Soroptimist Newsletter- Easter-Pesach Rehovot Club

There is so much to tell, I don’t know where to start so perhaps the best place would be in the autumn when Aliya Kedem and I went to Rumania to help them celebrate their anniversary! We decided that if we were already going to Rumania why not visit another club there and we chose Brasov in the mountains. We could not have chosen a more welcoming club; we were made to feel part of the Soroptimist Sisterhood and they took us around and showed us all the interesting sites in the area. We did not see any vampires but we did see their castle, hunting lodges, churches and best for us, mountains and ancient trees. We finished off our week in Bucarest, celebrating their anniversary with all the other Rumanian Soroptimist Clubs and visitors from all over Europe.

Visit to Romania

Aliya and Sylvia went off to celebrate Romania’s first decade

Plans to visit Sorops in Brasov were carefully laid

Our fond memories of the visit there will never fade

The ladies of Brasov took us straight to their hearts

It’s strange to feel, after only three days, an integral part

Creating such warmth and friendship is a true art

Cornelia and Ana thought they’d give us a treat We climbed ever so many steps, walked nearly every street Managing to keep up with them was for me, quite a feat The Bucharest Sorop celebration was everything we could have wished We ate, sang, drank, danced, laughed and kissed

Every moment of pleasure was to be savoured, not a second to be missed One lunchtime we dragged Tina and Raluca to see the Peoples Palace We were suitably impressed with its grandeur and grace But of its former owner, Caecescue, we saw ne’er a trace
	We were truly sorry when we had to say goodbye So they’ll have to visit us in Israel or at least try If they don’t come, we’ll want to know why And so farewell to Brasov and Bucharest I’m really tired now and need a good rest We established new friendships there- we’ve accomplished our Soroptimist quest

P.S. The effort for Sylvia was really great, when she got to London, she had to have a pacemaker installed and now she is ready to dance again.

Unfortunately I was a bit ill, but thought I was just exhausted from so much sightseeing and good food. However it was a bit more serious than that and I spent some time in London in hospital recovering and getting a pacemaker installed as my heart went on strike! Then back home to Rehovot.

A few weeks later we had as visitors Ana Covaci and Rodica Maciuca from Brasov who came to see for themselves if all the good things we had told about Israel were true. We hope they enjoyed their stay as much as we enjoyed having them. Ella Katz of the Ramat Gan Club took good care of them and at least could speak Rumanian with them whereas we limped along with slow English, lots of gestures and smiles.

Once back home I still had enough energy to have a very successful exhibition of my paintings for my 80^th birthday and some of the proceeds of my sales went to fund part of a scholarship –presented with others at our annual ceremony which took place last week.

But before that our big social occasion- the visit of nine Icelandic ladies from the Soroptimist Union of Iceland who were our guests and we showed them Israel from top to bottom which was not difficult as it is such a small country. Most of the nine days we gave them home hospitality but we did travel north with them for a couple of days to Nazareth and the north of Israel before sending them off to Jerusalem	Our nine Icelandic guests wearing the local Soroptimist scarves
and Bethlehem for two days. It was a great success and very warm ties were forged. Visiting our Jewish Ethiopian women's club in Rehovoth		A visit in the home of local inhabitant of Nazareth

One of the most moving incidents on our tour was when we were received in the home of a Druze girl, who had survived a terrorist attack and had spent a week in the States as the guest of a group of ladies from Westchester County, N.Y. who hosted women injured in terrorist attacks. Aliya had got to know her as she is in close contact with the Westchester group and Jehan invited us all as her guests to her home.

Written in Hebrew by Jehan Hassan of the Druze village of Sajur in the Galilee, Israel for the visit of the Icelandic and Rehovot Soroptimists, 4 March, 2010.(Translated by Sylvia)

" I, Jehan, want to share with you my very personal story, one which is also the story of the special and cruel life of people in this part of the world.

My sister, Mison and I were caught up in a terrorist attack by a suicide bomber which took place on the bus in which we were travelling to the University in Safed. My sister was killed outright whereas I was badly wounded.

The incident was so traumatic that its memory will remain with me all my life.

I lost my dearly beloved sister and at that same moment, I lost my belief in humanity and I also lost my joy in life. My life after the terror attack will never be the same as it was before.

It’s possible that I will recover from the physical trauma (although I still suffer from the physical effects and they will always be with me) but I do know that I will never recover from the mental trauma as it affects me every moment of my life; no matter where I am - at home or in the street, whether I am alone or in company; when I am awake and even in sleep; day and night it is with me; morning, noon and evening.

I keep reliving moments of the incident even in the midst of my loving, supportive family or when surrounded by friends.

