Participants from a recent Palmach Mission to Israel.
From left to right, Jackie Weinstein, Cindy Weinstein, Rozlynn Weinstein and Eddie Weinstein from the Palmach Division of Combined Jewish Appeal participate in the inauguration of the Adanim Youth Village in Bnei Shimon
By Florence Low, UIAC
It wasn’t until his first visit to Israel, three years ago, that Eddie Weinstein felt the intensity of the threats with which Israelis cope on a daily basis. That epiphany reinforced his feeling for Montreal’s Jewish community.
“If we don’t have a strong Israel, we don’t have a strong Jewish community in Montreal,” he says now. “There are people there who really need us. We need to stay together.”
That’s when he and his co-chair, Rory Olson, along with the 32 other participants on that mission, resolved to get involved with Federation CJA to make a meaningful contribution to Israel. Thus was born the Palmach Division.
“We wanted to start our own division and we wanted to build a connection between our community and Israel in such a way that would help children,” Weinstein explains. “And we wanted to go about doing it in our own way.”
Weinstein, Olson and their friends wanted to establish a group of like-minded philanthropists from the same generation who share common interests and a commitment to helping Jews in need, within Combined Jewish Appeal.
“The idea was to assemble a group of people who like and trust one another, to find community initiatives that inspire us, and to work together to support them,” he goes on. “This isn’t strictly about giving money. It’s about caring and being passionate about our Jewish community.”
When they learned about Adanim Youth Village, a facility for at-risk youth in Bnei Shimon, part of Montreal’s partnership region in the Negev, they all became excited and decided, unanimously, that this was a worthy project for them to get behind. On their first trip, they saw a proposed site. Last month, they stood in a finished complex.
Having brought the dream of building Adanim to fruition, participating in the official opening was a deeply emotional experience for the Palmach members. Weinstein recalls a teenage girl, who resides at the Village, saying that since moving there and being exposed to its supportive environment, she was no longer angry at the world.
“Just hearing that, knowing that we had an impact on that girl’s life, made the whole enterprise worthwhile,” he says. With this achievement under its belt, the Palmach Division, which now numbers close to 300, is anxious to develop new projects.
“Our goal is to bring more people into our group,” he emphasizes. “We welcome anybody who wants to come to the party. We have a good time together, and at the end of the day, we are going to do a lot of good.”
On Monday, May 14th, Adanim celebrated the opening of a new youth village in the Bnei Shimon Regional Council, in Montreal's Partnership 2000 region, thanks in large part to a donation from the Palmach Division of Combined Jewish Appeal.
Moshe Paul, Mayor of Bnei Shimon, opened the ceremony, but the most moving remarks were spoken by Ilana, an upcoming graduate of Adanim. After guiding members of Montreal's Palmach Mission through the centre, she beamed from the podium. "I'm not angry at the world anymore," she said, "Adanim has changed my life, and made me a better person."
Adanim Youth Village provides a family structure for young people with emotional problems whose needs could not be met in their home environment. Treated with the compassionand patience they couldn’t find with their parents, and the chance for therapy, those who come to Adanim have the opportunity for a fresh start. Though not every condition can be cured, people can be helped to adapt in order to achieve their fullest potential despite facing unique challenges.
One girl arrived at Adanim four years ago suffering from severe obsessive compulsive disorder. Prior to this, she had been confined to a psychiatric hospital on three separate occasions. Incapable of concentrating, she had dropped out of school. With medication, counselling, and the support and stability she found in the Village, she was able to control her condition and return to school. Upon graduating last year, she found a job as an office manager, where her attention to small details is actually an asset.
“It is possible to succeed and to live a regular life,” she said. Though she now lives in her own apartment in BeerSheva, she frequently returns to Adanim and is a role model to other residents.
The Village provides a warm home for 60 youths between the ages of 12 and 18. Along with classrooms and therapeutic resources, sports and fitness facilities, Adanim has a computer room filled with equipment donated by RAD Data, an Israeli hardware manufacturer. There is an adult present in each residential unit at all times to provide assistance and supervision
