JNF’s Women for Israel Highlight Service Projects

Seventy philanthropic women were not “horsing around” when they weathered the rain Wednesday evening, Oct. 29, to learn about the Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) action-based projects. Chastain’s Horse Park venue made way for tables labeled to match these projects as a leader for each group stood to describe the hot points.

First-time participant and co-chair Danielle Cohen explained that the evening was about both hope and heartbreak as the yellow tables’ flowers acknowledged the remaining slain hostages. Fellow co-chair Jackie Goldstein, who is a member of the national board and Atlanta steering committee, shared the history of JNF, starting with the blue tzedakah boxes and arriving at current programs like horse therapy, culinary schools, and research labs. She concluded, “We aren’t just donors. We are builders and believers.”

JNF Associate Director Nicole Flom began the table topics with water solutions, relating that Israel recycles nearly 95 percent of its water, and built a 23-acre lake in Be’er Sheva in the middle of the desert with recycled water. Furthermore, “Israel is self-reliant and doesn’t rely on any other country for water.”

Next up was heritage site preservation with Justine Cohen, who shared how 180 historical sites like Ammunition Hill, Atlit Detention Center, and Ayalon Bullet Factory carry on stories of resilience. Staci Libowski’s topic was community building, which is reshaping areas to the north and south of the big cities strengthening Israel’s frontiers. All that includes infrastructure, the World Zionist Village, a global educational campus, and ending on “small moments like Project Baseball, which gives new olim, especially children, an immediate sense of home.”

As a mother of a special needs child, Gail Heyman represented disabilities and special needs, which is at the core of Jewish values affording dignity to all. Some cutting-edge initiatives are Adi Negev, a state-of-the-art rehab center, LOTEM — using nature to heal PTSD, autism, and visual impairment, then ending with Special in Uniform, where those with special needs can serve in the IDF with pride and purpose.

Sam Weidenbaum took on research and development as the world looks to Israel to explore such issues as resource scarcity, and potential cures for Alzheimer’s and ALS, and AICAT where students from developing countries like Kenya and Cambodia come to learn about agriculture in Israel.

“They uplift the economy and become global ambassadors, creating a ripple effect of empowerment and renovation,” Weidenbaum said.

Cheryl Morrison expounded on Zionist education and advocacy and the importance of telling Israel’s story in classrooms and campuses where one program brings university professors from across the U.S. to Israel for a first-time, eye-opening experience; and the ever-famous Alexander Muss High School.

Lastly, Natasha Lebowitz represented forestry and innovations with the impressive statistic that over 260 million trees cover more than 250,000 acres on once barren land. She said, “Trees are about transformation, hope, and life … Israel is one of the only countries with a net gain in trees … every tree is a legacy, a hope with roots.”

Lebowitz tied together all the action areas where each woman was given a paper tapestry puzzle piece to design. “The quilt will represent the beauty of being together … and how each small piece morphs into a much larger picture.”

Guest speaker Michal Shiloah Galnoor, managing director of Western Galilee Now, unites local businesses, artisans, and diverse communities to drive tourism, economic growth, and jobs. She reaches around 5,000 families and changes lives.

She noted that the living conditions there are more challenging than in the big cities (90 minutes by train from Tel Aviv). She helps small businesses deal with changing laws, hiring, including retired IDF soldiers, and getting young women into the work force. She also coordinates efforts for Christians, Druze, and Muslims in Western Galilee, where the east contains more Jews. She herself is a fifth-generation Israeli with some serving as judges, and one as the founder of Mossad.

She concluded, “I thought at one point, I would join the Mossad but found my calling in Zionism.”