The tragedy changed my whole approach to life – everyday happenings have been dwarfed or have disappeared from sight; my senses have stopped absorbing outside stimuli. I have lost the ability to feel emotions; I have become apathetic to my surroundings and have become an unsociable human being.

I have also become individualistic, retreating from outside society, whether friends or strangers.

Time passes unnoticed; yesterday, today and tomorrow are no longer differentiated.

At every waking moment I relive the sights, sounds and smells of the incident; they reverberate in my mind and flash before my eyes. I don’t even have the ability to apportion blame or to complain; I don’t want pity.

I have paid a heavy price; they have taken almost everything from me.

I only hope and pray that perhaps in the future I will become, once more, an ordinary person, like all others and our life here becomes as normal as it is in other parts of the world."

Once again I enclose my light version of events

The Icelandic Soroptimists visit to Israel,

February-March 2010

This week as Soroptimists we have put all differences aside,

Jews, Christians, Arabs and Druse have all crossed the divide.

From Iceland and Israel we Soroptimists have come

Together we have spent the week and had lots of fun.

Counting the Icelandic ladies there were nine Which for us in Rehovot, was just fine, Iceland seems far off - a land of snow and ice In the heat of our summer it sounds really nice! Iceland is an ancient land with a very small population Whereas Israel is a populous and noisy new nation Ask yourselves, “What have our visitors not seen?” Ask again, “Where have our visitors not been?” This week we have travelled North to South, East to West Our strength and endurance have been given a severe test

They have been assailed by sights, smells and sounds As we dragged the nearly exhausted ladies around We have given them so many facts and figures They will think Israel is much, much bigger All of us in Rehovot have enjoyed your visit very much And we sincerely hope you will continue to keep in touch!!!

Finally our scholarship awards evening. The girls were as interesting as always and one of them, Sarit gave a lovely little speech thanking us all. This is the main event of our year and we really feel we have achieved something by helping them. This year we were able to give 3 of them about $850 each and two others received about $750 each. All this money is given by members on the occasion of family events; births, marriages and

birthdays, supplemented by a very generous gift from an elderly lady in the States who has heard of our work and knits hats which she sells on our behalf, a scholarship in memory of Chana Cohen who founded the Scholarship Scheme, our 103 year old member who left us a legacy and a % of money from cards and paintings I have sold over the year.

List of girls who received Soroptimist Scholarships from the Rehovot Club, 2010

Sarit Tabja

Arrived in Israel in 1990 from Ethiopia. Married with two children. In spite of her husband’s opposition she decided to study and is now in her second year of studies as a kindergarten teacher. Apart from her studies, she also works to support her family.

Olga Zilberman

Came from the Ukraine 9 years ago. Married. She is studying book-keeping and economics in the Open University. Part of Olga’s stipend came from a contribution by the Icelandic Soroptimists who visited us last month.

Maria Sami

Ethiopian who came to Israel in 1991 and is studying to be a dental technician.

Tehilla Max

She is studying to take care of infants. She has worked in kindergartens and is presently working as well as studying.

Kassia Admasso

Ethiopian, immigrated to Israel in 1990. The mother of three children, she has also done National Service at Kaplan Hospital. She is studying the care of infants.

Thank you speech was made by Sarit on behalf of the five recipients.

"My name is Sarit Tabaja, and I am 32 years old. I am the mother of two girls and I am studying education. In the name of the recipients of the Soroptimist Scholarships, I want to thank all those who have contributed money; money which will help us cope with our financial problems and also help us complete our studies successfully. I want to thank you, not just for the financial aid, but also for recognizing our need. Thanks to your help, we can realize our dreams - which are to educate ourselves and advance academically

Your contributions mean a great deal to us as they help us to be independent economically. You are part of our success and are helping us achieve our dreams, so once again I thank you for myself and my sister students and wish you and your families a happy holiday. (Passover)

We continue to work with the Ethiopian ladies who are now regular visitors to the club we run for them. The language and life in Israel are the two major fields in which we labour. Progress is steady and heartening. Numbers there continue to increase.

Our only real problem is aging and difficulty in attracting new, younger members. We “oldies” are active but we need young blood but there is so much going on in Israel, within the family and in society as a whole that little time is left for joining clubs. Most women are involved in helping various sectors of the population so there is a lot of competition for very little free time. Still, we live in hope and hope that membership will increase gradually.

Meanwhile we send our very warm wishes to all our Sister Clubs and to everyone else we know. A Happy Passover/Easter to you all.

Sylvia Flowers. Friendship Coordinator. Rehovot Soroptimist Club

Aliya Kedem, Secretary, Rehovot Soroptimist Club

March 2010