Women's Mission of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County Discover Israel

November 15, 2009 / 28 Chesvan 5770

Twenty-six delegates from the Women's Mission of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County crisscrossed the country November 2-11 and visited communities throughout Israel. 

At the Jewish Agency-supported IBIM student village in the Sha'ar Hanegev region, delegates heard from village director Soni Zinger, Mayor of Sha'ar Hanegev Alon Schuster, and new immigrants to Israel from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) who made Aliyah through the FSU Family Project.  IBIM houses  400 young adults who have made Aliyah from the FSU, Ethiopia, Argentina and other countries, without any immediate family.

Since 1998, the Jewish Federation of San Diego County has adopted Sha'ar Hanegev, providing for the welfare, educational and social support of its residents. This community is a unique project devoted to helping immigrants successfully integrate into Israeli society.

The group also held a memorial service for Marla Bennett, a San Diegoan who was a victim of the terror attack on Hebrew University Campus in 2002. 

Other visits include the Ayalim Yachini Village in the Negev, where they heard from the young activists who built and live in their own caravan community and who devote themselves to public service.  The community has recently become completely handicap accessible. Ayalim works to encourage young people to settle in Israel’s periphery and serve as agents of change.