2005

Reprinted by permission of Canadian Jewish News

By RON CSILLAG
Staff Reporter

For a group of troubled Jewish youth from Toronto, Israel has proven exactly what the doctor ordered.

It’s been a little more than a year since the 11 young travellers returned from two weeks touring Israel on a groundbreaking program called “From Darkness to Light.”

It was described as a first in the world: a group of toughened, streetwise Jews, aged 17 to 24, who haven’t registered on the community’s radar screen due to drug abuse, poverty, homelessness, foster care, rehabilitation, spotty school records, brushes with the law and problems with parents, were taken to Israel just like any other Jewish youth tour.

The idea was to remove them from the cycle of despair, at least for a while, and boost their self-esteem, but also to show them that perhaps their heritage counts for more than they had thought.

It was the first trip to Israel for many. For some, it was their first time away from Toronto and on a plane.

No one believed the trip would turn the participants into instant angels, but nearly all the participants are working to get their lives together. Organizers intend to turn it into a regular mission, provided they can secure the funding, and call it “Israel Beats the Streets.”

Another measure of the trip’s success is that nearly all the participants want to return to Israel – some for good.

In fact, three young women didn’t even come home: One stayed in Israel with relatives, as she had planned, while one went to a one-year program on a kibbutz, and the third has found a full-time job.

Aliyah was one of the mission’s central goals, says Lillian Freedman, a Toronto social worker who co-organized the project with the local Israel Aliyah Centre.

“A lot of these kids would never have visited Israel otherwise. And Israel can provide them with an infrastructure and a lot of opportunities,” including free college-level courses and money for integration.

For Melissa Sananes, a bubbly 21-year-old who left home at a young age, the trip resulted in newfound feelings for Israel.

“I learned a new respect for my nation,” she says. “I got to meet family I had never met before. I learned a lot about the land.”

She isn’t ready to admit that Israel changed her life, but she says it has helped give it structure, which she is using to study at Centennial College, with a view to a career in psychiatric nursing.

Aric Fishman, 19, who lives with his mother, says the trip “was completely positive. It was fun and educational – like jumping into cold water.”

He and his fellow travellers formed a tight-knit group, and he says he got a lot out of being with 10 other people who have all faced difficulty in life.

Fishman is now finishing high school, and while he has no immediate plans, he’s hoping to attend an Israeli university and serve in the Israeli army. Ultimately, he’s shooting for a career as a wilderness tour guide, possibly in Israel.

“They didn’t throw religion at us,” remarks Karen, a serious 21-year-old who works in the funeral business (and didn’t want her last name used). “They taught us a whole lot without us even knowing it… I didn’t expect the trip to be as good as it was.”

Karen is also grateful. “I don’t think any of us would have gotten the chance otherwise to visit to Israel,” she says. Karen had wanted to go before, but was twice rejected from Taglit-birthright israel, the highly successful program that has taken thousands of young people on a free 10-day trip to the country.

For Gil, an intense 20-year-old Israeli citizen who lived in the country for seven years before coming to Canada as a child, the trip provided coping and inter-personal skills.

“It taught me to get along with people I might not have gotten along with,” he says. “I saw long-lost family, and it also brought me closer to my religion.”

Gil is busy paying off his debts and wants to get into a technical career, possibly tool-and-die making.

Freedman is now aiming for an ongoing program.

“The results have been nothing short of miraculous, and I’m really proud of the kids,” she says. “They came such a long way on just a little. What they got was absolute unconditional acceptance. It connected them in such a wonderful way.”

A self-described freelance social worker, Freedman has turned Jewish homelessness into a personal crusade. Over the past six years, she has helped locate and house several dozen homeless and transient Jews in Toronto. Many were under 25.

Two years ago, she hooked up with Gadi Anavi, the former shaliach at the Israel Aliyah Centre for Toronto and Western Canada, who had been wondering how he could get to kids who weren’t qualifying for birthright israel.

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto kicked in a last-minute grant of $30,000 for last August’s trip.

But just last week, Freedman was turned down for a grant from the New York-based Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, to which she had applied for a portion of the funds allocated to the birthright program.

The organization said “this is not a project we are prepared to fund at this time,” but it encouraged her to “keep working through local channels. As you know, local issues often resonate with local funders.”

Perhaps the most telling description of the program comes from a short documentary in the works about the trip.

Says one scruffy young man with eyes that have seen enough to last a lifetime: “Just coming here makes me feel that I actually belong to something, as opposed to wandering around doing whatever the hell I want, having fun and partying and doing drugs and gang banging, the violence and the rest of it.

“[Israel] is such a change, and such a culture shock. I love this place.”