JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Teach a man to farm

By Jacob Berkman · July 15, 2008

It's always nice when stalwart Jewish organizations reach out to the broader world and help out the broader human community. So ... I enjoyed getting a press release from the Jewish National Fund announcing that it plans to pitch in at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.

The village in Rwanda was founded last year by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to give a home to orphans of the 1994 genocide in the country in which between 500,000 and 1 million people were killed during a civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes.

Agahozo, modeled after the Yemin Orde youth village in Israel, which was a haven for orphans of the Holocaust, and later for other immigrants to Israel, is designed to give those who no longer have families a stable place to live and get an education that they can use to live productive lives. The Rwandan village, which is set to open in the fall, will be staffed in part by Ethiopian Israelis who grew up at Yemin Orde.

The JNF will give agricultural training at Agahozo and will establish agricultural plots, greenhouses, and honey-producing beehives on land adjacent to the village to give the residents the farming expertise to support themselves when they return to their native villages.

Here's the release:

JNF-KKL to Provide Agricultural Training at Youth Village for Survivors of Rwandan Genocide

July 15, 2008 – New York, NY – To aid young survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (JNF-KKL) will provide agricultural training at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) – a project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to help hundreds of children orphaned as a result of the genocide.

Modeled after the Israeli Youth Village of Yemin Orde, which was established in 1953 to accommodate Holocaust orphans and immigrant children, ASYV will offer a protected residential environment as well as innovative educational programs, recreational facilities, a health clinic, and psychological services. Situated on 143 acres in Rwanda's Eastern Province, it will eventually be home to 500 orphans, graduating 120 people from high school each year.

JNF-KKL will establish agricultural plots, greenhouses, and honey-producing beehives on land adjacent to the village and will use this farm to train hundreds of young survivors in agricultural work, giving them the farming expertise to support themselves when they return to their native villages.

"By establishing plant nurseries and training the youngsters at the village, we are giving them tools to cope and helping them to support themselves with dignity in the future," said JNF-KKL World Chairman Efi Stenzler.

During the course of just 100 days in 1994, over 800,000 people were killed in the Rwandan Genocide, which left even more people displaced, a country in ruins, and nearly 1.2 million children orphaned.

In addition to providing the basic human needs of food, shelter, and protection for traumatized youth still struggling with the aftereffects of genocide, the ASYV aims to prepare these youth to take on leadership roles in their society and give them the chance for a productive future.

An initial delegation of JNF-KKL staff is currently touring Rwanda to examine soil and environmental conditions and determine which species will be suitable for cultivation at the farm. They also plan to explore genetic preservation of the exotic species of fruits native to Rwanda; cultivation of stands of trees for use as cooking and heating fuel to reduce felling in Rwandan forests; and the introduction of beehives to produce honey for both local and commercial use.

"As a non-governmental organization, JNF-KKL places emphasis on pioneering breakthroughs in the management of open areas and woodland, in combating desertification, and in land and water conservation," said Stenzler. "This delegation is just one example among many of the exportation of expertise and know-how to other countries and organizations throughout the world, including the US Forest Service and the International Arid Lands Consortium.

"Many delegations of JNF-KKL experts in forestry, combating desertification and erosion prevention have visited countries such as Nigeria, Paraguay, Chile, Indonesia and Mexico, while numerous other delegations come to Israel to learn and observe innovative developments and methods firsthand."

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Charles Bronfman in the Financial Times: Charities need to leverage their dough

By Jacob Berkman · July 15, 2008

Charles Bronfman and the head of his Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, Jeff Solomon, wrote a joint piece for the Financial Times a few days ago, in which they chastised foundations and individual donors for not doing enough to leverage their money:

"We find it very disheartening to see individual and institutional donors giving money but not using leverage to extend the long-term value of their gifts. These funders are doing 'big-ticket' charity work, where one dollar put into the system yields no more than one dollar of social benefit in return. Whether you are Bill Gates or a moderately wealthy individual who wants to engage in philanthropic activities, you can use best-practices to extend the social value of your gifts."

Bronfman and Solomon go on to suggest three areas where foundations/individuals can leverage their money:

"Programmatic. In a slowing economy, foundations must carefully evaluate the efficacy of each grant recipient, and if necessary, decrease funding to those that are not yielding social dividends. Determining the impact and efficacy of your grantees is challenging work to be sure, but if you are unable to do this, how can anyone else be expected to? Conduct programme evaluation work based on predetermined criteria and you will strengthen the overall performance of your grantee portfolio, thereby ensuring that your energies are not squandered on under-performing grantees.

"Communications. A straightforward but often overlooked strategy for leveraging greater social return is to develop a communications plan around your philanthropy. Shine the spotlight on your grantee successes. Generate attention about the issues for which you advocate. Tell your community about the role philanthropy is playing in its own backyard. It is much easier to engage outside funding and partners when your work is visible to the public. Share your failures along with the successes. Philanthropy is defined by its spirit of innovation and risk. If we only talk about what is working, we doom others to make the same mistakes that we have."

"Relationships. In 2000, the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies in partnership with philanthropist Michael Steinhardt spearheaded Birthright Israel, providing first-time trips to Israel for young Jews. By leveraging early funding and a myriad institutional, governmental and personal relationships, we secured the long-term capital required to make the programme work. At the time of writing, more than 170,000 young adults from 52 countries have participated in the programme. This year, Birthright Israel's annual budget is $104m, funded by a coalition of private donors, the government of Israel and the US public Jewish federation system."

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Falling dollar woes strike religious institutions in Israel

By Jacob Berkman · July 15, 2008

According to the Jerusalem Post story, a new report says that the falling dollar has cost religious institutions in Israel some 350 million shekels. (Or what used to be $90 million but is now more than $100 million.)

From the story:

The survey is based on data from more than 80 haredi charity organizations such as Yad Sarah, Ezer Mizion and others and educational institutions like Migdal Or and Viznitz.

Since July 2007, the US currency has lost 20% of its value against the shekel.

On average, the haredi organizations and institutions received annual donations of more than NIS 1 billion, narrowed by about 31% on average. Donations make up about 43% out of the total budget of these institutions.

The survey revealed that 48% of questioned institutions and organizations believed that the global financial crisis will have a significant impact on their future existence.

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The man who got Sammy Davis to kiss Archie Bunker is leaving his mark on Jewish studies

By Jacob Berkman · July 15, 2008

Michael Ross, the former producer of and writer for iconic American sitcoms "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Three's Company," has given some $14 million to create Jewish studies programs at UCLA and City College of New York in recent months.

Ross – who was born Isidore Rovinsky and grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home that he has said was permeated by "the essence of Yiddishkeit" – gave $4 million to endow a Yiddish chair at UCLA, the university announced last week.

In April, he gave $10 million to the City College of New York for the establishment of the Michael and Irene Ross Center for Jewish Studies and to endow a Yiddish chair there. He graduated from City College in 1939.

I'm trying to get Ross on the phone, but I hear that he is not in the best of health these days... hopefully I'll have more later.

If you have 10 minutes to kill at work, take some time to watch the clip above to see some of Ross's genius at work. This clip, from the famous episode "Sammy's Visit, which he produced, includes among other highlights Louise Jefferson telling Sammy Davis Jr. "Shalom Aleichem" and the performer laying a fat one on Archie Bunker. Could be one of TV's finest moments.

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